''Lepadogaster purpurea'', the Cornish sucker, is a species of

clingfish Clingfishes are fishes of the family Gobiesocidae, the only family in the order Gobiesociformes. These fairly small to very small fishes are widespread in tropical and temperate regions, mostly near the coast, but a few species in deeper seas or ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Gobiesocidae Clingfishes are fishes of the family Gobiesocidae, the only family in the order Gobiesociformes. These fairly small to very small fishes are widespread in tropical and temperate regions, mostly near the coast, but a few species in deeper seas or ...

. It is found in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Description

''Lepadogaster purpurea'' has a rather tadpole-like shape with a small body and a large flattened head with large mouth shaped like the bill of a duck-and a tentacle is positioned to the rear of each nostril. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are fused and, together with their surrounding tissue. they form a suction disc or sucker. They are variable in colour, having the ability to alter their colouration to blending with the substrate they are clinging to, but normally they show a pale background with a patterning of bars and spots which can vary between dark purple to reddish brown and green. On the nape there are two bright blue ocelli, or eyespots, which are thought to be defensive and to confuse predators. They grow to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

Distribution

''Lepadogaster purpurea'' occurs in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean from the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

south to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

in Senegal. It is also found in the Mediterranean Sea as far west as Cape Roux.

Habitat and biology

''Lepadogaster purpurea'' just below and just above the low water market as deep as where it hides under boulders on rocky shorelines. It spends long periods in shelters, normally with a favoured shelter in this habitat. When it detects potential prey near its shelter, ''L. purpurea'' waits for it to move closer and then it swims out to take the prey returning to the shelter straight away to eat the prey.

Taxonomy

''Lepadogaster purpurea'' is one of three species of '' Lepadogaster''. ''L. purpurea'' was once synonymous with ''Lepadogaster zebrina'', but has since been classified as its own species as ''L. zebrina'' has been discovered to be more synonymous with ''L. lepadogaster''. This species of ''Lepadogaster'' is found normally off the western coast of Portugal. ''L. purpurea'' differs from other ''Lepadogaster'' species in that it behaves in a much more passive manner. For example, studies have shown that ''L. purpurea'' was less active in its habitat and spent more time inside its shelter rather than interacting with other fish and swimming around. ''L. purpurea'' also has different swim patterns in comparison to the other ''Lepadogaster'' species. ''L. purpurea'' generally swims at a much slower pace and doesn't make quick movements like the

shore clingfish The shore clingfish (''Lepadogaster lepadogaster'') is a clingfish of the family Gobiesocidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic Ocean north to Galicia, Spain. Description Distribution Occurs in the eastern Atlantic fro ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2307309 purpurea Fish described in 1788