Horned Tentacle Goby, Oxyurichthys cornutus McCulloch & Waite 1918


Other Names: Horned Goby

Illustration of the holotype of the Horned Tentacle Goby, Oxyurichthys cornutus, from Cairns, Queensland, SAMA F.592. Source: Pl. VIII (fig. 2), in McCulloch & Waite (1918) Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 1(1): 79-82 / Biodiversity Heritage Library. License: CC BY Attribution

Summary:
A translucent greyish-brown goby with five round blotches along the midsides, five rectangular saddles along the back that may extend toward the mid-lateral blotches, sometimes narrow dusky to brownish vertical bars across the rear half of the body that join with the mid-lateral blotches or the dorsal saddles, and dusky pelvic fins that are not barred or mottled. 
The first dorsal fin has elongate filamentous spines and a tentacle is present on the dorsoposterior surface of the eye.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2019, Oxyurichthys cornutus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2253

Horned Tentacle Goby, Oxyurichthys cornutus McCulloch & Waite 1918

More Info


Distribution

Cairns to Moreton Bay, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the west Pacific: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Philippines, Japan, Palau, Solomon Islands, Western Samoa. Inhabits estuaries at river mouths, in mangrove creeks and pools, and tidal lagoons.

Features

Dorsal fin VI + I,11–12; Anal fin I,13; Pectoral fin 21–23; Segmented caudal-fin rays 9/8, Branched caudal-fin rays 6/7–8/7; Lateral scale count 44–52; TRB 13–19; Predorsal scales 13–24.
Upper jaw teeth in single row; fleshy tongue rounded; upper lip not constricted, about equal in width at premaxillary symphysis as near posterior margin; tentacle on dorsoposterior surface of eye; anterior nares with dense black spot medially; spots sometimes present on gular membrane beneath preopercle or anterior process of quadrate; membranous crest with dark margin present on nape; scales ctenoid laterally on trunk posterior to middle of first dorsal fin, cycloid anteriorly; prepelvic region scaled; first dorsal fin with elongate filamentous spines, first spine of appressed fin may reach past second dorsal fin to procurrent rays of caudal fin.

Colour

Dark spots on dorsal scales of trunk; five round blotches along mid-side of body, blotch at caudal base smallest and often triangular; five rectangular saddles on dorsum (may be diffuse or well-defined), may extend ventrally toward mid-lateral blotches; narrow dusky to brownish vertical bars present across posterior half of body in some specimens, bars confluent with mid-lateral blotches or dorsal saddles; pelvic fins dusky, not barred or mottled.

Species Citation

Oxyurichthys cornutus McCulloch & Waite 1918, Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 1(1): 80, pl. 8(2). Type locality: Cairns, Queensland.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2019

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Horned Tentacle Goby, Oxyurichthys cornutus McCulloch & Waite 1918

References


Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2013. Reef Fishes of the East Indies. Volumes 1-3, Apple App Store Vers. 1.0, 36 Views, August 2013. 

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. & Murdy, E.O. 2001. Eleotridae, Gobiidae. pp. 3574-3604 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

McCulloch, A.R. & Ogilby, J.D. 1919. Some Australian fishes of the family Gobiidae. Records of the Australian Museum 12(10): 193-291 figs 31-37 DOI:10.3853/j.0067-1975.12.1919.886

McCulloch, A.R. & Waite, E.R. 1918. Descriptions of two new Australian gobies. Records of the South Australian Museum 1(1): 79-82 Ref at BHL

Pezold, F.L. & Larson, H.K. 2015. A revision of the fish genus Oxyurichthys (Gobioidei: Gobiidae) with descriptions of four new species. Zootaxa 3988(1): 1-95. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3988.1.1

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. 

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37428206

Habitat:Estuaries, mangroves

Max Size:10 cm SL

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