Exerpes

Exerpes asper, the Sargassum blenny, is a species of labrisomid blenny native to the Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Baja California. According to Fishbase it is currently the only known member of its genus,^[3] however, the Catalog of Fishes classifies it within the genus Paraclinus.^[2]

Exerpes
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Blenniiformes
Family:	Labrisomidae
Genus:	Exerpes D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1896
Species:	E. asper
Binomial name
Exerpes asper (O. P. Jenkins & Evermann, 1889)
Synonyms[2]
Auchenopterus asper O. P. Jenkins & Evermann, 1889 Paraclinus asper (O.P. Jenkins & Evermann 1889)

Description

The Sargassum blenny has two quite distinct dorsal fins. The face is elongated and the mouth resembles that of a pike. There are no cirri. The general colour is brown with patches of silver on the flanks and there are 2 blue eyespots on the posterior dorsal fin. This fish grows to a length of 6.5 centimetres (2.6 in) TL. ^[4]

Biology

The Sargassum blenny lives among sargassum seaweed or in seagrass meadows where it is well camouflaged. It is found among the fronds of floating Sargassum mats. When threatened it tends to curl its head round near its tail and remain motionless, relying on its cryptic appearance to escape detection.^[4]