Eastern Atlantic cleaner clingfish
Diplecogaster tonstricula Fricke, Wirtz & Brito, 2015
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Diplecogaster tonstricula, commonly known as the Eastern Atlantic cleaner clingfish, is a species of clingfish from the family Gobiesocidae, which is found in the tropical eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It has been observed cleaning larger species of fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Diplecogaster tonstricula; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:13:49.215765+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diplecogaster tonstricula Fricke, Wirtz & Brito, 2015
- Name authority
- Fricke, Wirtz & Brito, 2015
- Common name
- Eastern Atlantic cleaner clingfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gobiesociformes
- Family
- Gobiesocidae
- Genus
- Diplecogaster
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderGobiesociformes
- familyGobiesocidae Bleeker, 1859
- subfamilyGobiesocinae Bleeker, 1859
- genusDiplecogaster Fraser-Brunner, 1938
- speciesDiplecogaster tonstricula Fricke, Wirtz & Brito, 2015
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diplecogaster. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| two-spotted clingfishDiplecogaster bimaculata (Bonnaterre, 1788) | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diplecogaster ctenocrypta Briggs, 1955 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diplecogaster euxinica Murgoci, 1964 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diplecogaster pectoralis Briggs, 1955 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diplecogaster umutturali Bilecenoğlu, Yokeş & Kovačić, 2017 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pink-eye clingfishDiplecogaster roseioculus Fricke & Wirtz, 2023 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Diplecogaster megalops Briggs, 1955 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Fricke, R., Wirtz, P., & Brito, A. (2015). Diplecogaster tonstricula , a new species of cleaning clingfish (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae) from the Canary Islands and Senegal, eastern Atlantic Ocean, with a review of the Diplecogaster-ctenocrypta species-group. Journal of Natural History, 50. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2015.1079659 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:36J98. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.