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Shoulderspot Goby
Gnatholepis cauerensis (Bleeker, 1853)
A Shoulderspot Goby at a depth of 21m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, December 2000. View larger image.
The Shoulderspot Goby is whitish with red-brown lines along the sides of the body and 6-7 brown blotches on the lower sides. It has a thin dark bar running vertically through the eye and across the cheek. There is a dark-margined yellow to orange spot above the base of the pectoral fin.
This species grows to 5.5cm in length.
It is mostly found on coral reefs. In Australia it is recorded from south-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the central coast of New South Wales.
It is listed in most recent publications as Gnatholepis scapulostigma. The research of Randall and Greenfield (see further reading) has shown that cauerensis is the correct species name for this fish.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
- Randall, J.E. & D.W. Greenfield. 2001. A preliminary review of the Indo-Pacific gobiid fishes of the genus Gnatholepis. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. No. 69. Pp. 17.
