Common Name
Paleback Goby
Year Described
Ginsburg, 1939
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VII, 10-11
Anal Fin: 8-10
Pectoral Fin: 14-16
Caudal Fin: 15-17 segmented rays
Vertebrae: 11+16= 27 (total)
Body elongate and cylindrical with a very flattened, rounded head. Eye medium sized. Mouth small and upturned. Anterior dorsal spines not elongate. Pelvic fin rays 1-5 branched. Pelvic fins connected posteriorly by a membrane and anteriorly to about one third of spine length. Two anal-fin pterygiophores anterior to the first haemal spine. Papillae rows 5i and 5s separate. Cephalic lateralis pores absent. Body naked. No basicaudal scales.
Color
Body and head strikingly bicolored: dorsal half of body white and lower half dark brown to black. White area can be immaculate or very pale brown. Regularly placed brown spots along dorsal midline. Lateral boundary of dark and pale irregular with pale blotches extending into dark area. Dark area heavily speckled with large melanophores. Fins almost immaculate; sometimes with basal melanophores on rays. A curved dark band on base of caudal fin. Eye bicolored like body.
Size
A large species of goby: reaching 15cm SL.
Habitat
Inhabits patch reefs and sandy areas from 5-48m.
Range
Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
References
Hoese, D.F., & S. Reader. 2001. Revision of the eastern Pacific species of Gobulus (Perciformes: Gobiidae), with description of a new species. Revista de biología tropical, 49: 169-176.
Tornabene, L., J.L. Van Tassell, R.G. Gilmore, D.R. Robertson, F. Young, & C.C. Baldwin. 2016. Molecular phylogeny, analysis of character evolution, and submersible collections enable a new classification of a diverse group of gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Nes subgroup), including nine new species and four new genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.