Nakedcheek Sandgoby, Gnatholepis gymnocara Randall & Greenfield 2001

A Nakedcheek Sandgoby, Gnatholepis gymnocara, at North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC By Attribution
Summary:
A pale sandgoby covered in dusky speckling, with a mid-lateral row of six dusky blotches and a horizontal row of darker spots and short streaks, a distinct dark cross-shaped mark on the cheek extending down from the eye, and a pupil-sized brown spot just above mid-point of the caudal-fin base. Males have a small black spot on the rear part of first dorsal fin.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Gnatholepis gymnocara in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 Feb 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2226
Nakedcheek Sandgoby, Gnatholepis gymnocara Randall & Greenfield 2001
More Info
Distribution |
Sarina Inlet to Moreton Bay, Queensland. this species is not known from the Northern Territory. |
Features |
Dorsal fin VI + I,11; Anal fin I, 11-12 (usually I,12); Pectoral fin 15-18; Lateral scales 26-28. Scales absent from side of cheek, opercle and predorsal midline; few cycloid scales present on pectoral fin base and on breast; no distinct flap on end of lower lip (low fold may be present); no distinct canine or enlarged teeth; lateral scales ctenoid; predorsal scales absent from nape midline, scales on side of head reaching to nearly behind eyes. |
Colour |
Body pale with dusky speckling and mid-lateral row of six dusky blotches and horizontal row of darker spots and short streaks, an irregular cross-shaped dark mark on cheek extending down from eye, pupil-sized brown spot just above mid-point of caudal fin base, males with small black spot on rear part of first dorsal fin. |
Similar Species |
Closely related to the Peacock Sandgoby, Gnatholepis argus, which occurs in northern Australia. Both species are small and differ from all other Gnatholepis in having a naked or mostly naked predorsal mid-line, no scales on the cheek and opercle, and all teeth in the lower jaw are small and similar in size, with no enlarged or recurved canines. Gnatholepis argus differs from G. gymnocara in colour pattern: males are strongly marked, with small dense black spots on unpaired fins, and posterior-most 2-4 mid-lateral spots darker and larger than anterior spots (versus males without dense black spots on fins and no large dark spots on side of body in G. gymnocara). |
Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin gymnocara (= naked head), in reference to the absence of scales on the cheek and opercle. |
Species Citation |
Gnatholepis gymnocara Randall & Greenfield 2001, Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute, Grahamstown 69: 14, figs 3, 4. Type locality: Supply Bay, 22°12.24'S, 150°28.53"E, Townshend Island, Queensland, Australia, depth 0-0.2 m. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2021 |
Resources |
Nakedcheek Sandgoby, Gnatholepis gymnocara Randall & Greenfield 2001
References
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.
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)
Larson, H.K. & Buckle, D. 2005. A new species of the circumtropical goby genus Gnatholepis Bleeker (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Gobionellinae) from northern Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 21: 67-72 See ref at BHL
Larson, H.K. & Buckle, D.J. 2012. A revision of the goby genus Gnatholepis Bleeker (Teleostei, Gobiidae, Gobionellinae), with description of a new species. Zootaxa 3529: 1–69
Randall, J.E. & Greenfield, D.W. 2001. A preliminary review of the Indo-Pacific gobiid fishes of the genus Gnatholepis. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute, Grahamstown 69: 1-17 http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019863
Randall, J.E. & Greenfield, D.W. 2007. Redescription of Gnatholepis cauerensis (Bleeker, 1853), with discussion of the validity of the species. Zoologische Mededelingen 81(16): 303-308 See ref online