Banded Shrimp Goby

Cryptocentrus cinctus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Cryptocentrus
Species: Cryptocentrus cinctus

The banded shrimp goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus), also called the yellow shrimp goby, is a stocky goby that can be bright yellow or pale with dark bands. Both colour forms often have small blue spots on the head and fins.

It grows to about 7-10 cm and lives in a burrow it shares with an alpheid shrimp. The goby stands guard at the entrance while the shrimp keeps the burrow clear, touching the goby with its antennae to stay in contact.

The banded shrimp goby is found in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where it lives on sandy and silty bottoms in sheltered areas.

Photo: libby hepburn, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist