Chaenopsis limbaughi

Species infomation

Distinctive features:

1. Small black dot behind eye.
2. Males with yellow mouth.
3. Males with a white-ringed ocellus bordered by a red blotch on top on front of dorsal fin.
4. Females brown fading to translucent.

Physical description:

Very elongate body. No cirri. Males with tall spiny dorsal fin.

Colouration:

Small black dot behind eye.
Males: with yellow from mouth to opercle edge. Body colour ranges from a pale green-brown to dark brown to an orange. May be patternless or with a black line leading from eye to the caudal fin base with heavy white spotting on upper body. Branchiostegal membranes blue. White-ringed black ocellus on front of dorsal find which is bordered by an orange blotch on the top. Dorsal fin can have multiple ocelli. Dorsal fin colour matches body colour and patterns.
Females: light brown fading to translucent. White throat and belly. Faint brown line from eye to caudal fin base. White stripes from upper body ending just above line. White spots below line. Dorsal fin transparent with no ocellus.

Size:

Reaches 8.2 cm.

Habitat:

Found in worm tubes and on sandy bottoms, sometimes with rubble, near reefs.