- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- GOBIIDAE
- Redigobius
- macrostoma
Largemouth Goby, Redigobius macrostoma (Günther 1861)
A Largemouth Goby, Redigobius macrostoma, at Red Rock Estuary, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, 12 September 2013. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Largemouth Goby, Redigobius macrostoma (Günther 1861)
More Info
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Distribution |
Endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia from about Noosa, Queensland, to Port Phillip, Victoria, and the port River system adjacent to Adelaide, South Australia. Inhabits muddy and seagrass areas in estuaries, coastal lakes and the lower freshwater reaches of rivers. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin VI + I, 7-8 (usually I, 7); Anal fin I, 5-7 (usually I,6); Caudal fin (segmented rays) 17; Pectoral fin 15-18; Pelvic fin I, 5; TRB 9-12; Vertebrae 11-12 + 14-15 = 25-27. Body deep, laterally compressed. Head of moderate size, 3.0-3.6 in SL, compressed; interorbital narrow, about equal to pupil diameter. Anterior nostril in short tube, close to edge of upper lip; mouth terminal, sometimes enlarged in males. Mouth oblique, of moderate to large size, rear end of jaws reaching to below eyes in female and young males and well beyond eyes in large males; tongue tip rounded to truncate; gill openings narrow, reaching to below middle of operculum; pectoral girdle usually smooth, occasionally with a few fleshy knobs or lobes. Body scales mostly ctenoid, lateral series 28 30; scales cycloid before first dorsal fin, operculum usually ctenoid or ctenoid dorsally and cycloid ventrally, cycloid scales on pectoral fin bases and area before ventral fins; top of head scaled forward to eyes, predorsal scales small, cycloid, 12-18. Two dorsal fins, first dorsal with rounded to triangular margin, first spine often prolonged into short filament, first dorsal originating just behind ventral fin insertions; second dorsal origin just behind first dorsal fin; anal fin origin below and just behind second dorsal origin; caudal fin with rounded margin. Pectoral fins long, reaching to above anal fin origin, margin rounded. Pelvic fins fused to form cup shaped disc, originating below pectoral fin insertions. |
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Size |
To around 5 cm SL. |
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Colour |
Pale brown, often translucent in life, with dark mottling dorsally; oblique dark brown bar from each eye to upper lip; second vertical bar from rear end of jaws upward to eyes, often curving backward below end of each eye to above preopercle; short horizontal dark brown bar from rear of each eye to above preopercle; lower surface of head often with two dark brown horizontal stripes; sides of body with mottling anteriorly below first dorsal fin; belly pale brown; body with five or six oblique dark brown bands from below middle of first dorsal fin to caudal peduncle, bands becoming almost vertical on caudal peduncle; base of caudal fin with two oval oblique dark brown spots; first dorsal fin grey, with large black spot posteriorly on fin; second dorsal fin with black spots forming oblique bands; anal fin grey; caudal fin with thin black wavy bands; pectoral fins clear; ventral fins clear to grey. |
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Biology |
Likely to be oviparous, benthic spawner. |
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Etymology |
The specific name macrostoma is from the Greek macro (= large) and stoma (= mouth) in reference to the large mouth of this species. |
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Species Citation |
Gobius macrostoma Günther 1861, Cat Fish Brit. Mus. 3: 44. Type locality: Australia. |
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Author |
Gomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. 2021 |
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Resources |
Largemouth Goby, Redigobius macrostoma (Günther 1861)
References
Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.
Günther, A. 1861. Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes in the collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 3 586 pp.
Hammer, M.P. 2006. Range extensions for four estuarine gobies (Pisces: Gobiidae) in Southern Australia: Historically overlooked native taxa or recent arrivals? September. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 130(2):187-196 https://doi.org/10.1080/3721426.2006.10887057
Hoese, D.F. & Larson, H.K. 1980. Family Gobiidae: gobies. pp. 186-192 6 figs in McDowall, R.M. (ed.) Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed 208 pp., figs, 32 pls.
Hoese, D.F. & Larson, H.K. 1994. Family Gobiidae. pp. 781-810, figs 690-714 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs.
Hoese, D.F. & Larson, H.K. 2008. Family Gobiidae. pp. 749-773 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.
Larson, H.K. 2001. A revision of the gobiid fish genus Mugilogobius (Teleostei: Gobioidei), and its systematic placement. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 62: 1-233
Larson, H.K. 2010. A review of the gobiid fish genus Redigobius (Teleostei: Gobionellinae), with descriptiions of two new species. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwater 21(2): 123–191.
Larson, H.K. & Hoese, D.F. 1996. Family Gobiidae, subfamilies Gobiinae and Gobionellinae. pp. 220-228 in McDowall, R.M. (ed.) Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : Reed Books 247 pp.
