''Starksia splendens'', the splendid shy blenny, is a species of

labrisomid Labrisomids are small blennioids (blennies), percomorph marine fish belonging to the family Labrisomidae. Found mostly in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, the family contains about 110 species in 15 genera. Stockier than the average bl ...

blenny Blenny (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) is a common name for many types of fish, including several families of percomorph marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish sharing similar morphology and behaviour. Six families are considered "tru ...

which was described in 2018 from the Cayman Islands. It is one of the blackcheek shy blennies, in the ''

Starksia lepicoelia ''Starksia lepicoelia'', known commonly as the blackcheek blenny, is a species of labrisomid blenny native to the Caribbean Sea and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. It inhabits coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by r ...

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. This species complex is made up of a number of

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

in the Caribbean which are best separated using

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondrion, mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mit ...

and the extensive use of underwater photographs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65067106 Fish described in 2018 Taxa named by Benjamin C. Victor splendens