Decorated Sandgoby,
Istigobius decoratus
(Herre 1927)
Other Names: Decorated Goby, Decorated Sand-goby
A Decorated Sandgoby, Istigobius decoratus, in Nelson Bay, New South Wales. Source: Ian V. Shaw / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution
Summary:
A variable brownish sandgoby becoming white below, with dark brown scale margins forming a honeycomb pattern and a midlateral row of double dark brown spots forming rectangular markings along the side, and usually black spots on the nape.
Cite this page as: Bray, D.J. 2018, Istigobius decoratus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 02 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3055
Decorated Sandgoby,
Istigobius decoratus
(Herre 1927)
More Info
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Distribution
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Ashmore Reef and Cartier Reef, Timor Sea, and the Shark Bay region, Western Australia, to Moreton Bay, Queensland; also Diamond Islets in the Coral Sea, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits coralline sand areas in clear lagoons and on seaward reefs.
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Features
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Dorsal fin (total spines) VI + I, 10-11; Anal fin I, 9-11; Vertebrae 26; Caudal fin segmented and non branching rays 2-3, branched rays 14-15; Predorsal cycloid scales 7-10; Trunk scales ctenoid. Isthmus narrow, scaled forward to vertical at posterior part of preoperculum. Sexual dimorphism exhibited in anal, pelvic and 2nd dorsal fin Genital papilla of male sometimes darkly pigmented and reaching to side of anal spine. Female genital papilla truncate, ending well before origin of anal fin.
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Colour
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Highly variable in colour, brownish on upper half, becoming white below; dark brown scale margins forming honeycomb pattern and midlateral row of double dark brown spots forming rectangular markings; two diagonal, dusky lines on operculum; an inverted U-shaped spot prominent at the distal end of upper jaw. Pectoral fin with small dusky spots; two longitudinal lines on pectoral base spreading onto it fin rays.
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Species Citation
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Rhinogobius decoratus Herre 1927, Monographs of the Bureau of Science. Manila 23: 181, pl. 13(3). Type locality: Apo Island, Philippines (neotype, original type material from Leyte, Philippines destroyed in WWII).
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Author
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Bray, D.J. 2018
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Resources
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Australian Faunal Directory
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Decorated Sandgoby,
Istigobius decoratus
(Herre 1927)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 (as Acentrogobius sp.)
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 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. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2
Herre, A.W. 1927. Gobies of the Philippines and China Seas. Monographs of the Bureau of Science. Manila 23: 1-352 pls 1-30
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Hutchins, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398
Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6
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)
Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Indonesian Reef Fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 623-893.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293
Moore, G.I., Morrison, S.M., Hutchins, B.J., Allen, G.R. & Sampey, A. 2014. Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: fishes. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 84: 161-206
Murdy, E.O. & Hoese, D.F. 1985. A revision of the gobioid fish genus Istigobius. Indo-Pacific Fishes 4: 1-41 figs 1-8 pls 1-3
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. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
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.
Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2 (as Istigobius sp. 1, & Istigobius DFH sp. 5)
