Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus (Valenciennes 1836)

A Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus, at Kingston, Norfolk Island, March 2017. Source: mscott / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
A small herbivorous goby that lives in the intertidal zone of coral and rocky reefs. Individuals skip across the reef platform, and shelter in small pools left by the receding tide.
Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus (Valenciennes 1836)
More Info
Distribution |
Recorded in the Australian EEZ from Rottnest Island to North West Cape, Western Australia, and from the Herald Group in the Coral Sea; also at Lord Howe, Norfolk in the Tasman Sea, and Coco-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific. Lives in the intertidal zone of lagoons and wave-swept seaward reefs. At low tide, Blackspotted Rockskippers shelter in small pockets of water left behind on the reef as the water recedes. |
Features |
Dorsal fin XII-XIV, 14-16; anal fin II, 15-18. Body covered in dark spots, upper lip dusky or with scattered spots, and a pale area behind eye with an irregular dark mark behind. |
Size |
To 11 cm TL (total length). |
Conservation |
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Not evaluated Australian EPBC Act: Not Listed |
Author |
Dianne J. Bray & Rebecca D. Bray |
Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus (Valenciennes 1836)
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. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 21 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
Francis, M.P. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, Southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170.
Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia. 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 pp.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
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
Springer, V.G. 1967. Revision of the circumtropical shore-fish genus Entomacrodus (Blenniidae : Salariinae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum 122(3582): 1-150.
Springer, V.G. 1972. Additions to revisions of the blenniid fish genera Ecsenius and Entomacrodus, with descriptions of three new species of Ecsenius. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 134: 1-13.
Watson, W. 2009. Larval development in blennies. pp. 309-350. In Patzner, R.A., E.J. Gonçalves, P.A. Hastings & B.G. Kapoor (eds) The biology of blennies. Science Publishers, Enfield, NH, USA. 482 pp.
Williams, J.T. 2014. Entomacrodus striatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T48342213A48393364. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T48342213A48393364.en. Downloaded on 17 August 2016.