Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Gobiiformes (Gobies) >
Gobiidae (Gobies) > Sicydiinae
Etymology: Stiphodon: Greek, stiphos, -eos, -oys = mass + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335); martenstyni: The new species is named in memory of Cedric Martenstyn, one of the many unfortunate victims of Sri Lanka's civil war. As a dedicated naturalist (Pethiyagoda, 1991), his interest will be greatly misses (Ref. 44827).
Eponymy: Cedric Douglas Martenstyn (1946–1996) was a naturalist and diver, a Lieutenant Commander in the Sri Lankan Navy and Commander of the Navy’s Special Boat Service during the civil war against the Tamil insurgents. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; amphidromous. Tropical
Asia: Sri Lanka. Known only from the southwestern part of the country (Ref. 44827).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 3.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 104909)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 10. Nine rays in second dorsal fin (Dorsal fin VI-I, 9). Fifteen pectoral rays. Scales in lateral series 34. Ten cycloid scales in predorsal midline. Forty-five tricuspid teeth in upper jaw. Cutaneous sensory papillae over head elongate. Upper lip crenulated. Ridge of tissue forming a ring around anus (Ref. 44827).
Like other sicydiine gobies, Stiphodon martenstyni is probably amphidromous (McDowell, 1992a, 1992b). While juveniles and adults live exclusively in freshwater, adults reproduce in freshwater, the eggs being cared for by males. Eggs in all sicydiine gobies studied usually hatch in about 24 hours (Erdman, 1961, 1986; Beyer, 1989) at which time the fry passively drift downstream and out to sea where they become part of the plankton layer. The time spent out at sea as planktonic fry is unknown. The returning fry can be likened to surfers: that is, when fry are able to detect the crest of waves to their new home. This follows a similar scenario presented in Erdman (1961) for Sicydium Valenciennes, 1837 from Puerto Rico (Ref. 44827).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Watson, R.E., 1998. Stiphodon martenstyni, a new species of freshwater goby from Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Sicydiini). J. South Asian Nat. Hist. 3(1):69-78. (Ref. 44827)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).