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Tropical sand goby

Acentrogobius caninus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–18 m
  • Water temperature23–30 °C
  • Best monthsMay, July, and September
  • How commonRare
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Photo credit: (c) Patrick Connolly, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Acentrogobius caninus, also known as the tropical sand goby or green-shouldered goby, is an amphidromous benthopelagic species of fish in the family Gobiidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acentrogobius caninus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 13 records
  • February: 13 records
  • March: 6 records
  • April: 14 records
  • May: 22 records
  • June: 11 records
  • July: 21 records
  • August: 18 records
  • September: 19 records
  • October: 11 records
  • November: 5 records
  • December: 16 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–18 m · Deepest record: 29 m

  • 0–10 m: 19 records
  • 10–20 m: 2 records
  • 20–30 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

  • 22–24 °C: 7 records
  • 24–26 °C: 18 records
  • 26–28 °C: 37 records
  • 28–30 °C: 82 records

Names and classification

English
Tropical sand goby, dogtoothed goby, Dog-toothed goby, Tropical sand goby, Green-shouldered Goby, Green-shoulder Goby, tropical sand goby
Names in 3 more languages
Japanese
Hokurohaze, ホクロハゼ
Thai
ปลาบู่เขี้ยว
Simplified Chinese
犬牙細棘鰕虎, 虎齒細棘鰕虎

Other scientific names: Amoya caninus, Ctenogobius caninus, Gobius caninus, Gobius philipi, Gobius philippi, Radigobius caninus, Yongeichthys caninus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 299 open-data records from 1837 to 2021.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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