Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis

Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis, Juvenile. Fish caught with a bait net out of a tidal pool in coastal waters off La Jolla, California, January 2019. Size: 2.5 cm 1.0 inch). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis. Fish caught with a bait net out of a tidal pool in coastal waters off La Jolla, California, January 2019. Size: 5.7 cm (2.2 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis. Fish caught from within Mission Bay  San Diego, California, December 2022. Length: 6.2 cm (2.4 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of  Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis. Fish caught from Mission Bay, San Diego, California, January 2021. Size: 6.8 cm (2.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis. Fish caught from Mission Bay, San Diego, California, January 2021. Size: 8.5 cm (3.3 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

The Reef Finspot, Paraclinus integripinnis, is a member of the Labrisomid Blenny or Labrisomidae Family, and is known in Mexico as trambollito de arrecife in Mexico. Globally, there are twenty-three species in the genus Paraclinus, of which thirteen are found in Mexican waters, five in the Atlantic Ocean and eight in the Pacific Ocean.

The Reef Finspot has an elongated body with a uniform depth throughout that tapers gradually at the rear into the tail. Their body length is greater than 10 times longer than their body depth. They are heavily mottled in a deep reddish brown with six or seven diffuse bars on their sides that extend into the dorsal fin. They have a prominent oblique dark bar below their eyes and a large prominent black ocellated spot on the rear of their dorsal fin. Their anal and dorsal fins have thick dark bars and their caudal fin is transparent with small spots. The caudal and pectoral fins are transparent with small subtle spotting; the base of the pectoral fins is light colored. Their head has a bluntly pointed snout, large eyes and lips, and a branched cirrus on the nostril, over each eye and on nape. Their mouth is large and opens at the front. The anal fin has 2 spines and 19 to 21 rays; their dorsal fin has 30 to 33 dorsal spines, the first 3 of which are elevated and followed by a deep notch, and no dorsal fin rays; their pectoral fins have 12 to 14 rays; and their pelvic fins are long and in front of the pectoral fins and have 1 spine and 3 rays. They are covered with small smooth scales.

The Reef Finspot is a shallow water coastal species that are found within rocky shores and tidal pools at depths up to 15 m (50 feet). They reach a maximum of 7.8 cm (3.1 inches) in length. They feed mostly on benthic crustaceans including amphipods and isopods. Reproduction is oviparous with females depositing eggs in protected areas. The Reef Finspot 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 Finspot is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found only along the entire west coast of Baja.

The Reef Finspot is not easily confused with any other Blenny due to the strong ocelli spot on the dorsal fin for which it is named. They are somewhat similar to the male Mexican Blenny, Paraclinus mexicanus (body length <10x body depth; found only in southern Mexican waters).

From a conservation perspective the Reef Finspot is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature, seldom seen by humans and of limited interest to most. They are however utilized by the aquarium trade on a limited basis.