Species: Coryphopterus tortugae, Sand sand-goby, Sand goby
body: 3 rows dark marks, lower row = crescents
Coryphopterus tortugae (Jordan, 1904)
Sand goby
Snout short, profile straight; crest on head; head pores present, usually 1 between center of eyes, 1 pair between rear nostril; 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, 9; length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; anal fin I, 9; pectoral fin 19 (18-20); pelvic fins I, 5, fused into a 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.
Body translucent, with abundant internal yellow-orange to brown marks, and external white spots; body with 3 rows of dark marks, marks in lower row vertically elongate, usually crescentic, occasioally X shaped; top of head with central row of dark spots; white stripe along cheek; two orange stripes extending back from eye, upper stripe incomplete, often broken into short segments; a conspicuous triangular black spot above the operculum; no dark spot in the lower portion of the pectoral fin base; a dark grey bar on base of tail fin.
Reaches: 6.2 cm.
Habitat: sandy bottoms with coralline areas in clear to slightly turbid waters.
Depth: 0-32 m.
Bermuda to the southern Caribbean.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef and soft bottom
- Rocks
- Sand & gravel
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Detritivore
- Data
- Omnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Benthic microalgae
- Detritus
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Benthic
- Data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent + Island (s)
- Continent
- All species..
- GC endemic
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Vulnerable
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 6.2
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 32
