Favonigobius lentiginosus
A 4cm sand-dweller most reliably logged in New South Wales, Australia, in waters between 17 and 23C. Here's how to find one.
A tiny fish, barely 4cm long, with a slender pale to sandy-grey body covered in fine dark speckles that give it its name. It sits low on the seabed rather than swimming freely, propped up on its pelvic fins in typical goby fashion, and its markings blend closely with the sand and rubble it favours. Look for the two close-set eyes and the way it perches motionless before darting a short distance and resettling.
Divers find this goby sitting still on open sand or fine rubble patches, often close to the substrate where its speckled pattern breaks up its outline. It tends to stay put until you get close, then makes a short, quick dart to a new spot rather than fleeing the area entirely. Because it is so small and well camouflaged, most sightings happen when divers are moving slowly and scanning the sand rather than cruising past at normal pace.
Like many small sand gobies, it relies on camouflage rather than speed for protection, so a slow, low approach with good buoyancy control is the only real way to get a close look before it moves off.
Sightings don't show a clear seasonal pattern, and the observed temperature range of 16.9 to 22.9C spans much of the NSW diving calendar, so it is reasonable to look for this goby across the year rather than targeting a single season.
All logged sightings so far come from Australia, concentrated in New South Wales, which is currently the only reliable place to look for this species. Within NSW it turns up at a handful of specific sites, so it is worth checking local dive shop knowledge for the exact spots rather than expecting it on every reef.
Mapping where Spotted Goby is logged…
Confirmed sightings are currently all from Australia, concentrated in New South Wales. It is not yet documented at dive sites outside this region.
There is no strong seasonal pattern in the data, and it has been recorded across a temperature range of roughly 17 to 23C, so it is reasonably considered a year-round sighting in NSW waters.
Look for a tiny, sand-coloured fish around 4cm long with fine dark speckles, perched on the seabed rather than swimming in open water. It stays close to sand or rubble patches and darts short distances when approached.
They are small, typically reaching only about 4cm in length, which makes them easy to overlook without a slow, close search of the sand.
No, they pose no danger to divers. They are small, harmless bottom-dwellers that simply move away if approached too closely.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Slender Goby
803 sites
