Author: Hoese & Roberts, 2005
FBname: New Zealand pygmy sleeper
Comments: Observed to be solitary and possibly, a territorial species.  Inhabits broken rocky reefs with holes, crevices, and small caves; perches on rocky ledges partly overlain by silty sand or shell debris.  Reported to be often collected underwater sharing caves with much larger black gobies <i>Gobiopsis atrata</i>.  Its small size, cryptic habit, semi-transparency, and camouflage coloration make this fish very difficult to locate underwater; though readily collected with rotenone ichthyocide while scuba diving. The habitat of this species in New Zealand is very similar to that of <i>T. adela</i> in Australia, which is restricted to rocky reefs, often in silty turbid waters, at 1-24 m depth.  May be collected using slurp gun or hand collected following controlled use of rotenone ichthyocide (Ref. 57647).