PORT PHILLIP BAY


Broad Clingfish 

Creocele cardinalis (Ramsay, 1883)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Meristics.
Dorsal fin spines/rays: 9-10
Anal fin spines/rays: 6-8
Caudal fin rays: 10-12
Pectoral fin rays: 23-25
Ventral fin spines/rays: I, 4
Lateral line: -
Vertebrae: 33-34

Interpreting fin count meristics.
Spines are in Roman numerals and soft rays are in Arabic numerals. Spines and rays that are continuous in one fin are separated by a comma. Fin sections are separated by semicolons.

Detailed descriptions of fin count and other meristics are in:
Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds) (2008) Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Order level detail.
A large and highly diverse group of modern bony fishes many of which have a generalized perch like body form. Most have pelvic fins with one spine and 5 rays and the maxillary bone is excluded from the gape of the mouth. Interrelationships of the group are poorly understood and continue to be studied. They inhabit almost all aquatic habitats from high-altitude strams to the deep sea, although most are marine.

Family level detail.
Except for the shore eels of the genus Alabes, most gobiesocids have pelvic fins modified into an obvious sucking disc on the underside of the body. Clingfishes usually have large flattened heads and tapering compressed bodies, with small dorsal and anal fins positioned far back near the tail. They have fin spines and lack scales. Shore eels are elongate, moderately-compressed and eel-like, with long-based dorsal and anal fins united with the tail, and a gill slit on the underside. Their pelvic fins are either minute or absent, and they lack fin spines, pectoral fins and scales.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Craniata
Superclass:
Gnathostomata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Gobiesocidae
Genus:
Creocele
Species:
cardinalis

General Description

Body robust, tapering to a short compressed tail base, with short-based dorsal and anal fins; head very broad, flattened, with a very short wide snout; pelvic fins united to form a large sucking disc on the underside, edged posteriorly with a fleshy fringe; mouth small, with a strong spine embedded in skin on either side of head. Usually a mottled brown greenish, with pale greenish spots on the back and darker spots forming bands on the back in juveniles. To 8 cm.

Biology

Common, but rarely seen on intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs, weedy areas and under jetties.

Habitat

Intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs, to depths of about 12 m.

Reefs

Coastal shores

Distribution guide

South-eastern Australia.

Species Group

Fishes › Clingfishes and shore-eels

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

8 cm

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Identify

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Bray, D.J.

Di Bray is a Senior Collection Manager of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Gomon, M.F.

Dr. Martin Gomon is a Senior Curator of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F., 2011, Broad Clingfish, Creocele cardinalis, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 21 Sep 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/6378

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