Akane Coral Goby, Gobiodon spadix Sato & Motomura 2024

Summary:

A uniformly reddish-brown coral goby with darker fins, and five narrow vertical bluish stripes on the side of the head (stripes may be indistinct in large adults).

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Gobiodon spadix in Fishes of Australia, accessed 04 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5749

Akane Coral Goby, Gobiodon spadix Sato & Motomura 2024

More Info

Distribution	Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is known from Japan (southern Kyushu to Ryukyu Islands) and Papua New Guinea (Kimbe Bay). Adult pairs live within the the branches of Acropora corals, while juveniles occurred solitarily on coral edges.
Features	Dorsal fin VI-I, 9-11; Anal fin I, 8-9; Pectoral fin 19-21; Vertebrae 26. Body depth at pelvic-fin origin 32.4-40.8% of standard length; distance between first dorsal-fin origin to dorsal-most point of pectoral-fin base 50.4-64.8% of head length (HL); pectoral fin relatively long, its length 90.6-112.5% of HL; groove between isthmus and interopercle absent.
Species Citation	Gobiodon spadix Sato & Motomura 2024, Ichthyological Research 71(3): 423, Figs 7-9. Type locality: north side of Ohto Port, Kataura, Kasasa, Minami-satsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, 31°25′25′′N, 130°10′16′′E, 7 m depth.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Akane Coral Goby, Gobiodon spadix Sato & Motomura 2024

References

Duchene, D., Klanten, S.O., Munday, P.L., Herler, J. & Herwerden, L. 2013. Phylogenetic evidence for recent diversification of obligate coraldwelling gobies compared with their host corals. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69: 123-132 (as Gobiodon sp.)

Harold, A.S., Winterbottom, R., Munday, P.L. & Chapaman, R.W. 2008. Phylogenetic relationships of Indo-Pacific coral gobies of the genus Gobiodon (Teleostei: Gobiidae), based on morphological and molecular data. Bulletin of Marine Science 82: 119-136 (as Gobiodon sp.)

Hildebrandt, C.A., Froehlich, C.Y.M., Brodnicke, O.B., Klanten, O.S., et al. 2024. Two new species of Gobiodon (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the IndoPacific, with notes on South Pacific and Indian Ocean populations of Gobiodon spadix. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 72: 488-510 See ref online

Munday, P., Harold, A.S. & Winterbottom, R. 1999. Guide to coral-dwelling gobies, genus Gobiodon (Gobiidae), from Papua New Guinea and the Great Barrier Reef. Revue française d'Aquariologie Herpétologie 26: 53-58 (as Gobiodon sp. D)

Sato, M.C. & Motomura, H. 2024. Gobiodon spadix, a new coral goby (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from southern Japan. Ichthyological Research 71(3): 422-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-024-00950-8