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Black-lined Sleeper Goby
Valenciennea helsdingenii (Bleeker, 1858)
Above and below: A Black-lined Sleeper Goby at a depth of 20 m, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, December 2000. View larger image.
The other fish in the image is probably a Red-barred Sandperch Parapercis multiplicata. View larger image.
The Black-lined Sleeper Goby is white with two black to orange stripes on the head and body. There is a white-edged black spot on the first dorsal fin.
The caudal fin of juveniles is rounded. Adults have a pair of elongate caudal fin filaments.
This species grows to 18 cm in length.
It occurs in tropical and some temperate waters of the Indo-West Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to southern New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Decora Goby V.decora
- Kuiter's Goby V.immaculata
- Orange-dashed Goby V.puellaris
- Blueband Goby V.strigata
Further reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- 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.
