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Goldspecked Prawngoby
Ctenogobiops pomastictus Lubbock & Polunin, 1977

A Goldspecked Prawngoby and shrimp at a depth of 10m, inside Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef Queensland, November 2001. View larger image.

A Goldspecked Prawngoby and two shrimps at the entrance to their burrow. Photograph taken at a depth of 18m, Redang Island, Malaysia, April 2001. View larger image.

A Goldspecked Prawngoby and shrimp at a depth of 10m, inside Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef Queensland, November 2001. View larger image.

The Goldspecked Prawngoby has a white body with brown spots. There is a distinctive white spot on the pectoral fin.

This species grows to 6cm in length.

The Goldspecked Prawngoby is usually found in silty or sandy subtidal reefs and lagoon areas. It shares the burrows of the shrimps Alpheus djeddensis, Alpheus djiboutensis and Alpheus ochrostriatus. When disturbed the fish and shrimps retreat into the burrow (more information). Burrows usually have two or three entrances.

The Goldspecked Prawngoby is found at depths from 1m to 20m.

This fish occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Pacific, from the Ryukyu Islands, throughout Micronesia, south to Australia and east to the Mariana Islands.

In Australia, the Goldspecked Prawngoby is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Further reading

1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
2. Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
3. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 222.
4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 415.