Opal Cling Goby, Stiphodon semoni Weber 1895

Other Names: Allen's Cling Goby, Allen's Cling-goby, Allen's Stiphodon, Barber Goby, Cobalt Blue Goby, Neon Blue Goby, Neon Goby, Opal Cling Goby, Semon Goby

Summary:

Males have a vivid blue, green or pinkish stripe along the side from the snout to the upper part of the caudal peduncle, blue flecks and a bright blue margin on the anal fin, and a white patch behind the pectoral-ﬁn base. Females are creamy-white to brownish yellow, with two dark horizontal zigzagy stripes along the side and a large black spot on the caudal peduncle. The first and second dorsal fins are of a similar height and lack elongate rays.

Allen's Stiphodon in an aquarium
Video of female Allen's Stiphodon

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F. 2023, Stiphodon semoni in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4828

Opal Cling Goby, Stiphodon semoni Weber 1895

More Info

Distribution	Wet tropics of north Queensland from north of the Daintree River to south of Cairns. Elsewhere the species is widespread in streams throughout Australasia, the Indo-Malaya Archipelago, and Oceania. This species occurs in 9 of 18 catchments within the Queensland wet tropics. Inhabits small clear moderate to fast-flowing coastal streams with boulders and cobbles, in high terrain country.
Features	Dorsal fin VI-I,9; Anal fin I,10; Pectoral fin 15; Caudal fin 13 (branched rays), 17 segmented rays; Pelvic fin I,5; Longitudinal scales 27-30; Transverse scales 10-11. First dorsal ﬁn not pointed in males; premaxillary teeth 42–54 in 23.5–35.0 mm SL; dentary with canine-like symphyseal teeth in both sexes; male usually without scale on occipital region and anterior part of nape; female usually without scale on anterior two thirds of occipital region. Pelvic fins joined to form a strong cup-like disc with a ﬂeshy frenum.
Feeding	Allen's Stiphodon clings to rocks and boulders in fast-flowing streams and feed on algal biofilms.
Biology	Little is known of the biology and ecology of this species in Australia. In other areas, females spawn in rainforest streams, laying their eggs in small spaces between boulders. After fertilization, the eggs are guarded by the males until the larvae hatch within a day or two. After hatching the larvae (1-2mm) are carried downstream to the sea where they remain for some weeks. After metamorphosis, the small juveniles migrate back to rainforest streams where they remain as adults.
Fisheries	Stiphodon gobies are often traded in the aquarium industry.
Conservation	EPBC Act 1999: Critically Endangered (listed February 2011) IUCN Red List: Data Deficient
Remarks	Other names: Stiphodon allen, described from Australia in 1996, is a junior synonym. The species is also sometimes mistakenly referred to as Stiphodon elegans, which occurs in Polynesia.
Etymology	Named semoni, for Dr. Richard Semon who collected the type specimens.
Species Citation	Stiphodon semoni Weber, 1895, Zool. Forschungs. Aust. Malayischen Archipel. 5(2): 270. Type locality: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F. 2023
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Opal Cling Goby, Stiphodon semoni Weber 1895

References

Allen, G.R. 1991. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of New Guinea. Madang : Publication No. 9, Christensen Research Institute 268 pp.

Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp. (275, as Stiphodon allen)

Ebner, B.C. & Thuesen. P. 2011. Discovery of stream-cling-goby assemblages (Stiphodon species) in the Australian Wet Tropics. Australian Journal of Zoology 58: 331-340.

Ebner, B.C., Thuesen, P.A., Larson, H. & Keith, P. 2012. A review of distribution, field observations and precautionary conservation requirements for sicydiine gobies in Australia. Cybium 35: 397-414.

Jaafar, Z. 2019. Stiphodon semoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T196405A90984330. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T196405A90984330.en. Accessed on 28 February 2023.

Keith, P. 2003. Biology and ecology of amphidromous Gobiidae of the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean regions. Journal of Fish Biology 63:831-847.

Keith P. & Lord C. 2011. Tropical freshwater gobies: Amphidromy as a life cycle. in Patzner, R.A., J.L. Van Tassell,R.A., Kovacic, M. & Kapoor, B.G. (eds). The Biology of Gobies. Science Publishers Inc, 685 pp.

Keith, P., Lord, C., Lorion, J., Watanabe, S., et al. 2011. Phylogeny and biogeography of Sicydiinae (Teleostei: Gobiidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Marine Biology 158: 311–326.

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. (as Stiphodon allen & S. semoni)

Maeda, K. & Tan, H.H.. 2013. Review of Stiphodon (Gobiidae: Sicydiinae) from western Sumatra, with description of a new species. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61(2): 749-761. See ref online

McDowall, R.M. 2009. Early hatch: a strategy for safe downstream larval transport in amphidromous gobies. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 19: 1-8.

Ryan, P.A. 1991. The success of the Gobiidae in tropical Pacific insular streams. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 18: 25-30.

Taillebois, L., Castelin, M., Lord, C., Chabarria, C., et al. 2014. New Sicydiinae phylogeny (Teleostei: Gobioidei) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes: Insights on systematics and ancestral areas. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 70: 260-271.

Taillebois L., Maeda K., Vigne S. & Keith P. 2012. Pelagic larval duration of three amphidromous Sicydiinae gobies (Teleostei: Gobioidei) including widespread and endemic species. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 21: 552–559.

Thuesen, P.A., Ebner, B.C., Larson, H.K., Keith, P., et al. 2011. Amphidromy links a newly documented fish community of continental Australian streams, to oceanic islands of the west Pacific. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26685 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026685

Watson, R.E. 1996. A review of Stiphodon from New Guinea and adjacent regions, with descriptions of five new species (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Sicydiinae). Revue française d'Aquariologie Herpétologie 23(3-4): 113-132. (as Stiphodon allen & S. semoni)

Watson, R.E. 2008. A new species of Stiphodon from southern Sumatra (Pisces: Gobioidei: Sicydiinae). Zootaxa 1715: 43-56.

Watson, R.E. & Allen, G.R. 1999. New species of freshwater gobies from Irian Jaya, Indonesia (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Sicydiinae). aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 3(3): 113-118.

Watson, R.E., Allen, G.R. & Kottelat. M. 1998. A review of Stiphodon from Halmahera and Irian Jaya, Indonesia, with descriptions of two new species (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwater 9(3): 293-304.

Weber, M. 1895. Fische von Ambon, Java, Thursday Island dem Burnett-Fluss und von der Süd-Küste von Neu-Guinea. in Zoologische Forschungsreisen in Australien und dem malayischen Archipel; mit Unterstützung des Herrn Dr. Paul von Ritter ausgeführt in den Jarhen 1891-1893 vol Dr. Richard Semon. 5(2). 257-276 1 fig. pp.