Long-snout Clingfish

Diademichthys lineatus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiesociformes
Family: Gobiesocidae
Genus: Diademichthys
Species: Diademichthys lineatus

The long-snout clingfish (Diademichthys lineatus) is a slender, striped clingfish that lives among the spines of sea urchins and has a remarkably long snout. It is reddish-brown with pale lines along its body that help it blend in with urchin spines.

It grows to around 5 cm. Sheltering among the long spines of Diadema urchins or in branching corals, it feeds on tiny crustaceans, urchin tube feet and fish eggs. Females have a much longer snout than males.

The long-snout clingfish is found in the Indo-West Pacific, including the Philippines, where divers can spot it by checking long-spined sea urchins, especially on night dives.