Gnatholepis thompsoni
Goldspot Goby
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gobiidae (Gobies)
Gnatholepis
Gnatholepis thompsoni (Goldspot 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.
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Characters
Head is blunt, and mouth is subterminal. Lower jaw is included in upper jaw, and upper jaw extends to or slightly posterior to anterior margin of eye. Lips are moderately fleshy, and upper lip is continuous across symphysis. Jaw teeth are arranged in narrow bands, with those on outer row enlarged, slender, and recurved. Upper jaw has one canine tooth on side of symphysis, and lower jaw has one to several tusklike canines projecting from side of mouth. Tongue is distinctly bilobed. Gill opening extends ventrally slightly below pectoral fin base. Gill rakers on first arch number four or five. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 26.9%–29.5%, snout length 7.9%–10.5%, eye diameter 4.8%– 6%, upper jaw length 7.4%–9.9%, pre-dorsal-fin length 30.2%–33.9%, pelvic fin length 24.7%–29.4%, caudal fin length 30.1%–35.7%, body depth 20%–22.7%. Pectoral fin has 17 rays. First dorsal fin has six spines, and second has one spine and 11 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 11 rays. Body and top and side of head are covered with ctenoid scales. Scales in lateral series number 30 to 32. A pair of sensory pores is located between eyes, and a single pore is medial to posterior naris. Vertebrae number 26: 10 precaudal and 16 caudal.
Color is tan, with a narrow bar extending from eye to cheek, bright gold spots outlined with black pigment above pectoral fin, and spots and blotches on upper and lower side, respectively. Gnatholepis thompsoni has a narrow black bar below eye and a gold spot above base of pectoral fin.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Florida and Bermuda to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
In the Gulf of Mexico it occurs off southwestern Florida, the Flower Garden Banks, Isla de Lobos (off Veracruz), and Campeche Bank.
Habitat Associations
Associated with sand, rock, and rubble substrates
Biology
Maximum known size is 75 mm TL
Inhabits open sand, rock, and rubble areas. Often occurs with the bridled goby, Coryphopterus glaucofraenum. Feeds on organisms and organic material by taking sand into its mouth and expelling it through the gill openings, filtering out its food in the process (Ref. 26938).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-01-10. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Bright and Cashman 1974
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
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.
Miller, P.J. (1990) Gobiidae. p. 925-951. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon, SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
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.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Brito, A. and P.J. Miller (2001) Gobiid fishes from the Cape Verde Islands, including two new species of Gobius (Teleostei: Gobioidei). J. Nat. Hist. 35:253-277.
Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff (2005) Reef fish community structure in Bocas del Toro (Caribbean, Panamá): Gradients in habitat complexity and exposure. Caribbean J. Sci. 41(3):613-637.
Larson, H.K. and D.J. Buckle (2012) A revision of the goby genus Gnatholepis Bleeker (Teleostei, Gobiidae, Gobionellinae), with description of a new species. Zootaxa 3529:1-69.
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