Blackstripe Clingfish, Tomicodon myersi

Blackstripe Clingfish, Tomicodon myersi. Fish caught from within the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Length: 5.8 cm (2.3 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Blackstripe Clingfish, Tomicodon myersi. Fish caught from within the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Length: 6.3 cm (2.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Blackstripe Clingfish, Tomicodon myersi. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018 and January 2019. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo. Productive discussions with Dr. Phil Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, related to the identification of these fish from the above photo gallery are greatly appreciated and noted.

The Blackstripe Clingfish, Tomicodon myersi, is a member of the Clingfish or Gobiesocidae Family, and is known in Mexico as chupapiedras raya negra.  Globally, there are twenty-two species in the genus Tomicodon, of which six are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.

The Blackstripe Clingfish has a relatively slender elongated body. The upper head and body are pale gray with scattered whit specs with 4 thin bars below the eye and behind the eye, an irregular white band across the back at eye level with 2 wide extensions down onto the flank behind the pectoral fins. The mid-flank has an irregular dark stripe plus blotches; the dorsal fin has a dark margin, and the inner two-thirds of the caudal fin is dark. They have slender heads, nostrils with a small skin flap, and 4 pairs of incisors at the front followed by 1 or 2 large canines on the upper jaw and 3 pairs of incisors followed by 1 small canine on the lower jaw. The anus is much closer to the anal fin than to the rear margin of the ventral disc. Their anal fin has 5 to 8 rays, their caudal fin 7 or 8 rays, their dorsal fin 6 to 8 rays and their pectoral fin has 20 or 21 rays.

The Blackstripe Clingfish is a shallow-water benthic species found in intertidal rocky areas at depths up to 8 m (25 feet). They reach a maximum of 2.6 cm 1.0 inch) in length. They feed primarily on algae, small benthic invertebrates and zooplankton. The Blackstripe Clingfish 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 Blackstripe Clingfish is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited range and is found from the central Sea of Cortez south to Guatemala.

The Blackstripe Clingfish is a straightforward identification due to the markings around the eye and within its known range cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Blackstripe Clingfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are too small in stature to be of interest to most.