Gammogobius steinitzi
A tiny, uncommon goby found tucked into crevices around Catalonia, Spain, in cool 17-20C water. Here's how to spot one.
At around 3 cm, this is a small, slender goby that perches motionless on rock rather than swimming in open water. Look for a pale, translucent body crossed by darker brownish bands, with the fish usually sitting head-up in a crevice or on an overhang rather than out on open sand. Its small size and habit of staying tucked into shadowed rock faces are the biggest tells underwater.
Divers find it sitting still in the mouth of a crevice or under a rocky ledge, relying on its markings and stillness to blend into the shadows rather than fleeing. It's not a fish that patrols open reef, so slow, methodical scanning of rock walls and overhangs is how you'll actually spot one. Because it's small and uncommon even at the sites where it occurs, most sightings come from divers specifically looking rather than casual passes.
It's classified as uncommon at every site where it has been logged, which makes it more of a target species for macro-focused divers than something you stumble across by chance.
Sightings don't show a clear season, and the water temperature range logged (17.4 to 19.6C) fits Catalonia's cooler diving months, so plan on a year-round chance rather than a specific window.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
All logged sightings so far come from Spain, with Catalonia standing out as the region where divers reliably find it. Search rocky overhangs, crevices, and shaded vertical faces on Catalan reefs rather than open sand or seagrass.
Mapping where Steinitz's Goby is logged…
Every logged sighting so far is from Spain, with Catalonia the standout region. Look for it tucked into rocky crevices and overhangs on Catalan reef sites.
There isn't a detected season, so sightings are treated as year-round. Recorded water temperatures range from 17.4 to 19.6C, which covers Catalonia's cooler diving conditions.
It's a tiny goby, about 3 cm, with a pale banded body that it holds still against rock rather than swimming freely. Check crevices and shaded overhangs rather than open sand, and look closely as it's easy to overlook.
They stay small, reaching only around 3 cm in length, which is part of why they're easy to miss on a reef.
No. It poses no threat to divers and simply stays tucked in its crevice as you pass.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Slender Goby
803 sites
