Common Name: Sleepy Goby

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed through the Indo Pacific; south to East London, South Africa, west to Guam in the Western Pacific Ocean. In Australia recorded from the Kimberly region of Western Australia, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to Jervis Bay in New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents intertidal areas of estuaries and rivers, occasionally in the lower reaches of freshwater streams. Common in mangrove areas. Depth to 3m.

Additional Notes: Body dark brown to black, with longitudinal rows of small black spots. 2-3 darker saddles on back and side, first dorsal fin dark, crossbands on pelvic fins. Head is flattened compared to other goby species. May be found in freshwater, one sample collected from the upper Macleay River in New South Wales. Grows to 19.8 cm.

References: FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication at https://www.fishbase.ca/summary/Psammogobius-biocellatus.html Accessed 02/01/2025.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=psammagobius+ocellatus  Accessed 02/01/2025.