Gobiodon spilophthalmus Fowler 1944

Hildebrandt, Courtney A., Froehlich, Catheline Y. M., Klanten, O. Selma & Wong, Marian Y. L., 2025, Goby spotting: An updated guide to coral gobies (Genus: Gobiodon) in the Indo-Pacific Region, Zootaxa 5723 (2), pp. 151-188 : 176

Situation surrounding Gobiodon spilophthalmus Fowler 1944

Synonyms or described as: No recorded synonyms.

Description: The description of this species can vary depending on the source material. The description includes juveniles with a white body with two longitudinal black stripes on the body and black spots on the head and tail ( Figure 28 ) ( Fowler, 1944). Adults are described as uniformly black and distinguished from G. acicularis due to the lack of an elongated first dorsal fin ( Fowler, 1944; Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999).

Distribution/Habitat: The species was described inhabiting a wide range of coral species typically found in lagoonal or sheltered areas of the reef with unknown distribution ( Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999).

Notes: Gobiodon spilophthalmus was once considered to be an independent species, but recent evidence suggests that these individuals are likely to be juvenile individuals of G. acicularis and G. ceramensis ( Hing et al., 2019) . Individuals fitting the description of G. spilophthalmus were collected in corals with adult G. acicularis and G. ceramensis from Lizard Island, GBR, and genetically analysed ( Hing et al., 2019). Gobiodon spilophthalmus individuals fell out into genetic clades with either known species, correlating with the adults they were observed cohabitating with in host corals ( Figure 28 ) ( Hing et al., 2019). Genetic relatedness with G. acicularis and G. ceramensis was so similar, that with confidence, they could be assigned to the cohabitating species ( Hing et al., 2019).

Figures

FIGURE 28. LEFT: Illustration of Gobiodon spilophthalmus by C. Hildebrandt. RIGHT: Photograph of collected Gobiodon ceramensis displaying remnants of juvenile markings matching Gobiodon spilophthalmus by C. Froehlich at Lizard Island, GBR. Brightness of the original photograph has been increased to see the remnant markings more clearly.