Author: Allen & Erdmann, 2017
FBname: Tubeworm dwarfgoby
Comments: Specimens were obtained within about 150 m of each other on a gently sloping to nearly flat, silty-sand bottom in depths of about 20-35 m. They were invariably associated with an unidentified tubeworm species that constructs vertical, stick-like structures that project to a height of about 30 cm above the substrate. The worm tubes were variously populated with a wealth of encrusting, sessile invertebrates such as sponges, tunicates, hydrozoans, and bryozoans that provided shelter for the fish as well as small crabs and shrimps. We estimated about 20-30% of the worm tubes were inhabited by the gobies, which were mainly solitary, although rarely in pairs. The fish were usually observed perched among the sessile invertebrate growth, retreating to the interior of the worm tube via a variety of openings when disturbed (Ref. 114922).