Harman Patil (Editor)

Shore clingfish

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Kingdom
  
Family
  
Scientific name
  
Higher classification
  
Lepadogaster

Order
  
Gobiesociformes

Genus
  
Lepadogaster

Phylum
  
Chordata

Rank
  
Species


Similar
  
Lepadogaster, Lepadogaster candolii, Gobiesocidae, Bucchich's goby, Pointed‑snout wrasse

Cornish sucker fish shore clingfish


The shore clingfish, Lepadogaster lepadogaster, is a clingfish of the family Gobiesocidae, found in the eastern Atlantic from Ireland and Britain, where it is more commonly known as the Cornish lumpsucker, and in the Mediterranean, between latitudes 46° N and 30° N. L. lepadogaster often inhabits underwater boulder fields consisting of smooth rocks and large pebbles. Its length is up to 65 mm. L. lepadogaster is also classified as a cryptobenthic fish. Cryptobenthic simply means that the fish is both behaviorally and visually cryptic. The term is also used mainly to describe adult fish of a certain size, roughly around 5cm in length.

Shore clingfish MarLIN The Marine Life Information Network Shore clingfish

The clingfish gets its name from the ability of the fish to attach itself to the rock walls of the ocean shore. It does this by having pelvic fins that have been adapted to form suckers. These suckers keep the clingfish strongly attached to the rocky surfaces off the shorelines. In addition to these suckers, the front fins of the clingfish are much stronger to aid in clinging to the rocks. The clingfish has other adaptations that allow it to inhabit rocky surfaces and reduce predation. For instance, the clingfish has a triangular shaped head and a flattened body. These characteristics allow the clingfish to reduce the drag of the water from the waves pushing and pulling against it. L. lepadogaster also has distinct differences from the other species of Lepadogaster. For one, L. lepadogaster has a much more active lifestyle than the species "L. purpurea. This is evident in both L. lepadogaster's swimming speed and in its more frequent feeding periods

The cornish lumpsucker survives by consisting on a diet of mostly detritus material, meaning that it lives off the dead organic matter of its environment.

Shore clingfish Carol39s Cornwall Rockpool Fish

Shore clingfish httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu


References

Shore clingfish Wikipedia