Oneline Clingfish, Discotrema monogrammum Craig & Randall 2008


A Oneline Clingfish, Discotrema monogrammum, on Great Detached Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2003. Source: Nigel Marsh / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A tiny brownish, red, black or yellow clingfish with a broad white to yellowish stripe from the snout to the middle of the caudal fin. The Onestripe Clingfish is commensal on feather stars (crinoids).


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Discotrema monogrammum in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4820

Oneline Clingfish, Discotrema monogrammum Craig & Randall 2008

More Info


Distribution

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. As this species has previously been mis-identified as Discotrema crinophila, it may be more widespread in Australian waters. Elsewhere the species occurs in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Timor-Leste. The species is commensal on crinoids, especially, Comanthus bennetti.

Features

Dorsal-fin rays 8-9; Anal-fin rays 6-7; Pectoral-fin rays 23-25; Caudal-fin rays 12-15; Gill rakers 5-7 (slender); Vertebrae 33-34.

Body slender, head broad, somewhat depressed, interorbital narrow; snout short, mouth small, upper jaw not reaching front of eye; teeth incisiform with rounded tips, in a single row in jaws; anus closer to anal-fin origin than to posterior margin of sucking disc.

Disc large, slightly longer than wide, with a deep pit just behind middle of disc.

Dorsal and anal fins far back on body, dorsal-fin origin slightly in advance of anal-fin origin. Caudal fin rounded.

Colour

Colour variable to resemble the host crinoid - yellowish to brownish, red, dark brown or black, with a pale yellow to whitish stripe.

Similar Species

Differs from Dicotrema crinophilum in having a single continuous pale yellow to white stripe on side of head and body (vs a mid-dorsal white to pale yellow stripe in addition to the lateral body stripe in D. crinophilum), 23-25 pectoral-fin rays (vs 25-28 rays) and 33-34 vertebrae (vs 35 vertebrae).

Etymology

The specific name monogrammum is from the Greek mono (= one) and gramme (= line), in reference to diagnostic single pale yellowish to white stripe along the side.

Species Citation

Discotrema monogrammum, Craig & Randall 2008, Copeia 2008(1): 70, Fig. 1. Type locality: Kimbe Bay, patch reef, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, depth 4 m (from a crinoid).

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Oneline Clingfish, Discotrema monogrammum Craig & Randall 2008

References


Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. (as Discotrema echinocephala)

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. (as Discotrema crinophila)

Carpenter, K.E. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 2016. Discotrema monogrammum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67905414A79800486. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T67905414A79800486.en. Downloaded on 08 August 2018.

Craig, M.T. & Randall, J.E. 2008. Two new species of the Indo-Pacific clingfish genus Discotrema (Gobiesocidae). Copeia 2008(1): 68-74. https://doi.org/10.1643/CI-07-025

Kuiter, R.H. & Debelius, H. 1994. Southeast Asia tropical fish guide. IKAN-Unterwasserarchiv, Frankfurt, Germany. 321 pp. (as Discotrema echinocephala)

Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. 2nd Ed. Crawford House Publishing Pty Ltd. Bathurst, NSW, Australia. 557 pp. (as Discotrema sp.)

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37206038

Behaviour:Commensal with crinoids

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:4-20 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:2.6 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map