Common Name
Barsnout Goby
Year Described
Böhlke & Robins, 1968
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VII, 12
Anal Fin: 11-12 (usually 11)
Pectoral Fin: 16-17 (usually 17)
Caudal Fin:
Gill Rakers: 8 (total)
Vertebrae: 28
Mouth ventral with overhanging snout. Body scaleless. Pelvic fins fused to form a sucking disk.
Color
Body stripe yellow, with thin white stripes bordering it. Stripe runs from eye to caudal fin. Snout with a yellow spot. A black lateral stripe runs from snout to caudal fin and tapers posteriorly. Back black but pale on midline. Belly whitish. Fins transparent.
Size
Maximum size to 27mm SL.
Habitat
Perches on coral heads on reefs from 2-45m. Possibly engages in cleaning behavior.
Range
Caribbean Sea: known from off Yucatan and Panama.
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.
Other Notes
The other “shark-nosed” members of this complex are Elacatinus lobeli and E. oceanops (blue stripes) and E. evelynae and E. genie (no spots on snout)