Prettytail Shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris bellicauda Randall 2004

A Prettytail Shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris bellicauda, from New Caledonia, March 1990. Source: John E. Randall / FishBase. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Amblyeleotris bellicauda in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5763

Prettytail Shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris bellicauda Randall 2004

More Info

Distribution	Diamond Islets, Coral Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in New Caledonia. Inhabits coarse sand areas on coral reefs, living in association with alpheid shrimps.
Features	Dorsal fin VI + I, 13; Anal fin I-II, 13; Pectoral fin 19; Longitudinal scale series 89; Vertebrae 25. Body depth 5.35 in SL; head length 3.55 in SL; mouth not very large, maxilla reaching to below centre of eye, upper-jaw length 2.65 in HL; caudal fin slightly pointed, moderately long, 2.9 in SL: Pelvic fins joined by a short membrane at base, with no frenum, fourth pelvic ray longest, fifth pelvic ray branched three times. No median predorsal scales and no prepectoral scales. Gill opening extending forward to below posterior margin of preopercle.
Size
Colour	Pale yellow dorsally, shading to white ventrally, densely marked with small pale blue spots; four red bars on body, the first slightly oblique beneath first dorsal fin, the next two broader ventrally, below second dorsal fin, and the fourth posteriorly on caudal peduncle and on caudal fin base; head brownish yellow dorsally, white ventrally, with numerous small pale blue spots and a red bar from nape across posterior opercle; an irregular yellow-edged blue line extending ventrally from opercular membrane to branchiostegal membranes; first dorsal fin grey, shading to greyish blue posteriorly, with dark-edged yellow markings; second dorsal fin grey with a dark-edged yellow line parallel to rays on each membrane, the base yellow with dark-edged blue markings; anal fin yellow with irregular dark-edged blue markings and a broad median blackish red band; caudal fin with a large, irregular, elliptical, blue-edged mark enclosing a dusky orange area; upper and lower edges of fin pale yellow with blue spots.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin bellus (= beautiful) and cauda (= tail), in reference to the strikingly colored caudal fin of this species.
Species Citation	Amblyeleotris bellicauda Randall 2004, aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 8(2): 71, Figs. 7-8. Type locality: Outside barrier reef off Tenia Island, 22°01'01"S, 165°55'05"E, New Caledonia, depth 3 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Prettytail Shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris bellicauda Randall 2004

References

Randall, J.E. 2004. Five new shrimp gobies of the genus Amblyeleotris from islands of Oceania. aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 8(2): 61-78

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.

Stiefel, K.M. 2024. Amblyeleotris bellicauda. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T193070A2191231. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-1.RLTS.T193070A2191231.en. Accessed on 28 April 2025.