Name: Decorated Goby
Local name: Nabbat
Scientific name: Istigobius decoratus
Classification: Class: ray-finned fishes; Order: perch-likes; Family: gobies (Gobiidae)
Size: It attains a total length of 12.5 cm.
Habitat:
The Decorated Goby inhabits sandy substrates near corals or rocks in protected waters from less than 1 m depth down to 18 m.
Distribution:
The species is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea and eastern Africa in the west, to Micronesia and Samoa in the east, north to Japan, and south to Australia.
Conservation status:
It has not yet been assessed globally by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In a regional assessment for the Arabian Gulf it was classified as Least Concern (LC). It is used in the aquarium trade.
Description:
The body is elongate and covered with scales. There is no lateral line, but the head has many sensory pores and papillae. The first dorsal fin and the anal fin are rounded. Coloration is quite variable. Head and body are pale greenish grey dorsally, the scales narrowly edged in reddish brown. The ventral surface is white. There are five midlateral double black spots, and numerous smaller dark spots dorsally forming irregular rows.
