Yellow Coralgoby, Gobiodon okinawae Sawada, Arai & Abe 1972


Other Names: Okinawa Goby, Yellow Coral Goby

A Yellow Coralgoby, Gobiodon okinawae, in an aquarium at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Phil Munday / Lizard Island Field Guide, http://lifg.australianmuseum.net.au/. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:
A small uniform bright yellow coralgoby. Juveniles are whitish with a dark internal stripe, and spots on the head and tail
A group of Yellow Coralgobies in an aquarium.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Gobiodon okinawae in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2231

Yellow Coralgoby, Gobiodon okinawae Sawada, Arai & Abe 1972

More Info


Distribution

Offshore reefs of north Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, to North Solitary Island, New South Wales: also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits reef lagoons, living in association with tabular Acropora corals throughout its range. Individuals shelter among the branches, and may also hover just above the coral.

Feeding

Biology

A hermaphrodite capable of bi-directional sex change in which adults have the capacity to shift between male and female function.

Similar Species

The Yellow Coralgoby, differs from the similar and sympatric Howson’s Coralgoby, Gobiodon howsoni, in usually having 13 vs 15 branched caudal rays, two vs one enlarged canines on the posterior dentary, the genital papilla falling well short of the anal fin, vs usually reaching the anal-fin origin, and having a uniform bright yellow colour vs 1-2 brown stripes on the body in G. howsoni.

Species Citation

Gobiodon okinawae Sawada, Arai & Abe 1972, Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 19(2): 57, figs 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5A. Type locality: Kayama Island, Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2021

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Yellow Coralgoby, Gobiodon okinawae Sawada, Arai & Abe 1972

References


Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-91 

Allen, G.R. 2021. Gobiodon howsoni, a new species of coral reef fish (Gobiidae: Teleostei) from Rowley Shoals, Western Australia. aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology 27(1): 11-20 See ref online

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

Cole, K.S. & Hoese, D.F. 2001. Gonad morphology, colony demography and evidence for hermaphroditism in Gobiodon okinawae (Teleostei, Gobiidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 61: 161-173.

Harold, A.S., Winterbottom, R., Munday, P.L. & Chapman, R.W. 2008. Phylogenetic relationships of Indo-Pacific coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon (Teleostei: Gobiidae), based on morphological and molecular data. Bulletin of Marine Science 82(1): 119-136 See ref online

Hing, M.L, Klanten, O.S., Wong, M.Y.L. & Dowton, M. 2019. Drivers of sociality in Gobiodon fishes: An assessment of phylogeny, ecology and life-history, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 137: 263-273,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.05.020.

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Melbourne : Zoonetics pp. 623–893.

Larson, H. 2019. Gobiodon okinawae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T193112A2196805. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T193112A2196805.en. Accessed on 17 December 2021.

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293 

Moore, G. & Morrison, S. 2009. Fishes of three North West Shelf atolls off Western Australia: Mermaid (Rowley Shoals), Scott and Seringapatam Reefs. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 77: 221-255

Munday, P.L., Jones, G.P. & Caley, M.J. 1997. Habitat specialisation and the distribution and abundance of coral-dwelling gobies, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 152: 227-239

Munday, P.L., Schubert, M.,  Baggio, J.A., Jones, G.P., Caley, M.J. & Grutter, A.S. 2003. Skin toxins and external parasitism of coral-dwelling gobies, Journal of Fish Biology, 62: 976-981. 

Nilsson, G.E., Hobbs, J.-P.A., Ostlund-Nilsson, S. & Munday, P.L. 2007. Hypoxia tolerance and air-breathing ability correlate with habitat preference in coral-dwelling fishes. Coral Reefs: 26: 241-248.

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Sawada, Y., Arai, R. & Abe, T. 1972. Gobiodon okinawae, a new coral-goby from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 19(2): 57-62 figs 1-6

Schubert, M., Munday, P.L., Caley, M.J., Jones, G.P. & Llewellyn, L.E. 2003. The toxicity of skin secretions from coral-dwelling gobies and their potential role as a predator deterrent. Environmental Biology of Fishes 67: 359-367.

Syms, C. & Jones, G.P. 2000. Disturbance, habitat structure, and the dynamics of a coral-reef fish community. Ecology 81(10): 2714-2729.

Thompson, V.J., Munday, P.L. & Jones, G.P. 2007. Habitat patch size and mating system as determinants of social group size in coral-dwelling fishes. Coral Reefs 26: 165-174.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37428162

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:2-15 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated (with Acropora)

Max Size:3.5 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map