Common Name
Island Goby
Year Described
Bohlke & Robins, 1960
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VI, 10-11
Anal Fin: 9
Pectoral Fin: 15-16 (15)
Caudal Fin: 17-18
Lateral Line Scales: 25-26
Gill Rakers: 7 (first arch)
Vertebrae: 9+17 = 26 (total)
Body elongate and tapering to the rear. No lateral pores on head. Jaws with bands of teeth (conical teeth inward and sharp canines outside) but vomer and palatine without teeth. Anterior nostril tubular. Posterior nostril slightly raised and separated from anterior nostril. No frenum on upper lip. Tongue rounded at tip. Gill opening extends to ventral part of opercular flap. Head, chest, nape, and pectoral base naked. Naked area extending to below middle of spiny dorsal fin. Belly scaled. Two separate dorsal fins. Anterior dorsal fin spines not elongate. Pectoral rays unbranched.
Color
Body pale gray with numerous orange to red-orange bands that are thicker than the pale interspaces. Pale bands with a median band of melanophores. No pale interspaces on dark bands. Head with bands breaking up into spots with bands radiating from the eye. Eye red. Base of pectoral fin with a black blotch. Dorsal and caudal fins pale with reddish basal areas and sprinkled with black melanophores. Anal fin red with black melanophores. Pectoral and pelvic fins translucent.
Size
A tiny species reaching around 19mm SL
Habitat
Found on coral and rocky reefs from 5-51m
Range
Scattered records from Georgia to the S. Caribbean Sea, and possibly Brazil.
References
Böhlke, J. E. and C. R. Robins. 1960. Western Atlantic gobioid fishes of the genus Lythrypnus, with notes on Quisquilius hipoliti and Garmannia pallens. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 112: 73-101, Pls. 1-3.
Greenfield, D. W. 1988. A review of the Lythrypnus mowbrayi complex (Pisces: Gobiidae), with the description of a new species. Copeia 1988 (2): 460-469.