Teleostei (teleosts) >
Gobiesociformes (Clingfishes) >
Gobiesocidae (Clingfishes and singleslits) > Lepadogastrinae
Etymology: Diplecogaster: Greek, di = two + Greek, pleko = plait, pigtail (Ref. 45335); tonstricula: Name from Latin 'tonstricula' meaning little female barber; referring to the cleaning behaviour of the new species.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 10 - 38 m (Ref. 106378). Tropical
Distribution
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
Eastern Atlantic Ocean, Senegal and the Canary Is.; probably more widespread.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 2.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 106378)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal soft rays: 24 - 25. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D 9; A 8; pectoral-fin rays 24-25; principal caudal-fin rays 14-15; rakers on third gill arch 13-16; the pelvic disc is without lateral papillae in region A while disc region B has 2 rows of weak papillae; interorbital distance 4.1-4.6 in head length; distance between disc and anus 14-17% of SL; 10-13 narrow vertical brownish bars on head and body; cheek with a white ocellus surrounded by black and a small black spot in the middle (Ref. 106378).
This species has been collected and observed at 10-38 m depth, mainly on hard substrate. It acts as a facultative cleaner of larger fishes (e.g. Gymnothorax afer; in the Canary Islands, cleaning a muraenid and a serranid) (Ref. 106378).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Fricke, R., P. Wirtz and A. Brito, 2016. Diplecogaster tonstricula, a new species of cleaning clingfish (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae) rom the Canary Islands and Senegal, eastern Atlantic Ocean, with a review of the Diplecogaster-ctenocrypta species-group. J. Nat. Hist. 50(11-12) (Ref. 106378)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00513 (0.00205 - 0.01282), b=3.10 (2.88 - 3.32), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
