Nano Gobies

Technical terms that
lexicon| appear in articles in this issue
Caudal fin: the tail of a fish.
Cnidarian: an invertebrate animal with stinging
cells known as cnidocytes or nematocysts.
Included are sea anemones, corals, and sea
pens, as well as jellyfishes, box jellies, and
hydrozoans.
Cryptic: prone to hiding or being difficult to
see.
Dorsal fin: in fishes, one or more fins on the
back, used primarily for stability and making
sudden movements. A fish may have up to
three dorsal fins. In the frogfishes, the anterior
dorsal fin is modified to resemble a fishing
rod and lure above the mouth.
Gravid: pregnant; in fishes, full of eggs.
Monophyletic: having shared characteristics
and thought to have a common
ancestor.
Nano: small. In aquariums, usually under
30 gallons (114 L); in fishes, usually under 2
inches (5 cm).
Octocorals: corals without stony skeletons,
including soft corals, gorgonians, and sea
pens. Also known as Alcyonarians. Distinguished
by polyps with eight tentacles each.
Pelagic: living in the open sea; pelagic
larvae are immature marine organisms carried
by tides and currents until they reach
metamorphosis and settle out of the water
column.
Pelvic fins: the paired fins on the ventral
surface of a fish, also known as ventral fins,
that correspond to the hind legs of higher
vertebrates. In gobies, these fins are often
fused in a single sucker-like organ.
Protandric or protandrous hermaphrodites:
in zoology, animals having male organs
when young and maturing into functional
females.
Protogynous hermaphrodites: in zoology,
animals that have female organs but are
capable of becoming functional males. Fish
that live in harems are often protogynous
hermaphrodites, with females capable of
transforming if the harem’s male is lost.
Scleractinian: a stony coral, having a skeleton
of calcium carbonate (aragonite).
Conservation breeding: maintaining a species
that is threatened, endangered, or extinct
in the wild in captive-bred populations carefully
managed to preserve genetic viability
and diversity.
REEF LIFE page 136
Cannibal Rock, Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Antennarius pictus, Painted Frogfish pair
Nighttime courtship: Small red male Painted Frogfish
courting a gravid yellow female. His nudging actions
finally stimulate her into a spawning ascent to release an
egg raft, which he immediately fertilizes before it drifts
toward the surface.
— Larry P. Tackett, co-author, with Denise Nielsen Tackett,
of REEF LIFE, Natural History and Behaviors of Marine
Fishes and Invertebrates (Microcosm/TFH, 2002).
126 CORAL