Downy Blenny | Mexican Fish.com

Downy Blenny, Gobioclinus kalisherae

Downy Blenny, Gobioclinus kalisherae. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, March 2015. Length: 8.1 cm (3.2 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Downy Blenny, Gobioclinus kalisherae. Fish caught from coastal waters off Broward County, Florida, June 2021. Length: 12.8 cm (5.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

Downy Blenny, Gobioclinus kalisherae. Fish caught from coastal waters off Noronha, Brazil, June 2019. Length: 15.2 cm (6.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Victor, Coralreeffish.com.

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

The Downy Blenny has a shortened elongated robust body with a uniform depth throughout that tapers gradually at the rear into the tail. They are tan to reddish-brown in color with 6 or 7 vertical dark brown bars on their body that extend from the dorsal fin to the anal fin. Their anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins have white spots. Their caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins have 5 to 7 dark bars. Juveniles have a dark blotch on their gill cover and their anal and dorsal fins are heavily spotted. Their head is broad with a blunt snout, large eyes, a branched cirrus over each eye, and several heavily branched cirri on each side of the nape. Their mouth is large, opens at the front, and is slightly oblique; it is equipped with patches of small teeth behind an outer row of large teeth on the upper jaw and teeth on the side of the roof of the mouth. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 19 rays; their caudal fin is square; their dorsal fin has 18 to 20 spines, with the first spine being the longest, and 10 to 12 rays; and, their short pelvic fins are inserted before the pectoral fins. They have 11 gill rakers. They are covered with small smooth scales.

The Downy Blenny are a shallow water coastal species found within rocky shores and coarse rubble covered with algae, seagrass beds, and in sheltered lagoons at depths up to 15 m (50 feet). They are found in holes and crevices or among coral formations. They reach a maximum of 8.3 cm (3.3 inches) in length. They are diurnal highly territorial predators that feed mostly on benthic crustaceans including small crabs. Reproduction is oviparous with females depositing eggs in protected areas. The Downy 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 Downy 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 Downy Blenny can be easily confused with a series of other Labrisomid Blennies including the Hairy Blenny, Labrisomus nuchipinnis, the Longfin Blenny, Gobioclinus haitiensis, the Mimic Blenny, Gobioclinus guppyi, the Palehead Blenny, Gobioclinus gobio, the Puffcheek Blenny, Gobioclinus bucciferus, and the Whitecheek Blenny, Brockius albigenys, all of which have similar body shapes, colorations, and barring patterns. Correct fish identification requires consultation with someone having knowledge of blennies in the area or about the differences in the blennies of the Gobioclinus Genus and the Labrisomus Genus.

From a conservation perspective the Downy 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. They are sold on a very limited basis by the aquarium trade.