yellow cheek blenny

I just returned from a short trip to l'Escala at the Spanish Costa Brave with Kenna Eco Diving. The dive master pointed out this odd blenny in about 0.5m of water. It's my first time in the Caribbean and can't find it in books or online so hope someone here has seen this before.

Bart

I just returned from a short trip to l'Escala at the Spanish Costa Brave with Kenna Eco Diving. The dive master pointed out this odd blenny in about 0.5m of water. It's my first time in the Caribbean and can't find it in books or online so hope someone here has seen this before.

I'm confused because you mention that it is your first time in the Caribbean but you were diving in Spain... Did you mean the Mediterranean?

Love the blenny!

Hi Bart,

This is Lipophrys canevae, they change color a lot and so are sometimes hard to id : )

These are photos of the same species with different colors :

Best,

Thanks a lot, the first shot is particularly recognizable, the other ones really indicate how variable this species is. Using the Lipophrys canevae name I found a site stating that the bold yellow cheeks only occur on dominant breeding males. My one must have had testosteron supplements

Bart

PS: yes I did mean this is my first time in the Mediterranean. The Caribbean is my regular turf.

Here a picture that shows the hole beauty of Lipophrys canevae. The picture was taken at Trieste/Italy where this fish and its close relative Liprophrys adriaticus, shown on the second picture, is quite common in shallow waters.

Wow, what a stunningly beautiful fish! Great shots of a nice specimen.