Starksia spinipenis: taxon details and analytics

Domain
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Blenniiformes
Family
Labrisomidae
Genus
Starksia
Species
Starksia spinipenis
Scientific Name
Starksia spinipenis

Summary description from Wikipedia:

Starksia spinipenis

Starksia spinipenis, the phallic blenny, is a species of labrisomid blenny native to the Pacific coast of Mexico from the Gulf of California to Acapulco. It prefers shallow sandy areas with weed growth. This species can reach a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in) TL. The specific name is a compound noun if spinis meaning "spine" and penis, a reference to the first spine in the anal fin of the males which is elongated and free of the fin membrane and is modified as a copulatory organ, a characteristic of the genus Starksia.

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Images from inaturalist.org observations:

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Starksia spinipenis
©Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC-BY)