Common Name
Peppered Goby
Year Described
Böhlke, 1969
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VIII, 1, 10-11
Anal Fin: I, 7-8
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Scales:
Vertebrae: 12 precaudal, 17 caudal; 29 total
Body very elongate with a long head. Eye relatively large with an oblique mouth. Chin barbels absent. Two dorsal fins are separated. Ventral fins united along length. Body with a small patch of ctenoid scales along the anal fin base and two scales at the base of the caudal fin. No lateral line pores on the head.
Color
Body quite dark with a heavy speckling of large melanophores on the body, with smaller spots intermingled. Fins pale with fine speckling. Some fish with evidence of darker body bands.
Size
Maximum known size to 25mm SL.
Habitat
A sponge-dwelling goby that inhabits large barrel sponges from 12-28m.
Range
Known from the southern Bahamas.
References
Böhlke, J. E. 1969. Pariah scotius, a new sponge-dwelling gobiid fish from the Bahamas. Notulae Naturae (Philadelphia) No. 421: 1-7.
Other Notes
Frequently collected with a similar elongated goby, Evermannichthys metzelaari, in its host sponges (Böhlke, 1969).