Species: Gobiosoma bosc, Naked goby
pores: opercle 2; preopercle 3
brown + ~9 thin light bars
Gobiosoma bosc (Lacepede, 1800)
Naked goby
Body robust; head rounded, broader than deep; snout blunt; a very small barbel at front of eye; anterior nostril a short tube, posterior a raised rim; 1 pore between eyes; usually 2 pores over gill cover; 3 preopercular pores; upper lip separated from snout by a groove along its top edge; tongue rounded; 3-4 rows of teeth in both jaws, outer row of teeth enlarged in upper and lower jaws; no teeth on roof of mouth; gill membranes broadly joined to body under throat, with 5 rays; dorsal fin VII (spines not elongate) + I, 12 (10-13); length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin I, 10 (9-11); pectoral fin 18 (16-19), rounded; pelvic I, 5 all rays branched, disk round, extending 1/2 way or slightly more to anus; tail fin with segmented rays 17 (17-18), rounded; head and body without scales; no lateral line.
Body and fins brown, with ~9 thin light, generally straight, bars that extend onto the dorsal fins, the broad brown interspaces uniformly pigmented, or with short dark horizontal lines; occasionally uniformly pigmented either light or very dark all over.
Size: 6.0 cm.
Habitat: A coastal species generally found in salinities between 0.3o/oo to 24.7o/oo; frequently associated with oyster beds, also in grass beds, rocky areas, sea squirts, and marsh pools.
Depth: 0-10 m.
Massachusetts to the NW Gulf of Mexico. One specimen reported from Venezuela; perhaps arriving there in a ship’s ballast water.
Notes: Generally confused with G. robustum, G. longipala and G. ginsburgi. The latter two possess two large very rough scales on the posterior of the tail. In G. robustum the vertical bars are less distinct and not as straight is in G. bosc, the pelvic fins are longer, the dorsal and anal fin rays are 12 and 10 respectively instead of 13 and 11, and the posterior cephalic pores are generally lacking.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Non Marine
- Brackish
- Freshwater
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Freshwater
- Reef and soft bottom
- Rocks
- Estuary
- Submerged vegetation
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Insects
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- GC non-endemic
- Continent only
- Extends North of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 6
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 10
