Common Ghost Goby
Pleurosicya mossambica
- Usual depth4–35 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and May
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by portioid · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Pleurosicya mossambica, also known as the toothy goby or the Mozambique ghost goby, is a species of goby native to the tropical coastal waters and coral reefs of the Red Sea and western Indo-Pacific. Like many other gobies, it forms commensal relationships with several species of marine invertebrates, including soft corals and sponges.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pleurosicya mossambica”, 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: 61 records
- February: 28 records
- March: 32 records
- April: 43 records
- May: 54 records
- June: 22 records
- July: 18 records
- August: 30 records
- September: 31 records
- October: 42 records
- November: 42 records
- December: 24 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–35 m · Deepest record: 82.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Photos
(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) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Common Ghost Goby, Many-host Cling-goby, Many-host Ghost Goby, Many-host Goby, Many Host Goby, Mozambique Ghostgoby, Toothy Goby
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Seboshiumitakehaze, セボシウミタケハゼ
- Simplified Chinese
- 莫三比克腹瓢鰕虎, 莫三比克腹瓢鰕虎魚
Similar species
Cling GobyPleurosicya micheli
- Blue Coral Ghost Goby
Pleurosicya coerulea
- Staghorn Ghostgoby
Pleurosicya fringilla
- Ghost Goby
Pleurosicya muscarum
- Lobed Ghost Goby
Pleurosicya plicata
Common gobyPomatoschistus microps
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).
- 460 open-data records from 1950 to 2016.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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