''Clinitrachus argentatus'', the cline, is a species of

clinid Clinidae is a family of marine fish in the order Blenniiformes within the series Ovalentaria, part of the Percomorpha . Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, in both the Southern and Northern Hemis ...

found in shallow waters of the eastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. This species feeds primarily on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

invertebrates. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.

Description

''Clinitrachus argentatus'' has a highly elongated oval-shaped, laterally compressed body. There is a ridge on the head behind the eye which is triangular in shape and is attached to branched tentacles. On the margin of the tube-shaped anterior nostril is another tentacle, and there is a smaller tentacle near the posterior nostril. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

has an indentation where the hard spines give way o the softer rays. The colour of the body varies from light grey to dark brown, occasionally it can be purplish, with lines of small silver grey spots along the flanks underneath the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

with more spots scattered above it. The head is patterned with silver grey, the upper part of the head is lighter and there is a star-like pattern around the eye. The fins are the same colour as the body. This species can reach a maximum length of TL. Un Cline argenté.jpg, Whole individual Un individu mimétique.jpg, Mimicry with its environment

Distribution

''Clinitrachus argentatus'' is almost

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

tithe Mediterranean, occurring throughout that sea to the

Bosphorous The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

and the Sea of Marmara, its range extends through the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...

into the eastern Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of southern Spain, southern Portugal and northern Morocco.

Habitat and biology

''Clinitrachus argentatus'' occurs in shallow water among dense algal growths. It can be found among rocks, in vegetation on harbour walls and dykes. The breeding season is May and June and the males guard egg masses laid by several females. It feeds mainly on small invertebrates, the juveniles mainly on

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s while the adults take a wider range of prey including

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

s, brachyurans and polychaetes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1469147 Clinidae Fish described in 1810 Monotypic fish genera