Diplecogaster tonstricula
species of fish
Diplecogaster tonstricula, commonly known as the Eastern Atlantic cleaner clingfish, is a species of clingfish from the family Gobiesocidae, which is found in the tropical eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It has been observed cleaning larger species of fish.
Description
Diplecogaster tonstricula, in life, displays a normal ground colour of bright orange on the head and body, adorned with thin yellowish or whitish bars that originate between the eyes. The colouration of the head, extending to the front of the eyes, appears as pale olive with whitish streaks. The eye itself is pale green with brown barring towards the rear, accompanied by a yellow ring encircling the iris. Notably, there is a white spot with black margins resembling an eye located on the cheek. The fins are orange.
In terms of its shape, this species exhibits the characteristic triangular head, elongated body, and small dorsal and anal fins positioned toward the rear, as often seen in clingfishes. It was classified within the genus Diplecogaster due to the features defined by John Carmon Briggs in 1955 for this genus. These characteristics include having 31/2 gill slits, a double disked sucker, specific counts of spines and rays in its dorsal and anal fins, the absence of an opercular spine, and its dentition lacking incisors or canine teeth.
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This entry incorporates text from “Diplecogaster tonstricula” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.