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Northern mud gudgeon

Ophiocara porocephala

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–5 m
  • Water temperature23–30 °C
  • Best monthsAugust, September, and October
  • How commonOccasional
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About this species

Ophiocara is a genus of fishes in the family Butidae native to tropical waters of Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ophiocara”, 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: 4 records
  • February: 12 records
  • March: 10 records
  • April: 12 records
  • May: 26 records
  • June: 25 records
  • July: 10 records
  • August: 38 records
  • September: 31 records
  • October: 35 records
  • November: 16 records
  • December: 14 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–5 m · Deepest record: 19.5 m

  • 0–10 m: 73 records
  • 10–20 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

  • 22–24 °C: 10 records
  • 24–26 °C: 16 records
  • 26–28 °C: 62 records
  • 28–30 °C: 165 records

Names and classification

English
Northern mud gudgeon, Flathead Sleeper, Mullet Gudgeon, northern mud gudgeon, Snakehead Gudgeon, spangled gudgeon, Spangled sleeper, Tittle
Names in 5 more languages
German
Schlangenkopfschläfergrundel
French
Cabot des Seychelles, Cabot marare, Eléotris à tête poreuse, Éléotris à tête poreuse
Japanese
Hoshimadarahaze, ホシマダラハゼ
Thai
ปลาบู่หัวมัน
Simplified Chinese
頭孔塘鱧

Other scientific names: Agonostoma darwiniense, Eleotris limosus, Eleotris litoralis, Eleotris madagascariensis, Eleotris porocephala, Eleotris porocephalus, Eleotris scintillans, Ophiocara darwiniensis, Ophiocara limosus, Ophiocara porocaephala, Ophiocara procaephala

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).
  • 586 open-data records from 1908 to 2023.
  • Species data updated October 27, 2026.

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