Ptereleotris helenae, Hovering goby

Ptereleotris helenae (Randall, 1968)

Hovering goby
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Ptereleotris helenae   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Ptereleotris helenae (Hovering goby)
Ptereleotris helenae
Picture by Abgarian, C.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gobiiformes (Gobies) > Microdesmidae (Wormfishes) > Ptereleotrinae
Etymology: Ptereleotris: Greek, pteron = wing, fin + The name of a Nile fish, eleotris (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Helen Randall née Au is a fellow zoologist and wife of the author Dr John ‘Jack’ Ernest Randall Jr. (Also see Randall) (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Randall.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 60 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: southeastern Florida, USA and throughout the Antilles (Ref. 7251), and Brazil (Ref. 40101).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 22 - 24; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 21 - 23. Body pale bluish-gray, with lavender overtones. Fins paler, greenish yellow; caudal fins rounded, moderately long. Mouth very oblique. Scales very small, about 145 in lateral series (Ref. 26938).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on sandy or coral rubble bottoms (Ref. 9710). Inhabits 'U-shaped' burrows. Often in pairs. Feeds on zooplankton. Hovers head down near burrow (Ref. 9710). Monogamous (Ref. 52884).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., 1996. Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p. (Ref. 13442)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 21 March 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |