Blennies and other fish at the dock

[Merry]

Over the last few dock dives, I've been keeping my eye on a couple pair of bay blennies, Hypsoblennius gentilis. This truly exciting little fish exhibits sexual dimorphism and can even change color to match its surroundings.

One male and female (~4.5 - 5 inches) like to hang out on a vertical dock piling. Shy and flitty little things, it's been a challenge trying to get a decent shot of the female, which appears to be gravid.

Female bay blenny

Male bay blenny - From Milton Love: "The males have a higher profile and a very much longer supraorbital cirrus, that of the female is reduced to a mere stud. Females have a more of less conspicuous metallic black spot on the second dorsal spine, followed by a red streak."


I've found a couple of different males:

Male bay blenny

Male bay blenny

Male bay blenny

This wise-guy thought he'd get a better look turned this way.

Here's a small blenny that we see on the reefs as well, the mussel blenny, Hypsoblennius jenkinsi. Milton Love kindly confirmed the ID.

Mussel blenny

Mussel blenny

Mussel blenny

I've only seen bay gobies, Lepidogobius lepidus, darting across the sand at night.

Bay gobies

Spotted sand bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus

Round stingrays, Urobatis halleri,, appear at the marina in summer.

 

[Agamemnon]

Cute faces!