New species record for Australia!

The Thread Shrimpgoby, Ctenogobiops mitodes, has not been 'formally' recorded from Australian waters.

Goby expert, Dr Doug Hoese, confirmed that observation made by Andrew Green (dentrock) was of this species.

Doug stated that he has seen several other images of this species from northern Queensland. The species has been previously recorded by Andrew and other Reef Life Survey divers and Andrew has also photographed it off north-western Western Australia.

The Thread Shrimpgoby can be recognised by a number of characters including the blue spots circling brown blotches on the sides of the body and the blue and yellow line/dashes behind the eye extending to the origin of the first dorsal fin.

The species, which occurs throughout much of the tropical Western Pacific region, is now also known from Australia. Thank you Andrew!

Reference: Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann, 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.