Eel Goby, Taenioides mordax or Taenioides purpurascens
Click to enlarge image
© B. Harrison
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Taenioides
- Species
- mordax
- Family
- Gobiidae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- According to McCulloch (1922), the species grows to '9 inches' (23 cm).
Introduction
The long, thin eel gobies are burrowing species that live mainly in estuaries.
Identification
The eel gobies are recognised by their elongate, scaleless body, tiny eyes, upturned mouths, and long-based dorsal and anal fins.
The fish in the upper image was caught by G. Logan in the Clarence River, New South Wales. He took it for identification to the Northern Region Fisheries Office, at Maclean. Fisheries Officer B. Harrison sent a photograph to the Museum for identification. He reported that he has seen this fish caught in the nets of trawlers. Fishers have told him that the fish can "really bite hard if you happen to be unlucky enough to brush against them."
Habitat
These are species of burrowing gobies which are recorded from soft-bottomed estuaries.
Distribution
Eel gobys have been recorded in Queensland and New South Wales.
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.
References
- McCulloch, A.R., 1922. Check list of the Fishes and Fish-Like Animals of New South Wales. Royal Zoological Society of NSW. Pp. i-XXvi, 1-104, Pl. i-xliii.
- Munro I.S.R., 1967. The Fishes of New Guinea. Dept Agriculture, Stock & Fisheries, Port Moresby, New Guinea. Pp. 1-650, Pl. 1-78.
