Elegant firefish
Nemateleotris decora
- Usual depth21–55 m
- Water temperature26–30 °C
- Best monthsSeptember and October
- How commonRare
About this species
Nemateleotris decora, the elegant firefish or purple firefish, is a species of dartfish native to tropical waters in the Indo-West Pacific, from Mauritius to Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, and south to New Caledonia, from depths ranging between 25 and 70 m. It is found over hard, open bottoms of reefs, sandy patches and rubble, as well as deeper coastal outer reef drop-offs where there are strong currents. It reaches a maximum length of 9 cm (3 in). This species is often found in pairs and is monogamous. They feed on zooplankton, especially the larvae of copepods and crustaceans. They will dart into holes when alarmed. The populations of this species from the western Indian Ocean have been recognised by some workers as a distinct species, Nemateleotris exquisita, however, the validity of this taxon needs more taxonomic research.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Elegant firefish”, 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: 1 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 21–55 m · Deepest record: 62.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Elegant firefish, Decorated Dartfish, Decorated Firefish, Elegant Dartfish, elegant firefish, Elegant Firegoby, Purple Firefish, Purple Fire-goby, Purple Fire Goby, Redbanner Goby
Names in 5 more languages
- German
- Dekor-Schwertgrundel, Veilchenschwanz-Flügelgrundel
- Spanish
- Gobio de Fuego Elegante, Gobio de fuego exquisito
- French
- Eleotris Décoré, Gobie de feu décoré, Gobie-flamme décoré, Gobie-flamme Maquillé, Poisson-fléchette, Poisson-fléchette décoré
- Japanese
- Akebonohaze, アケボノハゼ
- Korean
- 퍼플고비
Similar species
- Fire Dartfish
Nemateleotris magnifica
- Common goby
Pomatoschistus microps
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).
- 118 open-data records from 1972 to 2023.
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