Greenspotted Goby, Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes 1837)

Other Names: Spotted Green Goby

A Greenspotted Goby, Acentrogobius viridipunctatus, from Darwin, Northern Territory, May 2024. Source: Nick Volpe / iNaturalist.org. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Acentrogobius viridipunctatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/61

Greenspotted Goby, Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes 1837)

More Info

Distribution	Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, around the tropical north to Fraser Island, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-west Pacific: India east to Australia, and north to the Philippines, Taiwan and China. Inhabits sandy, muddy, and hard substrates in estuaries and on coral reefs, often among mangroves.
Features
Feeding	Feeds on gastropod molluscs, crustaceans and fishes.
Biology	The species may complete its entire life cycle within the vegetated areas of mangrove estuaries, spawning all year round.
Fisheries	The species is traded in the aquarium industry.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin viridis (= green) and punctatus (= spotted), in reference to the brilliant metallic green spots on body.
Species Citation	Gobius viridipunctatus Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1837, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 12: 62. Type locality: Bombay, India.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Greenspotted Goby, Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes 1837)

References

Akihito, Sakamoto, K., Ikeda, Y. & Sugiyama, K. 2002. Gobioidei. pp.1139-1310, 1596-1619 in Nakabo, T. (ed.) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species. English edition. Tokyo : Toikai University Press pp. 867-1749.

Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T. & Salini, J.P. 1989. Species composition and biomasses of fishes in different habitats of a tropical Northern Australian estuary: tccurrence in the adjoining sea and estuarine dependence. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 29: 509-531.

Blaber, S.J.M., Salini, J.P. & Brewer, D.T. 1990. A checklist of the fishes of Albatross Bay and the Embley estuary, north-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria. CSIRO Marine Laboratory. Report 210: 1-22

Bleeker, P. 1849. Bijdrage tot de kennis der Blennioïden en Gobioïden van der Soenda-Molukschen Archipel, met beschrijving van 42 nieuwe soorten. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen 22: 1-40. (described as Gobius chlorostigma, type locality Surabaya, Kamal, Java, Indonesia).

Herre, A.W. 1927. Gobies of the Philippines and China Seas. Monographs of the Bureau of Science. Manila 23: 1-352 pls 1-30

Hutchins, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398

Johnston, R. & Sheaves, M. 2007. Small fish and crustaceans demonstrate a preference for particular small-scale habitats when mangrove forests are not accessible. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 353: 164-179.

Kottelat, M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663

Koumans, F.P. 1935. Notes on gobioid fishes 6. On the synonymy of some species from the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Zoologische Mededelingen (Leiden) 18: 121-150 figs 1-15

Koumans, F.P. 1953. The Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Gobioidea. Leiden : Brill Vol. 10 423 pp. 95 figs.

Larson, H. 2019. Acentrogobius viridipunctatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T166150A1115227. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T166150A1115227.en. Accessed on 02 December 2025.

Larson, H.K. & Lim, K.K.P. 2005. A guide to the gobies of Singapore. Singapore : Singapore Science Centre 164 pp.

Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp. Seafood Services Australia 2008.

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, J.B., Allen, G.R. & Sampey, A. 2014. Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: Fishes. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 84: 161-206.

Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1837. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 12 507 pp. pls 344-368.

Wilson, J.P. & Sheaves, M. 2001. Short-term temporal variations in taxonomic composition and trophic structure of a tropical estuarine fish assemblage. Marine Biology 139: 787-796.

Zhao, Z.-Y., Tu, Z.-G. and Cui, J. 2017. The complete mitochondrial genome of goby Acentrogobius viridipunctatus. Conservation Genetics Resources: 1-3.