Coryphopterus glaucofraenum
Bridled Goby
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gobiidae (Gobies)
Coryphopterus
Coryphopterus glaucofraenum (Bridled Goby)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Upper lip lacks frenum, has free dorsal fold. Well-developed, fleshy mid-dorsal ridge extends from just behind orbits to dorsal fin origin. Jaw teeth are conical, pointed, and arranged in five or six rows, with those of outer and inner rows enlarged. Tongue is free anteriorly and truncate to broadly rounded. Gill opening extends ventrally to pectoral fin base, and gill membranes are broadly joined to isthmus to form V-shaped fold. Gill rakers on first arch number 11 on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 27.4%–30.4%, eye diameter 6.4%– 8.1%, pectoral fin length 22.8%–30.1%, pelvic fin length 23%–28.6%, body depth at dorsal fin origin 21.3%–28.6%, caudal peduncle depth 11.4%–14.1%. Pectoral fin has 17 to 20 (usually 18 or 19) rays. First dorsal fin has six spines, and second has one spine and 9 rays. Pelvic fins are joined by membrane to form complete disc, fifth pelvic fin ray is nearly as long as fourth ray, and pelvic spines are joined by frenum. Anal fin has one spine and 9 rays. Caudal fin is truncate and has 17 segmented rays and 12 or 13 branched rays. Genital papilla of males is elongate and pointed. Body is covered with cycloid scales on chest and pectoral fin base and with ctenoid scales on remainder of body. Head and nape are naked. Scales in horizontal series number 26 to 28. Vertebrae number 26: 10 precaudal and 16 caudal.
Color is pallid, with a series of dark spots and X-shaped marks on flanks, a small triangular dark spot or short dark bar above operculum, and a dark bar or two vertically oriented dark spots on base of caudal fin. Specimens occupying light sandy bottoms in clear water are more lightly pigmented than specimens occupying dark substrates or turbid water.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
In the Gulf of Mexico it is known from the Dry Tortugas, the Florida Middle Grounds, Alabama, and Campeche Bay.
Habitat Associations
Occurs between 5 and 32 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 75 mm SL
Inhabits clear white sandy areas near deep reefs and grassy and rocky areas. Burrows in the sand and the male guards the eggs (Ref. 5521). The Bridled goby, which has X-shaped marks and spots, occurs in both clear and more murky inshore waters, while the paler, very similar Sand goby, Coryphopterus tortugae [= Coryphopterus glaucofraenum], occurs over white sand (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; mating system: promiscuity; guarders (nesters). Oviparous, demersal spawner (Ref. 101194). Both male and female spawn with many individuals in small contiguous territories (Ref. 240).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-03-01. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Robins 1958
Böhlke and Robins 1960a
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Robins and Ray 1986
Garzón and Acero 1990 (in part as Coryphopterus tortugae)
Boschung 1992
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Murdy and Hoese 2002b
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Cole, K.S. and D.Y. Shapiro (1995) Social facilitation and sensory mediation of adult sex change in a cryptic, benthic marine goby. J. Experiment. Mar. Biol. Ecol. :65-75.
Comments On Coryphopterus glaucofraenum