GOBIIDAE


Amblyeleotris fontanesii, 8.7 cm SL
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Amblyeleotris fontanesii
(Bleeker, 1852)
Giant Prawn-goby

D VI + I, 14-15; A I, 15-17; P1 19-22; LR 91-113; PDS 9-28.

Body elongate and compressed. Head slightly compressed; lower jaw slightly protruding beyond upper jaw; gill opening extending anteriorly beyond a vertical line through posterior margin of preopercle; tongue rounded or near truncate. Pelvic fins united medially; frenum present. Scales ctenoid posteriorly, cycloid anteriorly; cheek and operculum may be with small embedded cycloid scales. Sensory canals and pores present on head; a series of short transverse rows of sensory papillae below eye; a pair of sensory papillae just behind chin. Color: five broad dark brown bars on body; many small yellow dots on dorsal part of head; a faint dusky spot on first dorsal fin; male with a row of black dots along distal margin of second dorsal fin. Size: 15.0 cm SL. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific. Remarks: found on muddy bottom in protected bays; symbiotically associates with alpheid shrimps.