
Hovering Goby
Bryaninops natans
- Usual depth4–17 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsMarch, September, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Gregor Bailar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Bryaninops natans, known commonly as the redeye goby, is a species of marine fish in the family Gobiidae.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bryaninops natans”, 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: 37 records
- February: 30 records
- March: 48 records
- April: 22 records
- May: 23 records
- June: 23 records
- July: 17 records
- August: 29 records
- September: 39 records
- October: 23 records
- November: 47 records
- December: 30 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–17 m · Deepest record: 28 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Hovering Goby, Purple-eyed Coral-goby, Purple-eyed Goby, Purple-eye Goby, Redeye Goby, Redeye Hovering Goby
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Violettaugen-Zwerggrundel
- French
- Gobie nain à oeil rouge
- Japanese
- Akamehaze, アカメハゼ
- Simplified Chinese
- 漂遊珊瑚鰕虎, 漂遊珊瑚鰕虎魚
Similar species
Sea-whip GobyBryaninops yongei
- Loki's Goby
Bryaninops loki
Black-chest Shrimp-gobyAmblyeleotris guttata
Steinitz' gobyAmblyeleotris steinitzi
Barred ShrimpgobyAmblyeleotris wheeleri
Banded GobyAmblygobius phalaena
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).
- 180 open-data records from 1954 to 2021.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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