A large pale sand goby with tall fan-shaped dorsal fins, usually in pairs.
A large goby to about 13 cm, pale cream to grey with scattered orange and brown spots over the head and rows of faint blotches along the flank. Both dorsal fins are tall and rounded and are held up and spread when the fish is settled, which is what makes it conspicuous on open ground. The scales are large and clearly outlined.
It lives on silty sand and fine rubble in sheltered bays and lagoons, usually in pairs, and works the sediment by taking mouthfuls and passing them out through the gills, leaving small pits behind it. A burrow under a rock or a piece of debris serves as shelter. Recorded from about 1 to 20 m.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.
