Scientific Name
Acanthemblemaria hastingsi
Common Name
Cortez barnacle blenny
Biology
Dorsal
spines
(total): 23 - 25;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 12-14;
Anal
spines: 2;
Vertebrae: 42 - 44. This species is distinguished from its congeners in the Pacific, excluding its closest relatives, A. macrospilus and A. mangognatha, by having a single row of large brown blotches along its lateral midline and head spines that are pointed (vs. club-like or ridge-like). It differs from the 2 latter species by having a dark swath of melanophores on the dorsal fin in both males and females that highlights the bright orange coloration on that fin; presence of scattered melanophores reaching the tip of the lower jaw; and expression of orange as the primary bright head color. This species is further distinguishable from A. macrospilus by the 71 fixed mutations in COI and 20 fixed mutations in the D-loop region of its mitochondrial genome (Ref, 84469).