Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer

Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer, Female.  Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2020. Length: 7.6 cm (3.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer, Female. Fish caught from coastal waters of San José del Cabo Rió, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Length: 7.9 cm (3.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer, Females. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, January 2019 through January 2022. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer, Males and Breeding Males. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, January 2019 through January 2022. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Glossy Blenny, Malacoctenus zonifer, is a member of the Labrisomid Blenny or Labrisomidae Family, that is known in Mexico as trambollo brilloso. Globally, there are eighteen species in the genus Malacoctenus, of which fourteen are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and eight in the Pacific Ocean.

The Glossy Blenny has an elongated body with a uniform depth throughout that tapers gradually at the rear into the tail. They are an olive color dorsally with a series of 5 dark saddles, an irregular dark brown mid-lateral stripe and the throat and lower sides are whitish with brown to blackish blotches and spots. They have a prominent double dark spot on the head just behind the eye. They are dimorphic with males having a uniformly dark head and females have spots on the underside of their heads and 2 large spots on the lower portion of the gill cover. Females have more prominent spotting on the anal, caudal, dorsal, pectoral fins and the underside of the head. Breeding males have dark anal fins. Their head is slender with a pointed snout with a small mouth that opens at the front. They have very prominent white, short tufted circus over the eyes. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 19 to 22 rays; their caudal fin is square; their first dorsal fin has 19 to 21 spines; their second dorsal fin has 10 to 12 rays; and, their pectoral fin has 13 or 14 rays. They have 9 to 12 gill rakers.

The Glossy Blenny is a small shallow water coastal species found in intertidal zone within rocky and rubble bottoms at depths up to 11 m (35 feet). They reach a maximum of 8.0 cm (3.1 inches) in length. They feed on invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous with females depositing eggs in protected areas. The Glossy 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 Glossy Blenny is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from from Magdalena Bay to La Paz, Baja California Sur and from Salina Cruz, Oaxaca southward along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.

The Glossy Blenny is mostly likely confused with the Fishgod Blenny, Malacoctenus ebisui (throat and belly covered with spots) and the Throatspotted Blenny, Malacoctenus tetranemus (many dark spots on throat).

From a conservation perspective the Glossy 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.