Four-eye Mini Dartgoby, Aioliops tetrophthalmus Rennis & Hoese 1987


A Four-eye Mini Dartgoby, Aioliops tetrophthalmus, at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, February 2019. Source: Anne Hoggett / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A pale dartgoby with a black stripe along upper side from behind the eye to the caudal-fin base, a narrow black stripe above the anal-fin base, a large round, black spot with a broad bright yellow margin on the anterior half of the caudal fin, and the dorsal part of the iris bright yellow.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2024, Aioliops tetrophthalmus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2941

Four-eye Mini Dartgoby, Aioliops tetrophthalmus Rennis & Hoese 1987

More Info


Distribution

Northern Great Barrier Reef to the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland. Forms schools in the water column on coral reef drop-offs in depths to 25 m.

Features

Dorsal fin VI + I,9-10; Anal fin I,10; Pectoral fin 15-17; Pelvic fin I,4; Gill rakers, outer face of first arch 3 + 1 + 10-12 (= 14-16); Scales in longitudinal series 38-42; Scales in transverse series 10-12.
Snout short (2.3-3.7 in eye), rounded in side view; anterior nostril a short tube; preopercular pores 3; posterior teeth of both jaws in 1-2 rows; gill membrane attached to isthmus below posterior margin of preoperculum.First dorsal fin originating about eye diameter posterior to pectoral-fin base origin; no elongate or filamentous dorsal spines; all dorsal and anal segmented rays branched except first dorsal segmented ray which is unbranched; pectoral fins oblong, pelvic fin not reaching to anus in either sex; innermost pelvic ray unbranched, others branched.

Colour

head with many small, round, black and reddish orange chromatophores; several small black and reddish orange chromatophores on pectoral-fin base and breast; few scattered melanophores on lateral portion of trunk anteriorly; black stripe along dorsolateral portion of body from just posterior to eye to end of caudal peduncle; thin black stripe along ventral midline from anal spine to end of caudal peduncle; anterior half of caudal fin with large round, black spot surrounded dorsally, posteriorly, and ventrally by wide, yellow margin; first dorsal fin with orange stripe across midportion of fin; second dorsal and anal fins with minute white spots, pectoral fins clear; pelvic fins white with broad, transverse, pale brown bands, often broken into irregularly shaped spots. 

Etymology

The specific name is from the Greek tetra (= four) and ophthalmus (= eye), in reference to the four-eyed appearance of this species created by the caudal-fin spot. 

Species Citation

Aioliops tetrophthalmus Rennis & Hoese 1987, Rec. Aust. Mus. 39: 79, figs 15- 16. Type locality: Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, depth 0-4 m.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2024

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Four-eye Mini Dartgoby, Aioliops tetrophthalmus Rennis & Hoese 1987

References


Larson, H.K. 2001. Microdesmidae, Wormfishes. pp. 3607-3608 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Rennis, D.S. & Hoese, D.F. 1987. Aioliops, a new genus of ptereleotrine fish (Pisces: Gobioidei) from the tropical Indo-Pacific with descriptions of four new species, Records of the Australian Museum 39(1): 67-84. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.39.1987.165

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37435002

Depth:0-25 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:19.5 cm SL

Native:Endemic

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