Gobiomorus dormitor
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Eleotridae (Sleepers)
Gobiomorus
Gobiomorus dormitor (Bigmouth Sleeper)
Description
Type Locality
Martinique (Lacepede 1798).
Synonymy
Alvarius lateralis Eleoris longiceps Eleotris dormitatrix Platycephalus dormitor
Characters
Lindquist (1980) reported adult size ranging from 110-610 mm SL; Gobiomorus dormitor is the largest gobioid fish.
More than 50 scale rows (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Maxillary reaching posterior margin of pupil (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Teeth on vomer (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Distribution
Southern Florida and Texas and south through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to South America (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Inhabits the coastal regions of southern Texas (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Abundance/Conservation Status
Very common in the lower reaches of the Rio Grande (Texas; Lindquist 1980; Hubbs et al. 2008). Vulnerable (Warren et al. 2000) in the southern United States. Threatened in Florida (American Fisheries Society status by Distinct Populations Segments; Musick et al. 2000); this status based on multiple threats to the Indian River Lagoon System.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater-Estuarine (Hubbs et al. 2008). Amphidromous, marine to freshwater (Musick et al. 2000). Common in brackish coastal lagoons and freshwater streams entering the sea (Lindquist 1980).
References
Darnell, R.M. 1955. Nocturnal terrestrial habits of the tropical gobiod fish Gobiomorus dormitor, with remarks on its ecology. Copeia 1955(3):237-238.
Gilbert, C.R., and D.P. Kelso. 1971. Fishes of the Tortuguero area; Caribbean Costa Rica. Bull. Fla. State Mus. Biol. Sci. 16(1):1-54.
Gilmore, RG. 1992. Bigmouth Sleeper, Gobiomorus dormitor. pp 105-111 in: Gilbert, C.R. (ed.). Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida, Volume 2, Fishes. University Press of Florida, Gainsville.
Hubbs, C., R.J. Edwards, and G.P. Garrett. 2008. An annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Texas, with keys to identification of species. Texas Journal of Science, Supplement, 2nd edition 43(4):1-87.
Lacepede, B.G.E. 1798. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons 2:1-632.
Lindquist, D.G. 1980. Gobiomorus dormitor (Lacepede), Bigmouth sleeper. pp. 784 in D. S. Lee et al., Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. N. C. State Mus. Nat. Hist., Raleigh, i-r+854 pp.
McKaye, K.R. 1977. Competition for breeding sites between the cichlid fishes of Lake Jiloa, Nicaragua. Ecology 58(2):291-302.
Miller, R.R. 1959. Variation, distribution, and relationships of the Mexican eleotrid fish Gobiomorus polylepis. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 607:1-11.
Musick, J.A., M.M. Harbin, S.A. Berkeley, G.H. Burgess, A.M. Eklund, L. Findley, R.G. Gilmore, J.T. Golden, D.S. Ha, G.R. Huntsman, J.C. McGovern, S.J. Parker, S.G. Poss, E.Sala, T.W. Schmidt, G.R. Sedberry, H. Weeks, and S.G. Wright. 2000. Marine, estuarine, and diadromous fish stocks at risk of extinction in North America (exclusive of Pacific salmonids). Fisheries 25(11):6-30.
Warren, M.L., Jr., B.M. Burr, S.J. Walsh, H.L. Bart, Jr., R.C. Cashner, D.A. Etnier, B.J. Freeman, B.R. Kuhajda, R.L. Mayden, H.W. Robison, S.T. Ross, and W.C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-29.
Zaret, T.M., and A.S. Rand. 1971. Competition in Tropical Stream Fishes: Support for the Competitive Exclusion Principle. Ecology 52(2):336-342.
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