Acanthemblemaria balanorum explained

Acanthemblemaria balanorum, the clubhead blenny or clubhead barnacle blenny, is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs from the Gulf of California along the coast of Mexico south to Colombia and Ecuador.^[1]

This fish lives in rocky reef habitat in tropical marine waters no deeper than 5 m. It inhabits empty barnacle shells, in particular those of Megabalanus tintinnabulum.^[2] The female lays eggs inside the shell and the male guards them. This fish feeds primarily on zooplankton.^[3]

Further reading

• Brock, V. E. 1940 (23 Dec.) [ref. 13593] Three new blennioid fishes from the west coast of Mexico. Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin v. 2 (no. 1): 29–35.

Notes and References

1. Béarez, P., Bujard, J. T., & Campoverde, R. (2007). Description of four small reef fishes from Ecuador: Oxycirrhites typus (Cirrhitidae), Acanthemblemaria balanorum (Chaenopsidae), Arcos decoris (Gobiesocidae) and Lythrypnus dalli (Gobiidae). Cybium 31(4), 477-79.
2. Lindquist, D. G. (1985). Depth zonation, micro habitat, and morphology of three species of Acanthemblemaria (Pisces: Blennioidea) in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Ecology 6(4), 329-44.
3. Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Editors. Acanthemblemaria balanorum. 2015. FishBase.