Gobie sellé, Y-bar shrimpgoby, Barred prawn-goby, Black shrimp-goby, Y-bar shrimp goby, Blue Finned Shrimp Goby, Variable Shrimpgoby, Murasamehaze, ムラサメハゼ, 条纹丝鰕虎鱼, 條紋絲鰕虎魚,

Synonyme
Gobiosoma fasciatum (Playfair, 1867)

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Description
Dorsal spines (total): 6-7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 9; Pectoral fin rays: 18; Greatest depth of body: 5.5-5.8 in SL; Longitudinal scale series: 77-92; Rounded caudal fin: 3.2-3.8 in SL. Scales cycloid; Predorsal scales present; United pelvic fins, presence of frenum; Absence of scales on head except a few scales dorsally on opercle. Max. length: 14.0 cm TL. Depth range: 5 - 20 m, usually: 5 - 15 m.

Color
Variable coloration ranging from yellow, entirely blackish, or barred or mottled; Dorsal fins unmarked; Barred variety with four brown saddles, head with white or bluish streaks, plain dorsal fins, pelvic fins with blue spots, blue stripe on anal fin; Saddled variety dark brown color with whitish saddles on top of head and along back; Head with small white or blue spots or streaks, pelvic fins with blue spots, blue stripes on anal fins; Mottled variety with four diffuse brown bars on side; Lower operculum with large brown blotch, head with white to bluish spots, strong mottling on back, anal fin with blue stripes.

Etymology
Cryptocentrus: from Greek, kryptos = hidden + from Greek, kentron = sting. Referring to a concealed point or projection on preopercle.
fasciatus: from Latin, fascia, fascio = bundled, banded + from Latin suffix, -inus = pertaining to. Referring to four darker cross bands on brownish-red body.
Original description: Gobiosoma fasciatum Playfair, 1867 - Type locality: Zanzibar, Tanzania, western Indian Ocean.

Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Persian Gulf, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mascarenes east to New Britain, south to Queensland (Australia) and New Caledonia.

Biology
Found on sand near patch reefs. Found in burrows with alpheid shrimps. Two individuals sometimes share a burrow, and these may be one of each color. Occurs in clear coastal and inner reef sand slopes, in small colonies.

Similar species
Cryptocentrus bulbiceps (Whitley, 1953) - Reported only from Queensland, Australia. The species is known only from the holotype and photos from north Queensland. It is close to and possibly identical with Cryptocentrus fasciatus.
Cryptocentrus cinctus (Herre, 1936) - Reported from Eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific: Andaman Sea and Indonesia east to Caroline Islands and New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), north to Yaeyama Islands, south to northern Australia. Two color phases: one yellow with 4-5 faint bars, the other pale with brown bars, fine pale blue or white spotting on head and upper front part of body and fins, and a dark brown streak on top of upper jaw.                                     
Cryptocentrus nanus (Greefield & Allen, 2018) - Reported from Fiji. It is nearly identical to the dark-phase juvenile of Cryptocentrus fasciatus. The only apparent color pattern difference is the presence of small blue spots on the head and sides in juvenile Cryptocentrus fasciatus and their apparent absence in Cryptocentrus nanus. The two species also share similar meristic features and are most reliably separated by the presence of vomerine teeth in Cryptocentrus nanus and their absence in Cryptocentrus fasciatus. Also, Cryptocentrus fasciatus attains a much larger size, at least 95 mm TL, and adults exhibit a wide range of color variation.
Cryptocentrus sericus (Herre, 1932) - Reported from Eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific: Andaman Sea and Indonesia east to Palau, north to Yaeyama Islands (Japan), south to New Ireland (Papua New Guinea).