Elacatinus evelynae

Elacatinus evelynae, the sharknose goby, Caribbean cleaner goby, Caribbean cleaning goby, is a species of goby native to the Western Atlantic Ocean from the Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles to the northern coast of South America, as well as the Antilles and western Caribbean.[2]

Elacatinus evelynae
Elacatinus evelynae resting on a boulder brain coral (Colpophyllia natans)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Elacatinus
Species:
E. evelynae
Binomial name
Elacatinus evelynae
(J. E. Böhlke & C. R. Robins, 1968)
Synonyms
  • Gobiosoma evelynae J. E. Böhlke & C. R. Robins, 1968

Appearance
Elacatinus evelinae

Elacatinus evelynae is a very small, torpedo-shaped fish. It can reach a maximum length of 4 cm (1.6 in). It has a yellow stripe in front of each eye that joins to form a V near the tip of its snout. Black stripes run under the yellow ones from the snout, over the lower part of the eye to the end of the caudal fin.[2] E. evelynae's fin configuration is the same as all other gobies. Its dorsal fin is split in two, with a rounded anterior fin and a flat posterior fin which lines up with its anal fin. The pectoral fins are almost circular. All its fins are transparent.

Habitat

They inhabit coral reefs in clear ocean waters at a depth of 1–53 m (3 ft 3 in–173 ft 11 in). The reported temperature range where they are found is 22 to 27 °C (72 to 81 °F).[2]

Diet

E. evelynae is a cleaner fish as indicated by one of its common names, the Caribbean cleaning goby. They feed on ectoparasites found on other fish.[2] Females tend to clean and feed more than males especially if they are accompanied by a large male, which may be due to mate guarding and the male spending more time guarding the eggs.[3]

Reproduction

They are monogamous and are usually found in pairs near coral heads. Both males and females show aggression towards potential intruders of the same sex to protect their mates.[4] Attempts to breed them in captivity have shown that they do not produce eggs unless conditions are optimal, with little to no fluctuation in temperature and salinity.[5]

Name

The specific name honours Evelyn McCutcheon (1894-1977), of Salt Cay in the Bahamas, who provided hospitality to James Erwin Böhlke and his fellow ichthyologist Charles C. G. Chaplin.[6]

References
  1. van Tassell, J.; Tornabene, L. & Gilmore, G. (2015). "Elacatinus evelynae". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T185988A1799275. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T185988A1799275.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). "Elacatinus evelynae" in FishBase. October 2016 version.
  3. Rohde, Klaus (2005). Marine Parasitology. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9780643099272.
  4. Whiteman, Elizabeth A.; Côté, Isabelle M. (August 2003). "Social monogamy in the cleaning goby Elacatinus evelynae: ecological constraints or net benefit?". Animal Behaviour. 66 (2): 281–291. doi:10.1006/anbe.2003.2200.
  5. Baker, Erin; Becker, Eliza; Foster, Bridgette; Martin-Katz, Ben; Quayle, Peter; Triedman, Lucy. "Breeding of the Sharknose Goby (Gobiosoma evelynae) in captivity with a comparison of substrates for spawning" (PDF). Fisheries Conservation Foundation. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  6. Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (29 May 2018). "Order GOBIIFORMES: Family GOBIIDAE (d-h)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
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