Banded Goby
Amblygobius phalaena
- Usual depth1–11 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsMay, September, and October
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Amblygobius phalaena, the Sleeper Banded goby, white-barred goby, is a species of goby native to tropical reefs of the western Pacific Ocean and through the central Indo-Pacific area at depths of from 2 to 20 metres. This species feeds by taking in mouthfuls of sand and sifting out algae, invertebrates and other organic matter. It can reach a length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) TL. It is also of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Amblygobius phalaena”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 147 records
- February: 183 records
- March: 218 records
- April: 211 records
- May: 346 records
- June: 195 records
- July: 234 records
- August: 224 records
- September: 261 records
- October: 319 records
- November: 240 records
- December: 122 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–11 m · Deepest record: 31.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Photos
(c) Gregor Bailar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Valentin Moser, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Banded Goby, Brown-barred Goby, Calico Goby, White-barred Goby, White-spotted Goby
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Gobie à bandes
- Japanese
- Sarasahaze, サラサハゼ
- Simplified Chinese
- 尾斑鈍鰕虎, 尾斑鈍鰕虎魚
Other scientific names: Amblygobius phaelena, Amblygobius phalaene, Gobius annulatus, Gobius phalaena
Similar species
Bynoe GobyAmblygobius bynoensis
Crossed GobyAmblygobius decussatus
False Sleeper-gobyAmblygobius nocturnus
Sphinx gobyAmblygobius sphynx
- Link's Goby
Amblygobius linki
Black-chest Shrimp-gobyAmblyeleotris guttata
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).
- 2,624 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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