Fish Identification Photos: Zebra Clingfish, Tomicodon zebra: The Zebra Clingfish has a slender elongated body and head, with a disproportionately large sucker. It is olive to red in coloration and the back is marked with five red-brown cross bars. The Zebra Clingfish has a large black spot above the pectoral base.

The anal and pectoral fins are dusky. The pelvic fins are pale. The caudal fin of the Zebra Clingfish has a large black spot at the base and is white with the exception of a significant stripe through the middle.

A key to identification of the Zebra Clingfish is that the anus is closer to the sucker than to the anal fin origin. The Zebra Clingfish reaches a maximum length of just over 2 inches and is found in rocky areas in the first 30 feet of the water column. It can be easily confused with the Cortez Clingfish, Tomicodon boehlkei (four to five large bars across the back; anus closer to the anal fin origin than to the sucker) and the Sonora Clingfish, Tomicodon humeralis (series of small white bars on the back; anus closer to the anal fin origin than to the sucker). In Mexico, the Zebra Clingfish is found between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz on the eastern side of Baja California peninsula and from Guaymas to Guatemala along the coast of the mainland.

The Zebra Clingfish is a member of the Gobiesocidae Family which includes the Clingfish and Singleslits. In general, they have a small sucking disc in front of the belly, a modification of the pelvic fins. They have a single dorsal fin without spines that is located near the tail. Their bodies are generally elongated with flattened heads and without scales. The disc is used to cling to invertebrates, rocks, and weeds. There are 120 species from 36 genera known globally, of which 31 species from 4 genera are found in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

Zebra Clingfish, Tomicodon zebra: Collected from a tidal pool in November 2004, 30 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez. Description and photos courtesy John Snow.