| Phylum Chordata
> Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
Gobies
Family Gobiidae
updated
Mar 11
if
you learn only 3 things about them ...
Gobies are the largest family of marine fishes with about
1,800 species!
Some gobies live with snapping shrimps, others in corals.
They
are well camouflaged. Watch your step! |
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Where
seen? Gobies are abundant on many of our shores. But they
are hard to spot. At the slightest sign of danger, they bolt into
burrows or dart under rocks. Even in plain sight, they blend in with
the sand and mud. So watch your step or you might squash a tiny fish!
Besides those that are found in pools, another kind of familiar goby
found on our shores are the mudskippers
that hop around on mud and rocks.
What are gobies? Gobies may be
small but they are superlatives in several senses. They belong to
possibly the largest family of marine fishes. According to FishBase:
the family Gobidae has 212 genera and 1875 species! Gobies are found
in tropical and subtropical areas, including some freshwater species.
Because they are small, shy and well camouflaged, new goby species
are being discovered all the time! The Family includes among the smallest
fish and vertebrate: Trimmatom nanus, which reaches only 0.8-1cm
long and is found in the Chagos Archipelago and Maldives.
Features:
5cm or smaller, but some may grow to 10cm. Many gobies are adapted
for bottom dwelling, feeding mainly on small animals. Most are not
fast, long-distance swimmers. Their bodies are cylindrical rather
than streamlined, and they lack a swim bladder. They usually have
large eyes high up on the head to keep a look out for danger from
above. The pelvic fins are often fused to form a suction pad to grip
surfaces.
What do they eat? As a group,
gobies eat a wide variety of things from small animals to fishes.
Many filter microscopic animals from the sand. Some hover in water
to eat plankton.
Goby babies: In some goby species,
the male guards the eggs and the young stay close to dad for a time
after hatching. Mums rarely participate in parental care. The elongated,
club-shaped eggs are stuck onto a surface, usually inside a burrow,
crevice, empty shell or other safe place. Some species may change
gender, and a few may be simultaneous hermaprodites (each fish has
both male and female reproductive organs).
Fishy friend: The shrimp goby
lives in the same burrow with a snapping shrimp. With keener eyesight,
the goby keeps a look-out while the shrimp busily digs out and maintains
their shared home. The shrimp is literally constantly in touch with
the goby with at least one of its antennae always on the goby. When
the goby darts into the burrow, the shrimp is right behind it! More
about this shrimp-fish partnership.
Other tiny gobies found in coral reefs live in close association with
other animals, taking on the colours and patterns of their 'partners'
for perfect camouflage. Such tiny gobies may be found among the branches
of sea fans, or on sponges and corals.
Some gobies (Gobiosoma spp.) perform 'cleaning' functions on
larger fishes and other marine creatures. These gobies are usually
colourful.
Role in the habitat: Being relatively
abundant in the ecosystems they inhabit, these small fishes are believed
to play a vital part in the food chain. In fact, the absence of gobies
may be a sign of danger to the habitat, as this
study of reefs found.
Human uses: Gobies are generally not eaten, although it
is said that large mudskippers are eaten
in places like Taiwan. Some of the more colourful gobies are collected
for the live aquarium trade.
Status and threats: None of our
gobies are listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However,
like other
creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities
such as reclamation and pollution. Over-collection by hobbyists can
also have an impact on local populations.
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Gobies can be colourful!
Pulau Semakau, Mar 09
But most are well camouflaged.
Changi, Jul 05
The mangroves are home
to many kinds of gobies.
Admiralty Park, Mar 11
Mudskippers are gobies too!
Kusu Island, Jun 05
A snapping
shrimp with a shrimp-goby
Labrador, May 05 |
Gobies
on Singapore shores (except mudskippers)
Shrimp-gobies: living
with snapping shrimps
Found in living branching
hard corals
Found in mangroves
Family
Gobiidae recorded for Singapore
from Wee Y.C. and
Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
*from Larson, Helen K and Kelvin K. P. Lim. 2005. A Guide to Gobies
of Singapore.
in red are those listed among the threatened
animals of Singapore from Ng, P. K. L. & Y. C. Wee, 1994.
The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened Plants and Animals of Singapore.
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Acentrogobius
caninus (Green-shouldered goby)
*Acentrogobius gracilis (Slender amoya)
Acentrogobius janthinopterus (Green-spotted goby)
*Acentrogobius madraspatensis (Many-banded goby)
*Acentrogobius moloanus (Bar-cheek goby)
Acentrogobius virdipunctatus (Papillose goby)
*Amblyeleotris fontanesii (Giant shrimp goby)
*Amblyeleotris gymnocephala (Masked or Red-margined shrimp
goby)
Amblygobius decussatus
Amblygobius phaleana
Amblygobius sphynx
Amblygobius stethophthalmus
(previously A. bynoensis) (Head-stripe goby)
Amoya moloanus
*Aporcyptodon (see mudskippers)
*Asterropteryx semipunctatus (Starry goby)
*Arcygobius baliurus (Isthmus goby)
Bathygobius sp. (Frill-fin
gobies)
Bathygobius fuscus (Common frill-fin goby)
*Bathygobius meggitti (Meggitt's frill-fin goby)
*Boleophthalmus (see mudskippers)
*Brachyamblyopus brachysoma (Short Eel-goby)
Brachygobius kabiliensis (Mangrove
bumblebee goby)
*Bryaninops amplus (Gorgonian goby)
*Calamiana illota (Dirty-face brackish goby)
*Calamiana variegata (Stripe-face brackish goby)
Callogobius hasselti (Hasselt's flap-headed goby)
*Callogobius maculipinnis (Ostrich goby)
*Cryptocentroides insignis (Slender crested goby)
+Cryptocentrus sp.
(Speckled shrimp-goby)
*Cryptocentrus caeruleomaculatus (Blue-spotted shrimp-goby)
Cryptocentrus cinctus (Yellow shrimp-goby)
*Cryptocentrus cyanotaenia (Lagoon shrimp-goby)
Cryptocentrus leptocephalus
(Slender-lined shrimp-goby)
Cryptocentrus leucostictus (Saddled prawn-goby)
*Cryptocentrus maudae (Saddled
shrimp-goby)
*Cryptocentrus pavoninoides (Peacock shrimp-goby)
*Ctenotrypauchen microcephalus (Small-eyed worm-goby)
*Drombus globiceps (Kranji drombus)
*Drombus ocyurus (Blue-marked drombus)
Drombus triangularis (Brown
drombus or Brown shore goby)
*Eviota queenslandica (Queensland coral-goby)
*Eviota storthynx (Rosy coral-goby)
*Exyria belissimus (Barred high-fin goby)
Exyria puntang (Estuarine high-fine or Polkadot-fin goby)
*Favonigobius melanobranchus (Black-throat sand-goby)
Favonigobius opalescens (Opalescent sand-goby)
Favonigobius reichei (Reiche's sand-goby)
*Glossogobius aureus (Golden flat-head goby)
Glossogobius biocellatus
*Glossogobius circumspectus (Circumspect flat-head goby)
*Glossogobius giuris (Tank goby)
*Glossogobius sparsipapillus (Papillose flat-head goby)
*Gobiodon albofasciatus (White-striped acropora goby)
*Gobiodon histrio (Broad-barred
acropora goby)
*Gobiopsis macrostoma (Big-mouth barbel-goby)
*Gobiopterus brachypterus (Greater glass-goby)
Hemigobius/*Gobiopterus birthwistlei (Lesser glass-goby)
*Hemigobius hoevenii (Banded or Common mullet-goby)
*Hemigobius mingi (Blue-eyed mullet goby)
*Istigobius decoratus (Decorated lagoon-goby)
*Istigobius diadema (Black-lined lagoon-goby)
*Istigobius goldmanni (Black-spotted
lagoon-goby)
*Istigobius ornatus (Ornate lagoon-goby)
Lophiogobius bleekeri
Macrodontogobius wilburi (Wlibur's goby)
*Mahidolia mystacina (Smiling goby)
*Mugilogobius chulae (Two-spot mangrove goby)
*Mugilogobius fasciatus (Broad-barred mangrove goby)
*Mugilogobius mertoni (Yellow-chequered mangrove goby)
*Mugilogobius rambaiae (Queen of Siam mangrove goby)
*Mugilogobius tigrinus (Narrow-barred mangrove goby)
*Myersina macrostoma (Flag-finned goby)
*Oplopomus oplopomus (Pretty lagoon-goby)
**Oxyeleotris urophthalmoides
*Oxyurichthys uronema (Fine-blotched tentacle-goby)
*Oxyurichthys microlepis (Black-spotted goby)
Oligolepis acutipinnis
Palutrus acapulo-punctatus
*Pandaka pygmaea (Pygmy goby)
*Paragobiodon echinocephalus (Spiny-headed goby)
*Parapocryptes (see mudskippers)
Periophthalmodon (see mudskippers)
Periophthalmus (see mudskippers)
*Periolepsis nuchifasciata (Nape-banded coral-goby)
Priolepis semidoliatus (Half-banded coral-goby)
*Psammogobius biocellatus (Crocodile
flat-head goby)
*Pseudapocryptes (see mudskippers)
Pseudocryptes lanceolatus
*Pseudogobius avicennia (Avicennia fatnose goby)
Pseudogobius javanicus (Java
or Javanese fatnose goby)
*Pseudogobius melanostictus (Black-spotted fatnose goby)
*Pseudogobius oligactis (Big-mouth stream goby) freshwater
goby
*Pseudogobius siamensis (Siam stream goby) freshwater
goby
Pseudogobius serangoonensis
Pseudogobius variegatus
*Redigobius isognathus (Mangrove bigmouth goby)
*Rhinogobius giurinus (Oriental river goby) introduced
freshwater goby
*Scartelaos (see mudskippers)
*Sithouettea cf. nuchipunctata (Vanishing sand-goby)
Stimatogobius borneensis (Borneo knight-goby)
*Stimatogobius pleurostigma (Peach knight-goby)
Stimatogobius sadanundio (Grey
knight-goby)
*Stimatogobius sella (Sharp-nosed knight-goby)
*Taenioides gracilis (Bearded eel-goby)
*Trypauchen vagina (Pink mud goby)
*Valenciennea muralis (Mural glider-goby)
Yongeichthys/*Acentrogobius nebulosus
(Shadow goby) |
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*Previously
in Family Gobiidae now in Family Eleotridae |
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*Bostrychus sinensis (Chinese gudgeon)
*Butis butis (Crimson-tipped gudgeon)
*Butis humeralis (Flathead gudgeon)
*Butis koliomatodon (Crested gudgeon)
*Ophiocara porocephala (Snakehead gudgeon)
*Oxyeleotris marmorata (Marbled gudgeon)
*Oxyeleotris urophthalmus (Sinuous gudgeon)
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Links
- Mudskippers
Ng, Peter K. L. & N. Sivasothi, 1999. A
Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore II (Animal Diversity).
Singapore Science Centre. 168 pp.
- Gobies,
mudskippers and their relatives Lim, Kelvin K. P. & Jeffrey
K. Y. Low, 1998. A
Guide to the Common Marine Fishes of Singapore. Singapore
Science Centre. 163 pp.
- Family
Gobiidae and Mudskippers
Tan, Leo W. H. & Ng, Peter K. L., 1988. A
Guide to Seashore Life. The Singapore Science Centre,
Singapore. 160 pp.
- Family
Gobiidae (Gobies) from FishBase:
Technical fact sheet on the family, including fact sheet on
Trimmatom nanus the smallest fish and vertebrate
- Family
Gobiidae on Fishes
of Libong Island (West Coast of Southern Thailand) by Keiichi
Matsuura and Seishi Kimura (eds.) on the National Science Museum,
Tokyo website: factsheets with photos and description.
- Family
Gobiidae from Fishes
of Bitung (Northern Tip of Sulawesi Indonesia) by Seishi Kimura
and Keiichi Matsuura (eds.) factsheets with photos and description.
- Tiniest
reef fishes warn of risks to reefs on the wild shores of singapore
blog.
References
- Larson, Helen
K and Kelvin K. P. Lim. 2005. A
Guide to Gobies of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre.
164pp.
- An annotated
checklist of the gobioid fishes of Singapore. Helen K. Larson,
Zeehan Jaafar and Kelvin K. P. Lim. Pp 135-155. [pdf,
1.15 MB] in the Raffles
Bulleting of Zoology 56 (1):1-209. 29 February 2008
- Wee Y.C.
and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
National Council on the Environment. 163pp.
- Allen, Gerry,
2000. Marine
Fishes of South-East Asia: A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers
 .
Periplus Editions. 292 pp.
- Kuiter, Rudie
H. 2002. Guide
to Sea Fishes of Australia: A Comprehensive Reference for Divers
& Fishermen
New Holland Publishers. 434pp.
- Lieske,
Ewald and Robert Myers. 2001. Coral
Reef Fishes of the World
Periplus Editions. 400pp.
- Lim, S.,
P. Ng, L. Tan, & W. Y. Chin, 1994. Rhythm of the Sea: The Life
and Times of Labrador Beach. Division of Biology, School of
Science, Nanyang Technological University & Department of Zoology,
the National University of Singapore. 160 pp.
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