Gobiesox cephalus Lacepède, 1800
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
Gobiesox cephalus, the riverine clingfish or smooth clingfish, is a species of clingfish from the family Gobiesocidae. It is found in the coastal river drainages of the Caribbean from Cuba south to Colombia and Venezuela. It occurs in freshwater, and sometimes in brackish water, preferring a fast current. It is a solitary species which feeds on fishscales, insects and small fish. It is the type species if the genus Gobiesox and was described by Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1800 with Amérique méridionale (Central America) given as the type locality.
Wikipedia contributors, Gobiesox cephalus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:38:32.985178+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gobiesox cephalus Lacepède, 1800
- Name authority
- Lacepède, 1800
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gobiesociformes
- Family
- Gobiesocidae
- Genus
- Gobiesox
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · 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
- genusGobiesox Lacepède, 1800
- speciesGobiesox cephalus Lacepède, 1800
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gobiesox. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Panamic clingfishGobiesox adustus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| lappetlip clingfishGobiesox barbatulus Starks, 1913 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Socorro clingfishGobiesox canidens (Briggs, 1951) | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox crassicorpus (Briggs, 1951) | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox fulvus Meek, 1907 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox lucayanus Briggs, 1963 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| lonely clingfishGobiesox marijeanae Briggs, 1960 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox marmoratus Jenyns, 1842 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox nigripinnis (Peters, 1859) | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| California clingfishGobiesox rhessodon Smith, 1881 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| smoothlip clingfishGobiesox schultzi Briggs, 1951 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobiesox daedaleus Briggs, 1951 | GobiesocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gobiesox costaricensis Meek, 1912 Meek, 1912 | synonym |
| Lepadogaster testar Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Gobiesox ramsdeni Howell Rivero, 1936 Howell Rivero, 1936 | synonym |
| Cotylis stanii Müller & Troschel, 1849 Müller & Troschel, 1849 | synonym |
| Cotylis stannii Müller & Troschel, 1849 Müller & Troschel, 1849 | synonym |
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.
- Lacepède, B. G. E. (1800). Histoire naturelle des poissons. v. 2: i–lxiv + 1–632, Pls. 1–20. 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:3GP56. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.