Large Sandgoby

The Large Sandgoby, scientifically known as Fusigobius maximus, is a tropical marine fish found in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning regions like the 🌊 Red Sea, 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka, 🇮🇩 Indonesia, the 🇵🇭 Philippines, and the Coral Sea. These fish prefer to live near reefs, at depths ranging from 3 to 21 meters (approximately 10 to 69 feet), inhabiting sandy and rubble-strewn sea floors.

Adult male and unsexed individuals can reach a maximum length of 7.5 centimeters (about 3 inches), while females grow up to 6.9 centimeters (roughly 2.7 inches). The species is characterized by its semi-translucent body, which is adorned with dusky orange-yellow spots on the head, body, dorsal, and caudal fins. Notably, there is a vertically elongated black spot on the first membrane of the dorsal fin and another black spot at the midbase of the caudal fin.

The Large Sandgoby features a set of six to seven dorsal spines and nine dorsal soft rays, along with one anal spine and eight anal soft rays. Its rounded caudal fin and fully united pelvic fins include a pelvic frenum, a distinctive trait. The fish's scales are primarily ctenoid, with exceptions on the breast, base of the pectoral fin, and the anterior underside of the abdomen, which are cycloid. The operculum, or gill cover, lacks scales, and the gill opening stretches to nearly one-fifth of the width of the opercle from the back edge of the preopercle. Furthermore, there are no median predorsal scales, but scales extend along the side of the nape to the rear edge of the preopercle. Overall, the body depth is typically between one-fifth and one-sixth of the standard length.

The name Fusigobius maximus derives from Latin, where "fusus" means spindle and "gobius" refers to gudgeon, while "maximus" highlights its status as the largest species within its genus.