Spinecheek goby

Oplopomus oplopomus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–15 m
Water temperature23–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and November
How commonRare

Photo credit: no rights reserved, uploaded by Chris Spain · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

Oplopomus oplopomus, commonly known as the spinecheek goby, is a species of goby native to the Indo-Pacific region. They can grow to a maximum length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in). They inhabit coral reefs.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Oplopomus oplopomus”, 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: 33 records
February: 19 records
March: 43 records
April: 45 records
May: 25 records
June: 26 records
July: 33 records
August: 28 records
September: 38 records
October: 25 records
November: 55 records
December: 20 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–15 m · Deepest record: 360 m

0–10 m: 53 records
10–20 m: 7 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 2 records
26–28 °C: 65 records
28–30 °C: 53 records

Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Spinecheek goby, Pretty Lagoon-goby, Pretty Lagoon Goby, spinecheek goby, Spinecheek Goby

Names in 4 more languages

German: Trauerfahnen-Grundel
French: Gobie à joues épineuses, Gobie à préopercule armé
Japanese: Keshohaze, ケショウハゼ
Simplified Chinese: 刺蓋鰕虎魚, 蓋刺鰕虎

Other scientific names: Gobius oplopomus, Opolomus opolomus

Similar species

Common goby
Pomatoschistus microps
Black-chest Shrimp-goby
Amblyeleotris guttata
Steinitz' goby
Amblyeleotris steinitzi
Barred Shrimpgoby
Amblyeleotris wheeleri
Banded Goby
Amblygobius phalaena
Bluespotted Goby
Asterropteryx semipunctata

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).
235 open-data records from 1951 to 2023.
Species data updated October 30, 2026.

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