Common Name
Shortstripe Goby
Year Described
Beebe & Hollister, 1933
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VII, 11-12
Anal Fin: 10
Pectoral Fin: 19-20
Caudal Fin:
Gill Rakers:
Vertebrae: 28
Mouth subterminal. Body scaleless. Pelvic fins fused to form a sucking disk.
Color
Body pale to dark gray, with a blackish lateral stripe from pectoral fin to caudal fin. Stripe ends as a point or as a blotch on tail. A bright yellow eye-stripe runs from upper eye to above pectoral fin and is edged in black. Snout yellowish, without spot. Cheek reddish to pink. Fins lightly pigmented.
Size
Maximum size to 38.5mm SL.
Habitat
A sponge-dwelling species from 6-16m. Not known to engage in cleaning behavior.
Range
Caribbean Sea: known from Puerto Rico, Dominica, Grenada, and Barbados.
References
Böhlke, J. E. and C. R. Robins. 1968. Western Atlantic seven-spined gobies, with descriptions of ten new species and a new genus, and comments on Pacific relatives. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 120: 45-174.
Victor, B.C. 2014. Three new endemic cryptic species revealed by DNA barcoding of the gobies of the Cayman Islands (Teleostei: Gobiidae). J. Ocean Sci. Found. 12: 25-60.
Other Notes
Most similar in coloration to Elacatinus tenox, which has a shorter and blue eye-stripe and usually has fewer pectoral fin rays.
Interestingly, this species is paraphyletic within the E. horsti clade and can only be differentiated by the short eye-stripe. Whether is simply a color variation of E. horsti or a paedomorphic form of E. horsti remains to be studied. Juveniles of many Elacatinus have shortened eye stripes (Victor, 2014).