Redlip Blenny Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Elongated, slightly compressed body in dark brown to blackish, sometimes with faint mottling
• Bright red to orange lips that stand out sharply against the dark head
• Small fleshy cirri (branched tentacles) above each eye
• Single long dorsal fin running most of the body length
• Grows to about 10-13 cm (4-5 in)

Common look-alikes

• Molly Miller blenny: also dark and reef-dwelling but has plain pale lips and much larger, bushier head cirri
• Sailfin blenny: shows a tall, flag-like dorsal fin display, unlike the low, even dorsal fin of the Redlip Blenny
• Spinyhead blenny: much smaller and more slender, without the bold red lip coloration

Where you'll see one

Redlip Blennies perch on shallow rocky and coral reef surfaces throughout the Caribbean and western Atlantic, wedging into crevices or resting motionless on exposed rock and coral rubble in less than 10 meters of water, often visible grazing algae in short darting hops between perches on shallow rock and coral surfaces.