Animal Species:Decorated Glidergoby, Valenciennea decora Hoese & Larson, 1994

The Decorated Glidergoby is a beautifully coloured fish. The species name decora comes from the Latin word 'decorus' meaning adorned or elegant.

Decorated Glidergoby at North Solitary Island

Decorated Glidergoby at North Solitary Island
Ian Shaw © Ian Shaw

Alternative Name/s

Decora Goby, Decorated Glider Goby, Orange-banded Sleeper

Identification

The Decorated Glidergoby has a yellow stripe on the lower side of the body and either one or four to five bars crossing the sides. There are two or three blue stripes on the head. The top of the head and snout have blue spots. The first dorsal fin has a black blotch. The species name decora comes from the Latin word 'decorus' meaning adorned or elegant.

Size range

The species grows to about 12 cm in length.

Distribution

It occurs in tropical marine waters of New Caledonia, Fiji and Australia. In Australia it is known from the southern Great Barrier Reef and northern New South Wales.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Valenciennea decora

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Decorated Glidergoby specimens in the Australian Museum.

What does this mean?

Classification

Species:
decora
Genus:
Valenciennea
Family:
Gobiidae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

Hoese, D.F & Larson, H.K. 1994. Revision of the Indo-Pacific Gobiid Fish Genus Valenciennea, with Descriptions of Seven New Species. Indo-Pacific Fishes. 23: 1-71.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags Fishes, Ichthyology, Decorated Glidergoby, Valenciennea decora, Gobiidae, silvery-white, long and skinny, 10 cm - 30 cm, stripes, spots, coral reef, marine, yellow stripes, blue spots,