Stiphodon

Known only from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and thus far recorded from just 4 streams on Okinawa island and two on Iriomote island. The type series derived from both islands with Okinawa given as type locality. It may be more widely-distributed than this however, and was possibly transported to the Ryukyu Islands via the Kuroshio Current, an ocean current similar to the Gulf Stream transporting warm, tropical water northward from an area east of Taiwan past Japan towards the polar region.

Type locality is given as 'Stream at end of long narrow bay, Waigeo Island, Irian Jaya, Indonesia', with the species also known from rivers draining the northern slope of New Guinea as well as Halmahera Island (Indonesia), the Admiralty Islands (Papua New Guinea), the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea), D'Entrecasteaux Islands (Papua New Guinea), Louisiade Archipelago (Papua New Guinea), Bougainville (Papua New Guinea), Vanuatu, and...

This species is available occasionally, though not always under the correct name. We've seen it on sale as S. elegans on numerous occasions, for example, and other trade names include 'Sumatran blue neon goby' (it's not found on Sumatra), 'cobalt blue goby' and 'freshwater neon goby'. Further...

This species probably hasn't been seen in the trade yet but should make an interesting aquarium fish if it ever becomes available. Within the genus it's most similar to S. surrufus and S. mele from which it differs only in terms of meristics. In description it's distinguished from the former only by possession of more teeth in the upper jaw although images of live specimens depict S. surrufus as a more intensely-coloured, reddish fi...

This species was referred to as S. sp. 'orange fin' or S. sp. 'ST01' prior to being offically named and is one of the more commonly-traded members of the genus, though often in batches containing only one gender, a mixture of species, or misidentified under an incorrect name such as S. zebrinus. It can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: usually 9 soft second dorsal-fin rays; 15 soft pectoral-fin rays; first dorsal-fin in male poin...

This species is traded as S. sp. 'rainbow', S. sp. 'gold fin', or S. sp. 'gold cheek' and is among the more widely-available members of the genus although its identity was unclear prior to 2013. The most commonly-traded fish certainly appears to...

This species seems not to have appeared in the trade and is similar to several congeners in appearance, most notably S. weberi which is native to the Maluku archipelago and other islands around the coast of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). The two are said to be most easily-distinguished by examination of the belly which is fully-scaled in S. pelewensis but lacks scalation in S. weberi. The Gobiidae is the most speciose vertebrate family and notoriously problematic in terms of identifying fishes down to sp...

This species is rare in the aquarium trade and normally expensive when available. It's one of the most easily-identifiable in the genus by the combination of usually 14 pectoral-fin rays, 10 segmented second dorsal-fin rays, relatively small adult size, unique colouration in males and the shape of the first dorsal-fin in males in which the fourth and fifth spines are...

This species is not traded commercially at present and the specimen pictured above was brought back from northern Papua New Guinea by private collectors in 2008. It's diagnosable from other members in the genus by possession of 10 segmented rays in the second dorsal fin, males with filamentous spines in the firstandusually with 14 rays. Colour patterning in males is also distinctive (see 'Sexual Dimorphism'). The Gobiidae is the most speciose vert...

This species has been traded for a number of years, though not always under the correct name. We've seen it on sale as S. elegans or S. atropurpureus on numerous occasions, for example, and other trade names include 'Sumatran blue neon goby', 'cobalt blue goby' and 'freshwater neon goby'. Further confusion has arisen because other species are sometimes sold as S. semoni meaning identification has not always been easy and there ...

As with all members of the genus sexual dimorphism is pronounced. Males are brightly-coloured, with a reddish-orange stripe extending posteriorly from the pectoral-fin, with the posterior portion of the body entirely suffused with red. A darkish band extends from behind the eye to the edge of the opercle, and the basal third of the caudal-fin is reddish-orange.