Name: Tailspot goby
Local name: Nabbat
Scientific name: Amblygobius albimaculatus
Classification: Class: ray-finned fishes; Order: perch-likes; Family: gobies (Gobiidae)
Size: It attains a total length of 18 cm.
Habitat:
It inhabits very shallow coastal waters down to depths of 20 m, and is found in sandy areas adjacent to coral assemblages, in seagrass and macroalgal beds. Its ground color adapts to the surrounding habitat. It usually occurs in monogamous pairs, builds a burrow and is often seen hovering above the substratum near its entrance. It feeds on small invertebrates.
Distribution:
It occurs in the Western Indian Ocean, from the Red Sea and eastern Africa in the west, to the Arabian Gulf in the east.
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 second to fifth dorsal spines are filamentous and the caudal fin is rounded. The background coloration of the head and body is light greenish grey to dark grey, with five narrow dark bars on the body and a black spot each on the caudal-fin base and above the gill opening. A light whitish to yellowish band extends from the mouth to the hind margin of the operculum.
