Common Name
Dwarf Clingfish
Year Described
Briggs, 1969
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 6-7 (first rudimentary)
Anal Fin: 6-8 (first rudimentary)
Pectoral Fin: 18-21
Caudal Fin: 6+5 or 6+6
Vertebrae: 24-26
Body stout but relatively elongated (maximum depth 4.3-5 times in SL). Eye relatively large (0.5-0.8 times in interorbital width). Forehead profile sloped (not vertical). Teeth trifid anteriorly. Mouth very small. Nostrils tubular and close together. Gill membranes attached to isthmus. Subopercle without a spine. Three of four gill arches with filaments. Fin rays are all unbranched. Pelvic disk well developed and covered in patches of papillae. Center of anterior disk region C with four central papillae. Posterior patch in region C V-shaped. Fleshy pad on lower pectoral base poorly developed. Median fins placed far back on body. Tail truncate.
Color
Body brown above, grading to black on the flanks and belly.
Size
A tiny species: specimens range from 8-14mm SL.
Habitat
Taken on deep coral reefs (31-51m) around rocks and under coral boulders.
Range
Known only from the Bahamas.
References
Briggs, J.C. 1969. A new genus and species of clingfish (family Gobiesocidae) from the Bahama Islands. Copeia, 332-334.
Fraser, T.H. 1970. Two new species of the clingfish genus Derilissus (Gobiesocidae) from the western Atlantic. Copeia, 38-42.