Caragobius urolepis (Bleeker, 1852)
Scaleless worm goby
Bia
photo by Murdy, E.O.

Family:  Gobiidae (Gobies), subfamily: Amblyopinae
Max. size:  8.5 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater; brackish; marine, amphidromous
Distribution:  Indo-West Pacific: east coast of India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, southern Japan and eastward to Fiji.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 6-6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 32-32; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 33-33. Distinguished by the following characteristics: greenish body with yellowish fins; scales only on posterior 25-30% of body, remainder of body and head lacking scales; 18-27 teeth on outer row of upper jaw; 12-28 teeth on outer row of lower jaw; jaws terminating posteriorly at the vertical just anterior to posterior naris; anterior nares much closer together than posterior nares (Ref. 50587).
Biology:  Found in rivers and estuaries (Ref. 4833). Occurs on mud bottoms of estuaries, and tidal parts of rivers and creeks (Ref. 2847). Feeds on small crustaceans and other benthic invertebrates (Ref. 12693). Not seen in markets (Ref. 12693).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 29 December 2018 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Type localities of Caragobius typhlops Smith and Seale, 1906, USNM 55619 (seven individuals were collected from the Rio Grande de Mindanao, Cotabato by Dr. Morse in 1903 and these specimens are mutilated in condition of the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins that description is imperfect, Ref. 439); of Brachyamblyopus olivaceus Herre, 1927, BSMP 13024 (syntypes collected from La Libertad, Oriental Negros, with 7 destroyed and lost, seen by Koumans, Ref. 129446, 46206). Also Ref. 2847, 7050, 50587, 94476.


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