Giant Clingfish
Haplocylix littoreus
- Usual depth0–14 m
- Water temperature14–18 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, October, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The giant clingfish is a clingfish of the family Gobiesocidae, the only species in the genus Haplocylix. It is found all down the east coast of New Zealand around the low water mark amongst seaweed, on rocky coastlines. Its length is up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in). This species was originally described as Cyclopterus littoreus in 1801 by Johann Reinhold Forster, John C. Briggs subsequently placed it in the monotypic genus Haplocylix. Its closest relative appears to be the Caribbean deepwater clingfish Gymnoscyphus ascitus.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Giant clingfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 3 records
- February: 2 records
- March: 1 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 0 records
- October: 4 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–14 m · Deepest record: 14 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–18 °C
Photos
(c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Luca Davenport-Thomas · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Giant Clingfish
Names in 1 more languages
- Spanish
- Clingo gigante
Other scientific names: Cyclopterus littoreus
Similar species
Common Shore-eelAlabes dorsalis
Long-snout ClingfishDiademichthys lineatus
Pygmy Shore EelAlabes parvula
Broad ClingfishAspasmogaster costata
Western Cleaner ClingfishCochleoceps bicolor
Eastern Cleaner-clingfishCochleoceps orientalis
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 20 open-data records from 1950 to 2011.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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