Goby Gets Nice Eye Rings

David Muirhead took this photo of a goby at Rapid Bay jetty in April 2016: –

Goby at Rapid Bay jetty

He has speculated in the past about why they (Grooved-cheek gobies?) get “nice eye rings”. He says that they can have gold irises or eyebrows.

David thinks that they are probably Grooved-cheek gobies, Nesogobius species. They have also been called Opalescent goby.

One of David’s photos of a Grooved-cheek or Opalescent goby featured as the background image for December in our 2000 calendar of SA Marine Life. That photo is image number 1164 in our Photo Index.

Image 1164

There are two other images of this goby in our Photo Index. They are image numbers 1128 (Glenelg Tyre Reef) and 1291 (Glenelg Barge). All three images were taken by David.

Images 1128 (on right) and 1291 (on left)

(The left one (1291) is facing right, the right one (1128) is facing left)

Here is a cropped version of image 1291, showing a close-up of the goby’s eye: –

A cropped version of image 1291, showing a close-up of the goby’s eye

All images were taken by David Muirhead.