Species: Awaous flavus, Redfin River Goby

Awaous flavus (Valenciennes, 1837)

Redfin River Goby

Head broad, depressed; snout blunt; head and body flattened on bottom; eyes small, close together, a pair of pores above front margin; pores in two series of 5 anterior and 2 posterior on a discontinuous canal behind eye; mouth a little under snout; jaw teeth slender, long, none on front of roof of mouth; 2-3 elongate papillae on shoulder girdle under gill cover; gill membranes broadly joined to body under throat, with 5 rays; dorsal fin VI + I, (8-11); length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin 10 (9-11); pectoral fin 16 (15-17); pelvic fins fused into a disk; tail fin rounded; scales on entire body, rough; scales in lateral series 57-58 (51-60); scales before dorsal fin 20 (17-25); no lateral line.

Color: pale grey brown; 6-8 distinct narrow dark vertical bars on body from behind pectoral fin base to tail base, the bar under the origin of the 1st dorsal straight; first dorsal fin red to reddish orange, especially prominent in males.

Reaches: 11 cm.

Depth range: 0.3-5 m.

Habitat: Usually reported from estuaries and river deltas over sand and mud bottoms, seldom in water of much flow and has never been reported in freshwater above tidal influence.

E Venezuela to Brazil.