Butterfly Shrimpgoby, Vanderhorstia papilio Shibukawa & Suzuki 2004


A male Butterfly Shrimpgoby, Vanderhorstia papilio, in the Low Isles, near Port Douglas, Queensland, depth 14m, out from base of outer reef edge in sandy rubble. Source: Sue Churchill & Rogan Draper. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
A shrimpgoby with small yellow spots scattered on the cheek, gill cover, nape, body, and dorsal fins, a dusky yellowish-brown bar below the eye; 4 dark greyish-brown saddles on the body, and a large brown blotch on the middle of the caudal-fin base.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Vanderhorstia papilio in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5279

Butterfly Shrimpgoby, Vanderhorstia papilio Shibukawa & Suzuki 2004

More Info


Distribution

Low Isles, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical north-west Pacific. Inhabits coral reef rubble slopes, sharing burrows with alpheid shrimps.

Features

Dorsal fin VI + I, 11; Anal fin I, 11; Scales in longitudinal series 27; Predorsal scales 11. 
Third dorsal-fin spine elongate, filamentous, longer than other spines; fifth and ninth branched caudal-fin rays elongate, filamentous, forming bifurcate caudal fin, each with a single branch; cephalic sensory-papillae row 'a' with 3 widely spaced papillae.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin papilio (= butterfly), in reference to the elongate, filamentous fifth and ninth branched caudal-fin rays (like the 'tails' of the swallowtail butterfly).

Species Citation

Vanderhorstia papilio Shibukawa & Suzuki  2004, Ichthyological Research 51(2): 114, figs. 1-2. Type locality: Funauki Bay, Iriomote-jima Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan [24°20.0'N, 123°42.8'E].

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Butterfly Shrimpgoby, Vanderhorstia papilio Shibukawa & Suzuki 2004

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., Erdmann, M.V. & Brooks, W.M. 2020. Vanderhorstia vandersteene, a new species of shrimpgoby (Pisces: Gobiidae) from Papua New Guinea. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 35: 65-75 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3959464


Shibukawa, K. & Suzuki, T. 2004. Vanderhorstia papilio, a new shrimp-associated goby from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (Perciformes: Gobiidae: Gobiinae), with comments on the limits of the genus. Ichthyological Research 51: 113-119.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37428476

Behaviour:Shares burrows with alpheid shrimps

Depth:8-65 m

Habitat:Reef associated, sandy/rubble areas

Max Size:4 cm SL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map