Schismatogobius marmoratus (Peters, 1868)
photo by Winterbottom, R.

Family:  Gobiidae (Gobies), subfamily: Gobionellinae
Max. size:  3.4 cm SL (male/unsexed); 4.19 cm SL (female)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater; depth range 0 - 1 m
Distribution:  Asia: Japan, Philippines, and Indonesia.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 7-7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8-9; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 9-9. This species is distinguished by the following characters: pectoral-fin rays 16; body deep (body depth at pelvic-fin origin 19.8-21.9% of SL); trunk relatively long (pre-anal length 57.4-60.1% of SL; pre-anal-fin length 62.2-64.6% of SL); the snout blunt and steep. Colouration: two dark brown, transverse bands on posterior half of the body; pectoral fin with 1-8 black spots along each ray forming vertical bars; in males, the isthmus, gular region, and pelvic fins are densely pigmented; isthmus and gular region of female almost cream or white, usually with a brownish blotch on gular region; pelvic fin almost translucent, but with a few melanophores along soft rays in female; one diamond-shaped dark brown blotch from caudal-fin base to proximal part of caudal fin; posterior half of branched caudal-fin rays with 3-5 small black spots forming thin vertical bars (Ref. 125666).
Biology:  Collected from the lower freshwater reaches of a stream in Japan,150 m from the upper limit of tidal fluctuations, with S. ninja. It was also observed in two other streams on Okinawa Island, located 50 and 600 m from the upper limit of tidal fluctuations. Found in rapids at depths of 5-30 cm and in one case, was observed to swim away in the middle of the water column against a strong current, a behavior not seen in S. ninja and S. ampluvinculus (Ref. 125666).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 11 January 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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