Lepadogaster candolii

Lepadogaster candolii, common name Connemarra clingfish, is a species of fish in the genus Lepadogaster. It occurs in the Eastern Atlantic from the British Isles (off the coast of Western Scotland and South-West England and Ireland^[3]) south to Madeira and the Canary Islands and into the western Mediterranean and the Black Sea.^[2][4] The specific name candolii honours the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778–1841)^[5] and has various spellings: candolii, candolei, candollei, and decandollii, but only the first one is correct.^[2][4] Some workers have found that L. candolii is not closely related to the other two species in the genus Lepadogaster and have proposed the placing of this species in the revived monotypic genus Mirbelia Canestrini, 1864, at least until more definitive taxonomic studies can be undertaken.^[6]

Lepadogaster candolii
Connemarra clingfish (Lepadogaster candolii)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiesociformes
Family:	Gobiesocidae
Genus:	Lepadogaster
Species:	L. candolii
Binomial name
Lepadogaster candolii Risso, 1810
Synonyms[2]
Mirbelia candollei (Risso, 1810) Lepadogaster olivaceus Risso, 1810 Lepadogaster jussieui Risso, 1827 Lepadogaster cephalus Thompson, 1839 Lepadogaster ottaviani Cocco, 1840 Lepadogaster rafinesqui Costa, 1840 Lepadogaster adherens Bonaparte, 1846 Lepadogaster ruber Plucàr, 1846 Lepidogaster chupasangue Yarrell, 1859 Lepadogaster chupasangue Yarrell, 1859

L. candolii is considered a euryecious species, meaning that it has a broad variety of living conditions and habitats that it prefers. L. candolii most often inhabit small cavities in the underwater rock face, boulder fields, and seagrass meadows.^[7] L. candolii can reach up to 7.5 cm in length^[2] and shares many similarities with L. lepadogaster. Like the Lepadogaster other species, L. candolii has a flattened body and bilateral symmetry. Unlike L. lepadogaster that has a triangular shaped head, L. candolii has a more rounded head and rounded fins.^{[citation needed]} L. candolii has been photographed cleaning dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), even entering the grouper's mouth.^[8]

References

1. Francour, P.; Bilecenoglu, M. & Tunesi, L. (2011). "Lepadogaster candolii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T198773A9103946. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T198773A9103946.en.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Lepadogaster candolii". FishBase. November 2014 version.
3. Morvan Barnes (2009). "Lepadogaster candollei. Connemara clingfish". The Marine Life Information Network. MarLIN. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
4. Eschmeyer, W. N. and R. Fricke (eds) (1 October 2015). "Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (7 February 2019). "Order GOBIESOCIFORMES (Clingfishes)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
6. F. Almada; M. Henriques; A. Levy; et al. (2008). "Reclassification of Lepadogaster candolii based om molecular and meristic evidence with a redefinition of the genus Lepadogaster" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 46 (3): 1151–1156. Bibcode:2008MolPE..46.1151A. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.021. hdl:10400.12/1471. PMID 18280755.
7. Hofrichter, R.; Patzner, R. A. (2000). "Habitat and microhabitat of Mediterranean clingfishes (Teleostei: Gobiesociformes: Gobiesocidae)". Marine Ecology. 21 (1): 41–53. Bibcode:2000MarEc..21...41H. doi:10.1046/j.1439-0485.2000.00689.x.
8. Boris Weitzmann & Lluís Mercader (2012). "First report of cleaning activity of Lepadogaster candolii (Gobiesocidae) in the Mediterranean Sea". Cybium. 36 (3): 487–488.

External links

• Photos of Lepadogaster candolii on Sealife Collection