Gobiodon fuscoruber Herler, Bogorodsky & Suzuki, 2013

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 : 165-166

Gobiodon fuscoruber Herler, Bogorodsky & Suzuki, 2013 : Brown Red or Plain Coralgoby

Synonyms or described as: Gobiodon unicolor (non Castelnau, 1873).

Description: Gobiodon fuscoruber was once thought to be two separate species, G. fuscoruber in the northern Pacific and Indian Oceans, and G. unicolor occupying the Great Barrier Reef region (Castelnau, 1873; Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013). Genetic analysis revealed that the Great Barrier Reef population was not a distinct species as previously thought and both populations became known under the species name G. fuscoruber ( Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013) . The original holotype for G. unicolor was investigated and is believed to more likely be a representative of the related species G. histrio due the characteristic black dot on the upper opercular margin and morphometrics ( Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013). Colouration of G. fuscoruber is uniform brown to brown, grey with shades of red or grey occasionally present ( Figure 15 ). A greenish gleam has also been occasionally observed along the dorsal surface ( Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013).

Distribution: Gobiodon fuscoruber is currently recorded in the Red Sea, central Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean from Japan in the north to the Great Barrier Reef in the south ( Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013; GBIF.Org, 2024).

Habitat: Gobiodon fuscoruber is known to inhabit a wide range of corals from the genus Acropora , with the corymbose corals A. millepora and A. nasuta being inhabited at higher frequencies ( Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999).

Status: Gobiodon fuscoruber has been described as of ‘Least Concern’ ( Larson, 2019d).

Sociality: Gobiodon fuscoruber is often found living with congeners in mixed species groups (Patton et al., 1994; Munday et al., 1999). Gobiodon fuscoruber is most frequently observed in pairs or groups (mean group size: 2.78, SI: 0.42–0.57) ( Hing et al., 2018; Hing, 2019; Froehlich et al., 2024).

Genetics: Gobiodon fuscoruber is typically located in a clade with G. histrio , G. erythrospilus , G. axillaris , G. ater and G. fulvus ( Duchene et al., 2013; Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013). Individuals listed as G. unicolor in phylogenetic analyses are synonymous with G. fuscoruber , and are identified in the same location on the phylogenetic tree ( Harold et al., 2008; Duchene et al., 2013; Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013).

Figures

FIGURE 15. LEFT: Illustration of Gobiodon fuscoruber and the two colour variations observed, by C. Hildebrandt. RIGHT: Underwater photograph of collected Gobiodon fuscoruber by C. Froehlich at Lizard Island, GBR.