Amblyeleotris triguttata
A small burrow-sharing goby logged around Muscat, Oman, in water near 27 to 29 C year-round. Here's how to spot one.
A slender pale goby around 6 cm long, usually seen hovering just above a burrow in sand or rubble rather than roaming the reef. Look for the three dark spots along its body (the trait behind the common name) against a translucent whitish base colour. It holds a near-vertical posture with its face pointed toward the burrow entrance, ready to drop in.
Divers usually find it stationed at the mouth of a sand or rubble burrow, hovering with quick, alert movements rather than swimming freely over the reef. Like other shrimpgobies it likely shares its burrow with a partner shrimp that maintains the tunnel while the goby keeps watch, darting inside at the first sign of a diver getting too close. Slow, low approaches give the best chance of watching it linger in the open before it retreats.
Shrimpgobies in this genus typically live in a mutualistic burrow-sharing arrangement with a burrowing shrimp: the shrimp digs and maintains the tunnel while the goby acts as lookout, flicking its tail to signal danger so both can dive for cover together.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the sighting data, so treat it as a year-round find. Observed water temperatures range from 26.7 to 29.2 C, comfortable conditions that hold steady across the diving calendar in Muscat.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Recorded sightings for this species are concentrated around Muscat, Oman, which currently accounts for every logged dive site. It turns up as an uncommon find at most of those sites, with a couple of spots producing more reliable sightings.
Mapping where Triplespot Shrimpgoby is logged…
Sightings are concentrated around Muscat, Oman, where it has been logged at numerous dive sites, usually as an uncommon find. It has not been widely recorded elsewhere.
There's no strong seasonal pattern in the sighting data, so it is considered a year-round species. Water temperatures where it is found stay in a fairly narrow 26.7 to 29.2 C band throughout the year.
Look for a small, slender goby around 6 cm long with a pale, translucent body marked by three dark spots. It hovers near a burrow entrance on sand or rubble rather than swimming freely over the reef.
They stay small, typically reaching around 6 cm in length, making them one of the smaller gobies divers spot near burrow entrances.
Like many shrimpgobies, it likely shares its burrow with a partner shrimp in a mutualistic setup: the shrimp digs and maintains the tunnel while the goby keeps watch for predators, ducking back with the shrimp when danger appears.
No, they pose no danger to divers. They are shy, retreat into their burrow when approached, and have no venom or aggressive behaviour toward people.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Slender Goby
803 sites
