Tangaroa Shrimp Goby

Ctenogobiops tangaroai

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Ctenogobiops
Species: Ctenogobiops tangaroai

The Tangaroa shrimp goby (Ctenogobiops tangaroai) is a pale, speckled shrimp goby with rows of small brown and orange spots and a tall first dorsal fin. Its sandy colours blend with the bottom.

It grows to about 6 cm and shares a burrow with an alpheid shrimp on sand and fine rubble. The pair work together, with the goby on lookout and the shrimp tending the burrow.

The Tangaroa shrimp goby is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it lives on sandy patches near reefs.

Photo: Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist