Scientific Name
Elacatinus phthirophagus
Common Name
Noronha cleaner goby
Biology
Dorsal
spines
(total): 7;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 10-11;
Anal
soft rays: 11;
Vertebrae: 18. Elacatinus phthirophagus differs from its congeners of the putative ?randalli-evelynae? cleaning clade (sensu Taylor & Hellberg 2005) by the following combination of characters: mouth subterminal, pale (bright yellow in life) elliptical spot on dark snout, width of lateral pale (bright yellow in life) stripe almost equal as eye diameter (slightly narrower in live individuals), light purplish sheen (in life) extending laterally from below eye to tail origin, no blue line (in life) from below eye to end of opercular margin, teeth
multiserial on the distal portion of both jaws, males with 3 enlarged and recurved teeth on dentary inner row (Ref. 79614).
Body naked, elongate and slightly laterally compressed. Mouth subterminal, U-shaped. Teeth conical and slightly curved on both jaws (Ref. 79614).
Color pattern: bright yellow postocular stripe extending to the middle of caudal-fin;