Ctenogobius boleosoma
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gobiidae (Gobies)
Ctenogobius
Ctenogobius boleosoma (Darter 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.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Body covered with cycloid scales anteriorly and ctenoid scales posteriorly. Mouth is terminal and slightly oblique, and upper jaw extends to middle of eye. Lips are thin, and upper lip is free at symphysis. Jaw teeth are arranged in several rows, with outer teeth slightly larger in females and immature males. Mature males have seven or eight large, recurved, widely spaced caninelike teeth in outer row of upper jaw. Gill opening extends ventrally below pectoral fin base. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 23.9%–27.2%, snout length 6.8%–8.3%, eye diameter 4.2%–6.3%, upper jaw length 7.7%–9.7%, pectoral fin length 20.1%–26.1%, pelvic fin length 21.3%–25.2%, caudal fin length 30.8%–40.2%, body depth 16.6%–19.7%. Pectoral fin has 16 rays. First dorsal fin has six spines, and second has one spine and 9 to 11 (typically 10) rays. Pelvic fins are united by membrane to form broad disc, and pelvic fin spines are joined by frenum. Anal fin has one spine and 10 to 12 (typically 11) rays. Pectoral and pelvic fin rays are longer in adult males than in juveniles and females. Predorsal region is naked or has 1 or 2 scales. Scales in horizontal series number 29 to 33. A pair of sensory pores is located between eyes. Vertebrae number 26: 10 precaudal and 16 caudal.
Color is tan to dusky, with four or five narrow longitudinal brown spots or bars along midline. Spots under second dorsal fin form V-shaped patterns. Dorsal and caudal fins are streaked with small brown spots.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Delaware Bay and Bermuda
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Bays and brackish and fresh waters on muddy bottoms among submerged vegetation
Muddy bottoms among submerged vegetation
Biology
Maximum known size is 75 mm SL
Euryhaline species, ranging from brackish water (almost entering fresh water) to hypersaline littoral lagoons (Ref. 13628), with a salinity range of 0.0 to 25.9 ppt (Ref. 97140). Found in quiet waters of bays and estuaries, in grassy and muddy areas.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external. Benthic spawner.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-02-11. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Ginsburg 1932
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Dawson 1969b
Gilbert and Randall 1979
Robins and Ray 1986
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Murdy and Hoese 2002b
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.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Cole, K.S. (1990) Patterns of gonad structure in hermaphroditic gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Environ. Biol. Fishes 28(1-4):125-142.
Pezold, F. (2022) A review of species of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific genus Ctenogobius (Gobiiformes: Oxudercidae). Ma. Res. 2(1): 65-137.
Comments On Ctenogobius boleosoma