Giant prawn-goby

Appearance

Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 16 - 17. Characterized by whitish body color; head and body with five brown bars; small orange spots on head; first dorsal fin with large dark blotch; pelvic fins fully united with well developed frenum; predorsal scales extending forward to less than orbit diameter from interorbital space; longitudinal scale series 110; greatest depth of body 5.8-6.3 in SL; pointed caudal fin, longer than head. Max length : 25.0 cm

Distribution

Western Pacific: Sumatra to the Moluccas, north to the Philippines; Palau in Micronesia. Reported from Papua New Guinea and south of Taiwan.

Behavior

Shrimpgobies share burrows with alpheid shrimps. The shrimp excavated and maintains the burrow, while the goby watches out for predators.

Habitat

Marine; brackish; reef-associated. Inhabits silty inshore bottoms, deep coastal mud slopes and also occurs in estuaries in muddy channels. Also found in sand bottoms of lagoons and sheltered reefs in 5-30 m .