''Gibbonsia elegans'', the spotted kelpfish, 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 ...
native to
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
waters of the Pacific Ocean from central
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, U.S. to southern
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Mexico. It prefers
subtidal
The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth.
From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...
rocky habitats with
seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
down to a depth of about . This species can reach a maximum length of
TL. This species feeds 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 ...
crustaceans
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
(
amphipods
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 descri ...
,
isopods
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 ...
,
crabs
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
),
gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. Ther ...
, and
polychaete worms
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are m ...
. The genus ''Gibbonsia'' is named after Dr. William P. Gibbsons who was a naturalist in the California Academy of Science. It is found in three different colors depending on their habitat. Males and females do not show sexual dimorphism.
Description
''Gibbonsia elegans'' is a brightly colored fish with a slender body. The maximum length it reaches is 120 mm. ''Gibbonsia elegans'' is found in various color morphs; mainly red, brown or green. Male and females are not distinct in their color morphology i.e. they are not sexually dimorphic. Instead, they exhibit sexual differences in body size and the color of their bellies. They show dichromatism in their belly color; Females have yellow or tan bellies and males and immature females have white bellies. Secondly, females grow to be longer in length than males.
Habitat and distribution
The spotted kelpfish is found in shallow waters like those off the coast of Southern California. They are commonly found in the shallow subtidal habitats that are plant covered and in rocky intertidal areas along the coast of Southern California. They are often found living with red or brown algae or green surfgrass. Kelpfish are found in various color morphs that match their plant habitat. In that effort, they are found in red, green or brown forms. They are capable of changing their color over a period of time (within several weeks). They color changes were determined solely by the color of their habitat and not on their diet. Color changes are also dependent on season. During the winter, more red ''Gibbonsia elegans'' were found when red algae were dominant. In the spring and summer, green and brown morphs are prevalent. Male and female ''Gibbonsia elegans'' are commonly found in different vertical distributions. Females are more frequently found in shallow habitats whereas males are found more commonly as the depth increases.
Diet
They primarily feed on epiphytic crustaceans. These crustaceans are found on the same plants that ''Gibbonsia elegans'' live on, including brown and red algae. The epiphytic crustaceans also match the color of their plant habitat. Their diet consists of large crustaceans like the hump-backed shrimp, ''Spirontocaris paludicola'' and ''S. picta''. ''Spirontocaris picta'' was found to be the significant portion of ''Gibbonsia elegans stomach content in one study. Polychaete worms and microgastropods were also found in abundance in their stomach contents.
[Regulation and Significance of Color Patterns of the Spotted Kelpfish, ''Gibbonsia elegans'' Cooper, 1864]
Related species
The giant kelpfish, ''Heterostichus rostratus'', is another species of the family Clinidae that closely resembles ''Gibbonsia elegans''. It is found in Southern California areas similar to ''Gibbonsia elegans''. The two species also occurs in similar color morphs; brown, green, red. However, ''Heterostichus'' grows up to 61 cm in length, about four times longer than ''Gibbonsia elegans''.
References
*Stepien, Carol A., Marlen Glattke, and Keith M. Fink. "Regulation and Significance of Color Patterns of the Spotted Kelpfish, ''Gibbonsia elegans'' Cooper, 1864 (Blennioidei: Clinidae)." Copeia 1988, no. 1 (1988): 7. doi:10.2307/1445916.
*Mitchell, Donald F. "An Analysis of Stomach Contents of California Tide Pool Fishes." American Midland Naturalist 49, no. 3 (1953): 862. doi:10.2307/2485213.
*Williams, George C. "Differential Vertical Distribution of the Sexes in ''Gibbonsia elegans'' with Remarks on Two Nominal Subspecies of This Fish." Copeia 1954, no. 4 (1954): 267. doi:10.2307/1440040.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2144171
elegans
Fish described in 1864
Taxa named by James Graham Cooper