Common Name
Spotlight Goby
Year Described
Böhlke & Robins, 1968
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VII, 12-13 (usually 12)
Anal Fin: 10-12 (usually 11)
Pectoral Fin: 17-19 (usually 18)
Caudal Fin: 17 branched
Gill Rakers: 13 (total)
Vertebrae: 28
Mouth subterminal. Body scaleless. Pelvic fins fused to form a sucking disk.
Color
Body stripe greenish yellow to pale yellow; tapering onto caudal fin. Lateral stripe broad and black; ending in a rounded blotch on the tail. Back is black. Snout with a round yellow spot. Belly grading to pale gray or whitish, with small melanophores. Fins transparent with a fine peppering of melanophores.
Size
Maximum size to 29.6mm SL.
Habitat
Deeper reefs from 13-45m. Inhabits sponges and is not known to engage in cleaning behavior.
Range
Caribbean Sea: the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.
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
Resembles Elacatinus atronasus from the same region, but has a noticeably rounded snout (vs. pointed).