Hotlips

Helcogramma rharhabe

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–100 m
Water temperature21–27 °C
Best monthsApril, May, and September
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Robert Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Helcogramma rharhabe is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Helcogramma. It was described by Wouter Holleman in 2007, the specific name the Xhosa chief Rharhabe who broke away from his main tribe and formed his own grouping named after him, the Rharhabe. This species is found in the western Indian Ocean, along the south eastern coast of Africa from the Transkei to the Bazaruto Archipelago.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Helcogramma rharhabe”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 0 records
March: 6 records
April: 25 records
May: 23 records
June: 14 records
July: 15 records
August: 17 records
September: 25 records
October: 6 records
November: 8 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–100 m · Deepest record: 100 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–27 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 84 records
24–26 °C: 46 records
26–28 °C: 5 records

Photos

(c) Robert Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Hotlips, Hotlips Triplefin

Similar species

Black-throated Threefin
Helcogramma decurrens
Candystriped Triplefin
Helcogramma striata
Red-eye Threefin
Helcogramma ellioti
Triangle Triplefin
Helcogramma inclinata
Maldives Triplefin
Helcogramma maldivensis
Whitespot Triplefin
Helcogramma albimacula

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).
170 open-data records from 1942 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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