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

Gobie à longues nageoires, Gobie pointillé, Long-finned goby, Longfinned goby, Teardrop sleeper-goby, Ocellate glider goby, Ocellated gudgeon, Sazanamihaze, サザナミハゼ, 長鰭美塘鱧,

Synonymes
Calleleotris longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Eleotriodes longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Eleotris lineatooculatus (Kner, 1867)
Eleotris lineooculatus (Kner, 1867)
Eleotris longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Eleotris taeniura (Macleay, 1881)
Valencienea longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Valencienna longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Valenciennae longipinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Valenciennea longispinnis (Lay & Bennett, 1839)

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Description
Dorsal spines (total): 5-6 (usually: 6); Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-13 (usually: 12), without dorsal filamentous spines; Anal spine: 1; Anal soft rays: 11-13 (usually: 12); Pectoral fin rays: 19-22 (usually: 20-21); Segmented caudal rays: 17; Branched caudal rays: 13; Vertebrae: 10+16. Gill rakers on inner face of second arch 12-16 (rarely: 12); Longitudinal scale count: 80-121; Transverse scale count: 30-46; Pectoral base usually naked in juveniles smaller than 50 mm, usually scaled in larger specimens; Prepelvic area scaled or naked in juveniles smaller than 50 mm, partly to fully scaled in adults; First dorsal fin margin rounded, third and fourth dorsal spines subequal, third or fourth longest; Caudal fin rhomboid: 23.3-30.2% SL (about equal to head length) in juveniles less than 50 mm SL: 30.2-48.6% SL (longer than head) in adults 51-153 mm SL; Body depth: 6.0-6.7 in SL. Max. length: 18.0 cm. Depth range: 2 - 30 m, usually: 2 - 6 m.

Color
Pale grey body color, grading to white ventrally; Presence of five, blue-edged bars extending ventrally to middle of side, each bar containing reddish brown to black blotch at bottom; Blue bands; Spots on head; Pectoral fin base with a pair of pink stripes; Dorsal fin with narrow pink bands and blue to reddish spots on second dorsal and caudal fins; Spot at tip of first dorsal fin sometimes extending between third and fifth dorsal spines.

Etymology
Valenciennea: in honnor of Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865) who was a French zoologist. He worked with Auguste Henri André Duméril (1812-1870), Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) and Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756-1825) since 1815. He worked on the 22-volume of a "Histoire naturelle des poissons" (1828-1848), carrying on alone after Georges Cuvier died in 1832.
longipinnis: from Latin, longus = long +‎ from Latin, pinna = feather, fin, wing. Referring to extended rays on first dorsal fin and/or “long and pointed” caudal fin.
Original description: Eleotris longipinnis Lay & Bennett, 1839 - Type locality: Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Distribution
Western Pacific: eastern Malaya (Malaysia) and Indonesia, east to Yap (Micronesia), Fiji and Tonga, north to Ryukyu Islands (Japan), south to northern Australia and New Caledonia.

Biology
Occurs in areas of fine sand and shallow lagoon reefs. Adults usually in pairs, constructing burrows under rubble. Monogamous. Feeds on small invertebrates (e.g. copepods, amphipods, ostracods, nematodes, and foraminiferans) by sifting mouthfuls of sand.

Similar species
Valenciennea muralis (Valenciennes, 1837) - Reported from New Caledonia. Black between tips of third and fourth spines, sometimes extending just beyond tip of fourth spine.

Last update: 12, August 2024