Author: (Valenciennes, 1837)
Oxyurichthys papuensis (Valenciennes, 1837)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Oxyurichthys papuensis (Valenciennes, 1837) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: as genus. Dl VI; D2 I + 12; A I + 13; P 22; scales in lateral series 75-80. Eye with cirrus-like flap on upper edge. Colour. grey-blue, lighter below, with irregular yellow band along lateral midline; head with purple and yellow streaks; eye cirrus and predorsal ridge orange. Size to 11.1 cm (Mediterranean).
Habitat: on muddy grounds, 35-45 m. Food: crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, foraminiferans. Reproduction: summer and early autumn (Levant Sea); mature at 8-9 cm. All these data are valid for Mediterranean only.
Distribution: common Indo-Pacific species, now an established lessepsian immigrant in the Levant Sea (off Tel Aviv to Ashdod, Israel) (Ben-Tuvia, 1983).
Note. Keys out with Gobius and related genera, but easily distinguished by lanceolate caudal fin, eye cirrus, predorsal ridge, uniserial teeth in upper jaw, and head lateral line system.