Find a Fish
Desert Goby
Chlamydogobius eremius (Zietz, 1896)
A male Desert Goby photographed in an aquarium at the Australian Museum. The fish in the images are all the third generation offspring of specimens caught in Coward Springs, South Australia and kept on display in the Australian Museum Biodiversity Gallery. View larger image.
A female Desert Goby. Females are less vibrantly coloured than males. They have dark pigment in the first dorsal fin (not shown clearly in this image) whereas both dorsal fins of the male are dark. View larger image.
Anterior view of a male Desert Goby. Note the bulbous head shape and large mouth. View larger image.
The Desert Goby is brown-grey to yellowish with darker mottling and sometimes 7 or 8 darker saddles across the back. The head is yellow below. The first dorsal fin of males is black with blue and yellow bands.
This species grows to 6cm in length.
It can withstand large fluctuations in temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen.
The Desert Goby is found in freshwaters fed by artesian springs in the western and southern Lake Eyre drainage, Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications. Pp. 240.
- Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & M. Allen. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 394.
- Merrick, J.R. & G.E. Schmida. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes. Biology and Management. John R. Merrick. Pp. 409.
