Species: Coryphopterus venezuelae, Venezuela Goby

Coryphopterus venezuelae Cervigón, 1966

Venezuela Goby

Snout short, profile straight; crest on head; head pores present, usually 1 between center of eyes, 1 pair between rear nostrils; papillae on cheek in horizontal rows; mouth small, relatively horizontal; gill membranes broadly joined to body under throat, with 5 rays; dorsal fin VI + I, 10 (8-10); length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin I, 9 (9-10); pectoral fin 19 (18-20); pelvic fins I, 5, fused into a complete disc, joined at front, with frenum; tail fin rounded; body covered with scales, scales large, rough, absent from head, 26-27 in lateral series; no lateral line.

Head yellow/gold, body yellowish white; top of head always without central row of dark spots, sometimes with a row of linear dark spots on each side of centerline, those joined by connecting loops of dark dots; top of iris with 5-6 black spots; pupil often with a thin orange outer ring; body with 3 rows of dark marks, some in lower row large, forming Xs in heavily pigmented fish, smaller and circular in pale fish; 3 thin black stripes back from eye to ~level of pectoral, those extend before eye and meet across snout; a white stripe on mid-opercle extends back onto upper pectoral fin base; a large round or triangular dark spot on top corner of operculum, at times another dark spot just behind eye; a dark spot on lower pectoral fin base, sometimes 1-2 stripes or blotches above that; tail fin base with either 2 small, round black spots or a dark grey bar, often C shaped, sometimes split in the middle; dorsal, anal and tail fins with an orange tinge and bluish stripes and edging.

Reaches: 7.5 cm.

Habitat: found on sand or mud substrates.

Depth: 1-72 m.

Distribution: Bermuda to the S Caribbean.

Note: Coryphopterus bol apparently is a synonym, although further work is needed to completely clarify this situation.