Mural Glidergoby, Valenciennea muralis (Valenciennes 1837)
Other Names: Crosshatch Goby, Lined Gudgeon, Mural Glider Goby, Mural Goby, Mural Sleeper, Striped Goby
A Mural Glidergoby, Valenciennea muralis, in the Dampier Marine Park, Western Australia. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC BY Attribution
Summary:
A pale greyish glidergoby becoming white below, with four blue-edged stripes along the head and side, often with a series of midlateral blotches, red basal stripes on the dorsal and anal fins, and a prominent black tip on the first dorsal fin.
Cite this page as:
Valenciennea muralis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/176
Mural Glidergoby, Valenciennea muralis (Valenciennes 1837)
More Info
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Distribution |
Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, to Masthead Island, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the east-Indo-west Pacific: east Andaman Sea to Indonesia, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, south to the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Inhabits silty sand and sand/rubble areas in shallow lagoon reefs, on reef flats and near mangroves. |
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Features |
Dorsal VI + I, 11-13; Anal fin 1, 11-13; Pectoral fin 18-21; Gill rakers on inner face of second arch 12-15; Longitudinal-scale count 73-94; Transverse-scale count 26-37. Body depth 5.1-6.2 in SL. Pectoral-fin base naked; prepelvic area usually partly scaled, varying from naked to fully scaled (naked or with few scales in juveniles); first dorsal-fin margin pointed, third spine longest, not produced into a filament; caudal fin rhomboid, central rays longest, slightly longer than head, 31.5-35% SL in males over 70 mm SL, 27.4-33.3% SL in females over 70 mm SL, and 28.3-35.1% SL in specimens 70 mm and smaller. |
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Colour |
Head with 4 lateral and 1 middorsal stripe; body with 4 dark stripes, often with a series of midlateral blotches; a prominent black spot between tips of third and fourth dorsal spines; roof and sides of mouth black forward to lobe of vomer; floor of mouth and tongue light anteriorly, dusky to black posteriorly; inner face of gill cover dusky to black, except at posterior margin in adult; inner gill cover often with a light central area. |
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Feeding |
Feeds on small invertebrates by sifting mouthfuls of sand. |
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Biology |
Adults form pairs while juveniles may be seen in small groups. |
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Remarks |
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Similar Species |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin muralis (= wall) and -alis (= pertaining to), in reference to the colour pattern resembling the lines of a stone wall. |
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Species Citation |
Eleotris muralis Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1837, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 12: 253, pl. 357. Type locality: Tukopia [Santa Cruz Archipelago, Solomon Islands]. |
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Resources |
Mural Glidergoby, Valenciennea muralis (Valenciennes 1837)
References
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Bleeker, P. 1857. Index descriptionum specierum piscium Bleekerianarum in voluminibus I Ad XIV Diarii Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Batavae. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 14: 447-486
Bleeker, P. 1875. Notice sur les Eleotriformes et description de trois espèces nouvelles. Archives Néerlandaises des Sciences Naturelles 10: 101-112
Castelnau, F.L. de 1875. Researches on the fishes of Australia. Intercolonial Exhibition Essays. 2. pp. 1–52 in, Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 : Official Record. Melbourne. (described as Eleotris lineata, type locality Cape York, Queensland)
Hoese, D.F. & Larson, H.K. 1994. Revision of the Indo-Pacific gobiid fish genus Valenciennea, with descriptions of seven new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 23: 1-71 11 figs, 6 pls
Hutchins, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398
Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6
Jordan, D.S. & Snyder, J.O. 1901. A review of the gobioid fishes of Japan with descriptions of twenty-one new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 24(1244): 33-132 figs 1-33
Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.
Larson, H. 2019. Valenciennea muralis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T193063A2190268. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T193063A2190268.en. Accessed on 05 May 2025.
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.I., Morrison, S.M., Hutchins, B.J., Allen, G.R. and Sampey, A. 2014. Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: fishes. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 84: 161-206
Ogilby, J.D. 1897. On some Australian Eleotrinae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 21(4): 725-757 (as Eleotris nigrifilis, and unneeded replacement name for Eleotris lineata Castelnau 1875)
Ogilby, J.D. 1910. On new or insufficiently described fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 23(1): 1-55 (described as Valenciennea aruensis, type locality Aru Islands, Indonesia)
Pratchett, M.S., Pradjakusuma, O.A. & Jones, G.P. 2006. Is there a reproductive basis to solitary living versus pair-formation in coral reef fishes? Coral Reefs 25: 85-92.
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.
Richardson, J. 1843. Icones Piscium, or plates of rare fishes. London : Richard & John E. Taylor 8 pp. 5 pls. (described as Eleotris trabeatus, type locality Depuch Island, Western Australia)
Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1837. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 12 507 pp. pls 344-368.
Whitley, G.P. 1932. Fishes. Scientific Reports of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928-1929 4(9): 267-316 figs 1-5 pls 1-4 (as Callieleotris (Gergobius) muralis)
