Animal Species:Bridled Goby, Arenigobius bifrenatus (Kner, 1865)

The Bridled Goby is a small brownish fish with two stripes behind the eye. It usually lives in muddy or sandy areas, often in estuaries.

A Bridled Goby at Wollongong Harbour

A Bridled Goby at Wollongong Harbour
Sascha Schulz © Sascha Schulz

Identification

The Bridled Goby can be recognised by its colour pattern. It is grey to brown with two stripes passing posteriorly from the eye. One crosses the operculum horizontally and a second passes diagonally to the pectoral fin base. A third dark stripe runs from the pectoral fin base, along the lower side of the body, eventually breaking up into a series of irregular dark spots.

Adult males have elongate caudal fins.

Size range

18 cm

Distribution

It is endemic to Australia, occurring in temperate waters from southern Queensland to south-western Western Australia.

Distribution by collection data

Biomaps map of Bridled Goby specimens in the Australian Museum collection.

What does this mean?

Habitat

Bridled Gobies occur in estuarine and inshore waters. They live in burrows in muddy and sandy substrates often in seagrass beds.

Classification

Species:
bifrenatus
Genus:
Arenigobius
Family:
Gobiidae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. in Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  2. Hoese, D.F. & Larson, H.K. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
  3. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags fish, Bridled Goby, Arenigobius bifrenatus, Gobiidae, ichthyology, ichthyology, fishes,