Species: Ptereleotris helenae, Hovering Dartfish, Hovering Goby

Ptereleotris helenae (Randall, 1968)

Hovering Dartfish, Hovering Goby

Body very elongate, compressed; head strongly compressed; mouth very oblique, opens above, lower jaw projecting, chin with longitudinal fold; dorsal fin VI + I, 23-25; anal fin I, 22-24; pectoral fins 20-22; pelvic fins separate, I, 4; tail fin rounded in adults, slightly concave in juveniles, moderately long; scales very small, usually non-overlapping, embedded, 135-166 on mid-side, smooth with a few rough at rear, head scaleless; no lateral line.

Head and body pale bluish-gray, with lavender overtones; blue stripe from between eyes to dorsal origin; 2 blue stripes behind eye; yellow stripe on underside of head; dorsal and anal fins greenish-yellow; red stripe near outer edge of the second dorsal and anal fins and the upper and lower edges of the tail fin.

Reaches 12.0 cm.

Habitat: Found on sandy or coral rubble bottoms; Inhabits 'U-shaped' burrows. Often in pairs.

Depth range: 3–180 m.

The Bahamas to the S Caribbean.