Brachygobius
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brachygobius is a small genus of gobies. They are popular aquarium fish where a number of species are sold as bumblebee gobies because their colours are similar to those of bumblebees.[1]
| Brachygobius | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bumblebee Fish (B. xanthozonus) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gobiiformes |
| Family: | Oxudercidae |
| Subfamily: | Gobionellinae |
| Genus: | Brachygobius Bleeker, 1874 |
| Type species | |
| Gobius doriae Günther, 1868 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Morphology
Bumblebee gobies range in size from 1.5 cm to 4 cm.[2] They are generally coloured black with pale yellow to orange bands.[3] Males are generally slimmer than females and often have more vivid colours, typically orange rather than yellow.[3] Females may also have smaller and rounder heads.[2] When spawning, the colours of the males become deeper, the orange bands becoming red in the case of Brachygobius doriae.[2]
Taxonomy
This genus is informally divided by taxonomists into the dwarf Brachygobius nunus-species group (e.g., B. nunus, B. aggregatus, and B. mekongensis) and the bigger Brachygobius doriae-species group (e.g., B. doriae, B. sabanus, and B. xanthomelas).[2]
Species
There are currently nine recognized species in this genus:[4]
- Brachygobius aggregatus Herre, 1940 (Schooling bumblebee goby)
- Brachygobius doriae (Günther, 1868) (Bumblebee goby)
- Brachygobius kabiliensis Inger, 1958 (Kabili bumblebee goby)
- Brachygobius mekongensis Larson & Vidthayanon, 2000
- Brachygobius nunus (F. Hamilton, 1822)
- Brachygobius sabanus Inger, 1958
- Brachygobius sua (H. M. Smith, 1931)
- Brachygobius xanthomelas Herre, 1937
- Brachygobius xanthozonus (Bleeker, 1849) (Bumblebee fish)
Ecology
Bumblebee gobies are found across Southern and Southeast Asia primarily in freshwater habitats but also in slightly brackish waters.[2][3]
Reproduction
In the aquarium
Bumblebee gobies are popular aquarium fish.[5] A tank around 40 liters in size will house a dozen specimens comfortably. Under good conditions, they can live in an aquarium for around 5 years.[3] The most commonly traded species in the hobby belong to the Brachygobius doriae-species group but the smaller Brachygobius nunus is also traded occasionally.[2][3] Although many aquarium books use the name Brachygobius xanthozona, this species is very rare in the wild and is not commercially traded.[3]