Puffcheek Blenny, Gobioclinus bucciferus

Puffcheek Blenny, Gobioclinus bucciferus, Male. Fish caught from the beach at Playa del Carmine, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, March 2017. Length: 7.3 cm (2.9 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Puffcheek Blenny, Gobioclinus bucciferus, is a member of in the Labrisomid Blenny or Labrisomidae Family, and is known in Mexico as trambollo fumador. This fish has recently been reclassified from Labrisomus bucciferus. Globally, there are seven species in the Gobioclinus genus, of which five are found in Mexican waters, all in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Puffcheek Blenny has a robust body with a uniform depth throughout that tapers gradually at the rear and into the tail. They are brownish with 5 irregular brown bars on their sides, the last 3 of which extend into the dorsal fin, and a row of dark spots along the center flank between these bars. They have 2 dark spots behind their eyes and an oblique dark bar that runs down and posteriorly from their eyes. They are sexually dimorphic with males having red heads and red bars on their fins and females having heavily spotted fins. Their head has a short blunt snout, large eyes, a branched cirrus over each eye, 2 heavily branched cirri on each side of the nape, and a large terminal slightly oblique mouth equipped with a mixture of small and large teeth. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 19 to 21 rays; their caudal fin is square; and, their dorsal fin has 19 to 21 spines, with the first being the longest, and 10 to 12 rays with a deep notch in between. They are covered with small smooth scales.

The Puffcheek Blenny is a shallow water coastal species found within weed-covered rocky shores and in tidal pools at depths up to 6 m (20 feet). They reach a maximum of 9.0 cm (3.5 inches) in length. They are diurnal and highly territorial predators that feed mostly on benthic crustaceans including small crabs. Reproduction is oviparous with females depositing eggs in protected areas. The Puffcheek Blenny The Puddingwife is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Puffcheek Blenny is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean but is only found along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean; they are absent from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Puffcheek Blenny can be easily confused with a series of other Labrisomid Blennies including the Downy Blenny, Gobioclinus kalisherae, the Hairy Blenny, Labrisomus nuchipinnis, the Longfin Blenny, Gobioclinus haitiensis, the Mimic Blenny, Gobioclinus guppyi, the Palehead Blenny, Gobioclinus gobio, and the Whitecheek Blenny, Brockius albigenys, which all have similar body shapes, colorations, and barring patterns. Correct fish identification requires consultation with individuals having knowledge of blennies in the area or the differences between members of the Gobioclinus and Labrisomus genera.

From a conservation perspective the Puffcheek Blenny is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature and of limited interest to most however they are utilized by the aquarium trade at a nominal level.