Shoulderspot Goby, Gnatholepis cauerensis (Bleeker, 1853)

Scientific name: Gnatholepis cauerensis
  • Updated
    13/08/19
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Shoulderspot Goby Click to enlarge image
A Shoulderspot Goby at a depth of 21m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, December 2000. Image: Ian Shaw
© Ian Shaw

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Gnatholepis
    Species
    cauerensis
    Family
    Gobiidae
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    The species grows to 5.5 cm in length.

Introduction

The Shoulderspot Goby is whitish with red-brown lines along the sides of the body and 6-7 brown blotches on the lower sides. It has a thin dark bar running vertically through the eye and across the cheek. There is a dark-margined yellow to orange spot above the base of the pectoral fin.

Identification

The Shoulderspot Goby is whitish with red-brown lines along the sides of the body and 6-7 brown blotches on the lower sides. It has a thin dark bar running vertically through the eye and across the cheek. There is a dark-margined yellow to orange spot above the base of the pectoral fin.

It is listed in most recent publications as Gnatholepis scapulostigma. The research of Randall and Greenfield has shown that cauerensis is the correct species name for this fish.

Habitat

It is mostly found on coral reefs.

Distribution

In Australia it is recorded from south-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the central coast of 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.

References

  • Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  • Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
  • Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
  • Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
  • Randall, J.E. & D.W. Greenfield. 2001. A preliminary review of the Indo-Pacific gobiid fishes of the genus Gnatholepis. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. No. 69. Pp. 17.