Blenny Fish - Haptoclinus dropi

A side-view of a blenny fish with a back background.
(Carole Baldwin and Ross Robertson)

This little blenny fish is mature at only 21.5 mm (less than one inch!) in length. It represents the second known species of the genus Haptoclinus. Because it is the first of many new species discovered through submersible diving as part of the Smithsonian’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP), the authors gave it the species name “dropi.”