Yellowstripe Goby

Description

It is characterized by a darkly-colored body and bright yellow horizontal stripes from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin. Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-17; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 15 - 16. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D VI + I,15-17; A I,15-16; pectoral-fin rays 16-17; scales in longitudinal series 49-54, in transverse series 17-18; interorbital wide, 67-90 % of eye diameter; rear margin of upper jaw ending posteriorly slightly behind or at vertical through anterior margin of eye; first two dorsal-fin spines filiform, elongate, remaining progressively shorter, the sixth dorsal-fin spine almost reaches the origin of the second dorsal; small ctenoid scales on body, cycloid at axil of pectoral fin, nape and entire belly, and in the area between first dorsal fin and pectoral fin; predorsal scales 16-22, scales not reaching to the vertical through the posterior edge of eye, ending at the level of pore G or H'; cheek and opercle naked; scales cover the basal 1/3-1/4 of caudal fin, becoming rapidly smaller and cycloid; prepectoral area with about 4-9 vertical series of fine cycloid scales covering the entire base of the pectoral fin; prepelvic area with cycloid scales, 9-14 in the midventral row; width at anal-fin origin 9.9-10.7% of SL; caudal peduncle depth 75.4-88.9% of its length; head depth 47.3-54.4% of HL; length of 11th second dorsal-fin ray 11.8-14.2% of SL; length of 8th anal-fin ray 13.7-14.9% of SL.

Distribution

Indo-West Pacific: from Seychelles to Fiji; north to Japan, south to New Caledonia.

Habitat

It inhabits sheltered bays and inner reefs on fine rubble shaded by large living corals. It occurs solitarily, hovering a short distance above sandy bottoms of reef bases. Stomach contents of one specimen comprise of filamentous algae, harpacticoid copepods, ostracods, amphipods, and nematodes.