Gobiesox strumosus
Skilletfish
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gobiesocidae (Clingfishes)
Gobiesox
Gobiesox strumosus (Skilletfish)
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
Broad upper lip and relatively large sucking disc. Head broader than body, snout continuous with head. Upper lip broadest near symphysis. Nares paired and tubelike, with anterior naris possessing a bilobed flap on posterior margin. Papillae on head and upper lip but not on snout above premaxillary groove. Teeth in front of upper jaw conical, irregular in shape and size, and arranged in a patch. Teeth on side of upper jaw conical and arranged in a single row. Teeth in front of lower jaw arranged in two rows, with those in front incisor-like and bearing trifid tips in juveniles and rounded tips in adults. Suboperculum bears a sharp spine covered by skin extending from operculum. Gill membranes united and free of isthmus. Second and third gill arches each have six to nine gill rakers. Anus closer to anal fin origin than to posterior margin of disc. Measurements (% SL): head length 38.5%–43.5%, head width 37%–41.7%, snout length 10.8%–13.1%, disc length 30.9%–34.3%, body depth 15.9%–21.3%. Pectoral fin has 22 to 26 (usually 24) rays. Dorsal fin has 10 to 13 (usually 12) rays. Sucking disc single and very large, with papillae on anterior, posterior, and paired middle sections. Anal fin has 9 to 11 rays. Caudal fin broadly rounded.
Dark olive brown, with six faint lines radiating from eye and a mottled, netlike pattern and a dark band at base of caudal peduncle.
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from New Jersey and Bermuda to the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Found throughout the Gulf of Mexico in shallow water.
Habitat Associations
Shallow water, including grassy areas and rocky tide pools.
Grassy areas and rocky tide pools.
Biology
Maximum known size is 80 mm SL.
Inhabits grassy and rocky shallow areas and around pilings. Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35420). Usually found in water <1m deep but sometimes to depths of 33 m (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders; parental care: paternal.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-03-01. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Briggs 1955
Springer and Woodburn 1960
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Johnson and Greenfield 1983
Robins and Ray 1996
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
McEachran 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.
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.
Coleman, R.M. (1999) Parental care in intertidal fishes. p. 165-180. In M.H. Horn, K.l. Martin and M.A. Chotkowski (eds.) Intertidal fishes: life in two worlds. Academic Press, USA. 399 p.
Comments On Gobiesox strumosus