Animal Species:Old Glory Goby, Amblygobius rainfordi (Whitley, 1940)

The Old Glory Goby has five blue-edged orange stripes on the body and five white spots along the bases of the dorsal fins. It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Pacific.

Old Glory Goby, Amblygobius rainfordi

Old Glory Goby, Amblygobius rainfordi
William White © William White

Alternative Name/s

Rainfords Goby, Old Glory, Red-lined Goby and Red-striped Goby.

Identification

The Old Glory Goby has five blue-edged orange stripes on the body and five white spots along the bases of the dorsal fins. There is a black ocellus (glossary) in the middle of the second dorsal fin, and another at the base of the caudal peduncle.

Size range

This species grows to 6.5 cm in length.

Distribution

It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Pacific, from the Philippines, south to Australia and east to Fiji.

In Australia the Old Glory is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia, and from the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Amblygobius rainfordi

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Old Glory Goby specimens in the Australian Museum.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The Old Glory Goby is usually found in sandy or muddy-bottomed habitats close to coastal reefs. It occurs at depths of 3m to 20m. The species is usually seen hovering within 0.5 m of the bottom.

Feeding and Diet

It feeds by taking a mouthful of sand and sifting it through its gill rakers, capturing small invertebrates and other organic debris.

Other behaviours and adaptations

Unlike other members of this genus, the Old Glory Goby does not retreat into a burrow when disturbed, and is often seen in the open.

Classification

Species:
rainfordi
Genus:
Amblygobius
Family:
Gobiidae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
  2. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 222.
  3. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 415.
  4. Whitley, G.P. (1940). Illustrations of some Australian fishes. Australian Zoologist. 9(4): 397-428.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Amblygobius rainfordi, Old Glory Goby, Gobiidae, green and blue, long and skinny, flatfish, < 10 cm, stripes, spots, soft substrate (sand), marine, horizontal orange stripes,