Species: Coryphopterus personatus, Masked Goby, Masked Sand-goby

Coryphopterus personatus (Jordan & Thompson, 1905)

Masked Goby, Masked Sand-goby

Head profile slightly rounded; a low fleshy crest along midline of head; head pores present, 1 large pore between center of front of eyes, 1 central pore just behind eyes; a pair between rear nostril; papillae on cheek in horizontal rows; eye large; tongue straight ended; gill membranes broadly joined to body under throat, with 5 rays; dorsal fin VI (second spine elongate) + I, 10 (9-10); length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin I, 10 (10-11); pectoral fin 15 (14-16); pelvic fins I, 5, all rays branched, fins mostly separate with a reduced front membrane; body covered with scales, scales large, rough, absent from head, 26 (24-28) in lateral series; no lateral line.

Head and body translucent, body without dark cross-hatching at scale edges and pepper spots; snout dark; a dark stripe from snout through eye; side of head and nape orange; ar row of ~8 elongate white dashes along spine from eye to tail base, those separated by orange blotches; no thin dark line under that row of orange and white blotches; no dark dots above anal fin and under dorsal fin; a black ring around anus; genital papilla not black, but may be speckled.

Reaches: 4 cm.

Habitat: Hovers above bottom in caves and shaded areas in reefs.

Depth: 2-73 m.

Bermuda to the S Caribbean.

Note: difficult to distinguish from C. hyalinus