Sonora Goby, Gobiosoma chiquita

Sonora Goby, Gobiosoma chiquita. Fish caught from coastal tidal pools on Los Conchas Beach, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, November 2022. Length: 4.8 cm (1.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Sonora Goby, Gobiosoma chiquita. Fish caught from coastal tidal pools on Los Conchas Beach, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, April 2021. Length: 7.9 cm (3.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Sonora Goby, Gobiosoma chiquita. Fish caught from coastal tidal pools on Los Conchas Beach, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, November 2020. Length: 11.7 cm (4.6 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

The Sonora Goby, Gobiosoma chiquita, is a member of the Goby or Gobiidae Family, and known in Mexico as gobio chiquito. Globally, there are nineteen species in the genus Gobiosoma, eleven of which are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and five in the Pacific Ocean.

The Sonora Goby has an elongated robust body. They are brown to gray in color being covered with small white spots on the cheeks, gill covers, body and the caudal and dorsal fins. They have a series of diffuse white bars on their sides with 8 to 10 small blackish spots along the middle of the sides, a black patch just behind the cheek, and caudal and dorsal fins with small white spots. They have a rounded head that is broader than deep, with a blunt snout. Their anal fin has 1 spine and 9 to 11 rays and their first dorsal fin has seven spines, the first two are elongated in males; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 9 to 11 rays; and, their pelvic fins are fused to the disc. The body is covered with large rough scales with the exception of the head which is scaleless.

The Sonora Goby is a demersal species found in tidal pools and rocky reefs and in estuaries over sand and gravel substrate at depths up to 10 m (33 feet). They reach a maximum of 7.5 cm (3.0 inches). Reproduction is oviparous. The Sonora 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 Sonora Goby is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but is limited to the entire Sea of Cortez.

The Sonora Goby can be confused with a series of small coastal gobies that are found in various locations within the Sea of Cortez that include the Knobchin Goby, Gobiosoma nudum (two chin barbels), the Paradox Goby, Gobiosoma paradoxum (female has dark body; dorsal fin with a row of spots), and the Secret Goby, Gobiosoma semisquamatum (six dark bars on the body).

From a conservation perspective the Sonora Goby is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are probably the most common tidalpool fish in the Sea of Cortez. They are very small in stature and of limited interest to most.