Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Gobiiformes (Order) > Gobioidei (Suborder) > Gobiidae (Family) > Gobiinae (Subfamily) > Ancistrogobius (Genus)

Threadless cheek-hook goby, Largetooth goby, Itokake Ho’okagi-haze, イトカケホオカギハゼ,

Description
Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-10 (usually: 10); Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 9; Pectoral fin rays: 19-20 (usually: 20); Pelvic fin rays: I, 5; Segmented caudal fin rays: 9+8, including: 6+5 or 6+6 or 6+7 branched rays; Dorsal unsegmented caudal fin rays: 7-9 (usually: 8); Ventral unsegmented caudal fin rays: 7-8; Longitudinal scales: 25-27 (usually: 26); Transverse scales from anal fin origin upward and forward to dorsal-fin base: 9-11 (usually: 10); Transverse scales from anal fin origin upward and backward to dorsal-fin base 8-9 (usually: 9); Transverse scale rows from origin of second dorsal fin downward and backward to anal fin base: 8-9 (usually: 8); Circumpeduncular scales: 12; Gill rakers: 1+8 or 1+9 or 1+10 or 2+8 or 2+9 or 2+10; Pseudobranchial filaments: 7-9. No filamentous spine on the first dorsal fin (the third spine subequal in length to preceding spine); Head and most of nape no scales, predorsal scales absent; Pelvic fins fused medially with well developed connecting membrane and frenum; Fifth segmented ray of pelvic fin: 91.8-94.9 % of preceding ray in length; Max. length: 4.1 cm SL. Depth range: 5 - 30 m.

Color
Ground color of head and body gray brown or pale brown dorsally, becoming paler ventrally; Cheek with some dark brown or dark gray spots (sometimes tinged with yellow), those at corner of mouth typically largest and most conspicuous; This black spot sometimes forming a dusky vertical bar below eye; Operculum with several faint dusky spots, sometimes tinged with yellow; In addition, several faint small yellowish spots sometimes present on cheek and operculum; Dorsal surface of eye with several black or dark brown dots; Dorsal surface of snout and nape with scattered small dark brown dots or spots smaller than pupil; Two dark brown spots (sometimes tinged with yellow) and yellow spots edged with dark brows on pectoralfin base; Dorsum of body mottled with dark brown; Lateral wall of abdominal cavity bright white; Body with numerous small yellow spots edged with dark brown; Midlateral body with a series of alternating large and small dark brown spots, typically enclosed by faint dark brown horizontal lines dorsoventrally; T or Y-shaped, faint dark brown marking at midlaterally at caudal-fin base; Faint yellow spots edged by dark brown scattered on dorsal fins; Black blotch at distal tip of first dorsal fin broad, extending posteriorly to middle of third interradial membrane; This black blotch bordered by white anteroventrally, yellow ventroposteriorly; Posterior part of first dorsal fin with narrow white distal margin; Anal fin whitish or grayish, with several faint dusky elongate blotches, sometimes tinged with yellow, basally; Caudal fin subtranslucent, with 1 or 2 rows of narrow black spots at middle of fin; Pectoral fin translucent; Pelvic fin white or grayish.

Etymology
Ancistrogobius: from Greek, agkistros = fishhook + from Latin, Gobius = a genus name of gobiine fish. Named in reference to the short, ventrally directed, spur-like preopercular spine.
yoshigoui: named for H. Yoshigou, who provided five paratypes and valuable information about this species.
Original description: Ancistrogobius yoshigoui Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen, 2010 - Type locality: mouth of Atetsu Bay, Setouchi-cho, Amami-Oshima Island, Amami Group, Oshima County, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, 2 Nov. 1999 (collected by T. Itoh).

Distribution
Eastern Indonesia, east to Philippines and New Guinea, north to Ryukyu Islands (Japan), south to New Caledonia.

Biology
Collected from sandy-mud or silt bottoms.

Last update: 1, April 2023