Size range: 9-11 (max: 14 cm)

Common size: 11

Depth range: 3-15 m (max: 30 m)

Habitat: Specify the title (Hard, Soft or Vegetation) and the type:

• Vegetation - sea grass mainly
• Hard - rocky

Water column position:

• Benthic
• Supra-benthic

More an open-water swimmer than the rest of Symphodus species

Schooling characteristics:

• Solitary

Colors & patterns: Beige to brownish, often with small blue markings on cheeks and fins. small mouth.

• Females - black tale with a thin pale outline (sometimes blue)
• Males - in their terminal phase - tale is no longer black, body covered with blue markings
• Juveniles
• Special patterns (for example, a breeding pattern)

Behavior:

1. Whether the species is:

• Reef-associated but also found swimming in open water

2. Activity:?

• Diurnal
• Nocturnal
• Both
• Crepuscular

3. Approach: ?

• Shy
• Indifferent
• Easily approached
• Bald
• Followers

4. Unique behavior:

Cleaner-fish behavior.

Males keep watch over spawning territory, bur no nesting behavior observed.

Distinct pairs during mating.

5. Feeding characteristic - invertebrates: worms, small amphipods, copepods, bryozoans and hydrozoans

Native/Exotic: Native

EM notes: not commonly observed in our visual surveys.