goby (redirected from Gobiid)

goby, common name for a member of the family Gobiidae, small marine fishes familiar in shallow waters, especially along southern shores. Gobies may be either scaled or scaleless; all species have the ventral fins modified into a sucking disk, as in the clingfish of the family Gobiesocidae. The naked goby (3 in./7.5 cm) is found S of Cape Cod and the sharptail goby (6 in./15 cm) in brackish bays along the Atlantic coast. The sleeper, or guavina, occasionally grows large enough to be used as food. The round goby, native to the Black, Caspian, and Azov seas, has become a common pest species in the Great Lakes. On the Pacific coast the longjaw goby, or mudsucker, is a common bait fish. The most popular of many aquarium species is the bumblebee goby, native to S Asia. Gobies are classified in the phylum Chordata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Gobiidae.

---

goby

Any of more than 800 species of carnivorous fishes (suborder Gobioidei, order Perciformes), found worldwide but especially abundant in the tropics. Most species are small bottom dwellers with a weak suction cup formed by the fusion of their pelvic fins. About 700 species are typically elongated, sometimes scaleless fishes found along shores and among reefs in tropical and temperate seas. They have two dorsal fins and a rounded tail, lack a lateral line (sensory organ along the side of the body), and are often brightly coloured. Most adults are no longer than 4 in. (10 cm).