Gobiodon axillaris De Vis, 1884

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 : 157-158

Gobiodon axillaris De Vis, 1884 : Red Striped Coralgoby

Synonyms or described as: No recorded synonyms.

Description: Gobiodon axillaris has an olive-brown base colouration and three to four red bands on the face ( Figure 6 ). The base colour surrounding the banded area is often slightly lighter in colour. A black spot is visible on the upper operculum margin. Adults have been recorded to exceed 50 mm in total length ( Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999). A red line is present along the base of the dorsal and anal fins, though may appear as a fusion of small lines and dots in some specimens. The dorsal fin has also been observed to have a purple or magenta colouration in southern Great Barrier Reef specimens, observed on larger specimens that were approximately 60 mm in total length (Hildebrandt, pers. obs.). Munday et al. (1999) also stated that the colouration of the red banding is occasionally brighter in fishes inhabiting areas of the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Distribution: Gobiodon axillaris has been observed throughout the GBR, PNG and northern Pacific Ocean ( Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999; GBIF.Org, 2024).

Habitat: Adults frequently live in host corals A. nasuta and A. millepora ( Munday, Jones and Caley, 1997) , though juveniles have been observed in a wide range of acroporid species ( Munday, Jones and Caley, 1997). Gobiodon axillaris is often observed on the reef flat and reef crest areas which are exposed to prevailing winds ( Munday, Harold and Winterbottom, 1999).

Status: In 2018, this species was declared ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List ( Larson, 2020c).

Sociality: Gobiodon axillaris is classified as predominantly pair-forming (mean group size 1.67, SI: 0.33–0.41) ( Hing et al., 2018; Hing, 2019; Froehlich et al., 2024).

Genetics: Closely related species can vary depending on the molecular markers that are used in the analysis, but species G. fuscoruber (as analysed under synonym of G. unicolor ), G. ater , G. histrio and G. erythrospilus consistently appear in the same clade as G. axillaris ( Duchene et al., 2013; Herler, Bogorodsky and Suzuki, 2013).

Figures

FIGURE 6. LEFT: Illustration of Gobiodon axillaris by C. Hildebrandt. RIGHT: Underwater photograph of a collected Gobiodon axillaris by C. Froehlich at One Tree Island, GBR.