Reef-sand Blenny, Ekemblemaria myersi

Reef-sand Blenny, Ekemblemaria myersi, Male. Fish caught off a dock in the old Mazatlán Marina, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2015. Length: 7.0 cm (2.8 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Michael Verdirame, Toronto, Canada.

Reef-sand Blenny, Ekemblemaria myersi.  Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018, November 2018 and February 2023. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Fishgod Blenny, Malacoctenus ebisui, and Reef-sand Blenny, Ekemblemaria myersi.  Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Reef-sand Blenny, Ekemblemaria myersi, is a member of the Tube Blenny or Chaenopsidae Family, that is known in Mexico as tubícola de cejas. Globally, there are three species in the genus Ekemblemaria, one of which is found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Reef-sand Blenny has an elongated body. They vary in color from tan to dark brown. They have 10 to 12 broad dark brown bars with narrower pale interspaces on their body, a large ocellated spot on their gill cover with a white margin, and pale oblique lines on their dorsal fin with spots on the front half and narrow oblique lines on the back half. They are dimorphic with females having clear margins on their pectoral and pelvic fins, a dorsal fin with a transparent anterior portion, a pair of unpigmented spots anterior to the pelvic fin insertion, and distinct bands on their chin, all of which are absent in males. Females are also larger and have smaller supraorbital cirri than males. Their head is short and blunt and their forehead is rough. They have 1 palm-like cirrus over their eyes and one row of teeth on each side of the roof of their mouth. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 24 to 27 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; their dorsal fin is unnotched with 19 to 21 spines and 19 to 21 rays; and, their pelvic fins are shorter than their pectoral fins.

The Reef-sand Blenny is a coastal shallow water predatory species found in the tubes of certain worms within rocky outcrops in sandy and weedy areas at depths up to 5 m (15 feet). They reach a maximum of 7.0 cm (2.8 inches) in length. Reproduction is oviparous with females releasing eggs which are fertilized externally by males. The Reef-sand Blenny 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 Reef-sand Blenny is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Santa Rosalia to Cabo San Lucas. Baja California Sur along the east coast of Baja and from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, south to Guatemala along the coast of the mainland.

The Reef-sand Blenny cannot be easily confused with any other species due to its unique markings and body shape with the possible exception of the Browncheek Blenny, Acanthemblemaria crockeri (dark ring around the eye spot).

From a conservation perspective the Reef-sand Blenny is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. Due to their size and rarity, the Reef-sand Blenny is of limited interest to most with the exception of underwater photographers.