Slimy Snailfish

Liparis mucosus

Slimy Snailfish

Liparis mucosus

Sandy Coast

At the Aquarium

Sandy Coast

Appearance

Slimy snailfish have tadpole-shaped bodies, a small tail, and 2 fins on their back. The first is short, low, and rounded, while the second is longer. They have a huge suction disk on their underside and no scales. They come in variable colors but are mostly red, brown, pink, greenish-brown, or a yellow-green color. They might also have patterning on them. They have tiny eyes and teeth.

Habitat

Nearshore from the intertidal to depths of 50 feet, often around boulders or kelp.

Diet

Small crustaceans, worms, mollusks, and other invertebrates.

Life History

Slimefish have sticky eggs that they deposit onto a substrate. Larvae hatch at 0.9 inches and are planktonic upon hatching. Slimy snailfish can reach a length of ~ 0.5 inches.

IUCN Status

Not Evaluated

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Their predators include giant kelpfish and kelp rockfish

SE Alaska to Baja California, Mexico

Slimy snailfish can be found in tidepools.

These fish eat by sucking water and then filtering out the food bits.

Citations & Other Resources

Fishbase website
Love, Milton S. Certainly more than you want to know about the fishes of the Pacific Coast: a postmodern experience. Really Big Press: Santa Barbara. 2011. 649 pp. ISBN 978-0-9628725-6-3.
Overdick, Ashlee A., Morgan S. Busby, and Deborah M. Blood. inchesDescriptions of eggs of snailfishes (family Liparidae) from the Bering Sea and eastern North Pacific Ocean.inches Ichthyological Research 61 (2014): 131-141.
Victoria High Marine Web

Slimy Snailfish

Slimy Snailfish

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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