Hotlips triplefin
Helcogramma obtusirostris
- Usual depth1–18 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsFebruary and August
- How commonRare
About this species
Helcogramma obtusirostris, the hotlips triplefin or shortsnout triplefin, is a triplefin blenny of the family Tripterygiidae, found from the Red Sea south to South Africa and east to the western Pacific, and the southeast Atlantic, around Ascension Island and St. Helena. It reaches a maximum length of 3.8 cm according to FishBase, but only 4 cm according to "Two Oceans".
Text from the Wikipedia article “Helcogramma obtusirostris”, 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: 1 records
- February: 5 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 4 records
- May: 4 records
- June: 3 records
- July: 3 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–18 m · Deepest record: 22 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Hotlips triplefin, hotlips triplefin, Shortsnout Triplefin
Other scientific names: Enneapterygius obtusirostre, Helcogramma obtusirostre, Tripterygion obtusirostre, Tripterygium obtusirostre
Similar species
Black-throated ThreefinHelcogramma decurrens
Candystriped TriplefinHelcogramma striata
Red-eye ThreefinHelcogramma ellioti
Triangle TriplefinHelcogramma inclinata
Maldives TriplefinHelcogramma maldivensis
HotlipsHelcogramma rharhabe
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).
- 75 open-data records from 1954 to 2016.
- Species data updated October 30, 2026.
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