Naked Goby, Gobiosoma bosc
Naked Goby, Gobiosoma bosc. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, December 2013. Length: 3.8 cm (1.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.
Naked Goby, Gobiosoma bosc. Fish caught from within the Indian River Lagoon, Sebastian, Florida, December 2021. Length: 3.8 cm (1.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.
The Naked Goby, Gobiosoma bosc, is a member of the Goby or Gobiidae Family, and known in Mexico as gobio desnudo. They are named for its lack of scales. Globally, there are nineteen species in the genus Gobiosoma, of which eleven are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and five in the Pacific Ocean.
The Naked Goby has an elongated short stout body with a rounded head that has a blunt snout that has a small barbel in front of the large eyes that are set on top and close together and a terminal mouth that is equipped pointed teeth set in bands on each jaw. They are dark greenish brown dorsally that transitions to pale ventrally with 8 or 9 vertical bars on the sides with dusky fins. The males are darker than the females. Their anal fin has 1 spine and 9 to 11 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; their first dorsal fin has 7 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 12 to 14 rays; their pectoral fins have 16 to 19 rays; and, their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 5 rays and are fused into a section cup. They do not have scales for which they are named.
The Naked Goby is a demersal species that are found in protected highly vegetated areas including seagrass beds in coastal areas including shallow marshes, mud flats, and oyster reefs as solitary and reclusive individuals that take shelter inside empty clam and oyster shells at depths up to 10 m (33 feet). They reach a maximum length of 6.4 cm (2.5 inches). In cold weather they become sluggish and take shelter by burying themselves in bottom sediments to avoid predation. They are prone to massive kills during cold weather episodes. They consume aquatic insects and larvae, amphipods, shrimp and zooplankton. In turn they are preyed upon by American Eels, Sand Shrimp and larger fish. Reproduction is oviparous with females depositing between 350 and 9,000 eggs in empty oyster shells that attach to the substrate which are guarded by the males until they hatch in 4 days. The juveniles migrate upstream and school over oyster reefs before they settle out. They have lifespans of up to four years. The Naked Goby is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Naked Goby is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic but has a limited distribution being found from Campeche, Campeche, eastward and northward along the northern and eastern coasts of mainland Mexico.
The Naked Goby is most likely confused with the Rockcut Goby, Gobiosoma grosvenori (9 dorsal rays) and the Twoscale Goby, Gobiosoma longipala (11 dorsal rays).
From a conservation perspective the Naked Goby is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed population. They are very small in stature and of limited interest to most.