Species: Lythrypnus phorellus, Convict Goby

Lythrypnus phorellus Bohlke & Robins, 1960

Convict Goby

Body relatively deep, compressed; head compressed, profile round; front nostril a long tube, rear a raised rim; head without pores; papillae around mouth, on cheeks and operculum and over eye;mouth very oblique; tongue bluntly pointed; upper and lower jaw with a row of enlarged, spaced canines and a broad band of tiny, elongate, pointed teeth; gill opening narrow, ~pectoral base; gill membranes with 5 rays; dorsal fin VI (none elongate) + I, 8-9; length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin I, 8 (7-9); pectoral 15 (14-16), all unbranched; pelvics I, 5, fused into disc; tail fin short, round, with 17 segmented rays; scales rough, body scaled except chest and pectoral base, 25 (23-26) lateral rows, none on head and nape; no lateral line.

Body translucent with dark bars that vary in color from orange to orange-brown; dark bars with translucent central areas; dark center lines in pale bars (which are narrower than dark bars) between adjacent dark bars black; cheek with spots arranged in 3-4 rows radiating from bottom portion of eye; spots and bars on head same color as dark body bands; red coloration of gills visible through translucent portion of gill cover; first and second dorsal fins transparent, with color of dark body bands extending up onto base of fins, and with remainder of fin with fine scattered melanophores; tail fin transparent, with scattering of orange spots on fin rays; pectoral and pelvic fins transparent; 2 indistinct dark brown blotches on pectoral fin base, lower spot larger and darker than upper; leading edge of anal fin bright orange, remainder of fin with a wash of yellow-orange; pupil black, iris varying from bright red-orange to dark brown.

Reaches only 1.8 cm.

Depth range: 1.5-34 m.

Coral reefs under ledges and in rock rubble areas.

N Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico; the SE Caribbean