Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia
Shore Clingfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster
Strong waves are no problem to this little fish—it can cling to rocks with a powerful sucker formed from its pelvic fins. It also has a low-profile body and a flattened, triangular head with a long snout that resembles a duck’s bill. This shape allows the fish to slip easily between the rocks and, because it is only a few centimetres long, it may be difficult to spot, but it can be found by turning over rocks and seaweeds and searching in rock pools. The color of the shore clingfish is variable, but it always has two blue spots outlined in brown, red, or black behind its head, and it has a small tentacle in front of each eye. In the spring or summer, females lay clusters of golden yellow eggs on the undersides of rocks on the shore. The eggs are guarded by the parent fish until they hatch.
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- Order Gobiesociformes
- Length 3 in (7 cm)
- Weight Not recorded
- Depth 0–6 ft (0–2 m)
- Distribution Temperate waters of northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Black Sea
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