Yellow clown goby
| Yellow clown goby | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Gobiidae |
| Genus: | Gobiodon |
| Species: | G. okinawae |
| Binomial name | |
|
Gobiodon okinawae Sawada, R. Arai & T. Abe, 1972 |
|
 |
|
| Range of G. okinawae | |
The yellow clown goby, Gobiodon okinawae, also known as the Okinawa goby or yellow coral goby, is a member of the goby family native to the western Pacific from southern Japan to the southern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. As the name implies, they are bright yellow in color, save for a whitish patch on each cheek.
G. okinawae have a generally shape with seven dorsal spines, ten soft dorsal rays, one anal spine, and nine anal soft rays. At maturity they can reach a length of 3.5 cm.
Another species, Gobiodon citrinus, the citrus goby, has a similar appearance to Gobiodon okinawae. G. okinawae, however, lacks the requisite blue and white facial markings of G. citrinus.
These fish are not generally aggressive, though they can actively protect their territory against their own kind. Their primary defense against predators is a poisonous, bitter mucus on their skin that makes them unpalatable.
The yellow clown goby inhabits the coral reefs of sheltered lagoons. Unlike most gobies, which are burrowers, Gobiodon sp. roost in the outer branches of Acropora (staghorn) corals, in groups of five to fifteen individuals.
Most gobies are carnivores, and the yellow clown goby is further subcategorized as a planktivore. Given their small size, their diet consists mainly of mesoplankton. They are opportunistic feeders, not hunters. The typical eating behavior is to wait for food to come into range, at which point they dart out to grab it and then immediately return to their roost.
...
Wikipedia