Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps Smith, 1943
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
The weedsucker (Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps) is a species of clingfish found along the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, from Lüderitz to the mouth of the Kei River. This species grows to a maximum length of 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) Total Length. This species is the only known member of its genus and was described by James L.B. Smith in 1943 with the type locality being described as 10 miles (16 km) west of East London, east of Igoda, South Africa. The weedsucker is common in the waters off southern Africa and its most obvious trait is that, like clingfishes it secures itself to the substrate by means of a disc like sucker made from modified pelvic fins. Its diet consist wholly of small benthic crustaceans. The eggs are fertilised internally, the female laying from 120 to 150 eggs on the fronds of kelp. They are thought to spawn throughout the year. They are thought to be preyed on by diving birds such as Cape cormorants and by fish such as Poroderma africanum.
Wikipedia contributors, Weedsucker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:34:12.018497+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps Smith, 1943
- Name authority
- Smith, 1943
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gobiesociformes
- Family
- Gobiesocidae
- Genus
- Eckloniaichthys
- 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
- genusEckloniaichthys Smith, 1943
- speciesEckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps Smith, 1943
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Smith, J. L. B. (1943). Interesting new fishes of three genera new to South Africa, with a note on Mobula diabolus (Shaw). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, v. 30 (pt 1): 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00359194309519831 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:38N66. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.