Springer’s Coral Blenny

This species in the Bicolor Group is distinguished by the following characters: D 28 total dorsal-fin elements (XII,16); cirri on both anterior and posterior rims of anterior naris; multiple vertical pairs of lateral-line pores. Colouration: when alive, gray to brown dorsally on head and anterior one-third to one-half of body grading to orange at about level of junction of spinous and soft-dorsal fin, a black stripe about pupil width from behind eye to below junction of spinous and soft-dorsal fin, overlying a distinct white stripe along mid-side that is usually narrower than pupil diameter and extends farther posteriorly, to level of posterior dorsal-fin segmented rays; absence of a pinkish-to-orange diagonal band behind eye, but if present, very faint (Ref. 120749).

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 17 - 18; Vertebrae: 33 - 34

Occurs only from a small area in the Kokas District on the northern coast of the Fakfak Peninsula of West Papua Province, Indonesia and relatively common in its coral-reef habitat, perching on a variety of substrates including live corals, tunicates, sponges, and algae. The type locality is at a small, roughly circular islet with a diameter of about 850 m, lying approximately 8 km from the mainland and the surrounding waters have characteristics more typical of estuarine habitats, i.e. with lowered salinity, high turbidity, and sedimentation, and frequently elevated sea-surface temperatures up to about 31°C. It has been suggested that this unusual combination of conditions, and the general geographic isolation of the coral reef areas of the Fakfak Peninsula may account for its suite of microendemic species (Allen et al. 2018, Ref. 118654) (Ref. 120749).