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Teleostei (teleosts) > Gobiiformes (Gobies) > Gobiidae (Gobies) > Gobiinae
Etymology: papilio:Name from Latin 'papilio' meaning butterfly, used as the generic name of the swallowtail butterfly, refers to the elongate, filamentous fifth and ninth branched caudal-fin rays (like the 'tails' of the swallowtail butterfly); noun in apposition. Eponymy: Professor Cornelius Jan van der Horst (1889–1951) was a Dutch zoologist who moved to South Africa (1928) and became Head of the Zoology Department, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 5 - 55 m (Ref. 90102). Temperate
Maturity: Lm? range ? - ? cm Max length : 4.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55718)
Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsalspines (total): 7; Dorsalsoft rays (total): 11; Analspines: 1; Analsoft rays: 11; Vertebrae: 26. This species is distinguished from its congeners in having the following set of characters: segmented dorsal-fin rays 11; segmented anal-fin rays 11; longitudinal scales 27; predorsal scales 11; third spine of first dorsal fin elongate, filamentous, and longer than the other spines; fifth and ninth branched caudal-fin rays elongate, filamentous, and forming bifurcate caudal fin; fifth and ninth branched rays each with a single branch; cephalic sensory-papillae row 'a' with 3 widely spaced papillae; numerous small yellow spots scattered on cheek, operculum, nape, body, and dorsal fins in fresh or live individuals; below the eye is a dusky yellowish brown vertical bar; body with 4 dark gray brown saddles, in addition to a similarly colored large blotch at midlateral caudal-fin base (Ref. 55718). Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
A single specimen collected from a sandy-mud bottom at a depth of 45 m in a protected bay. Observed to be usually at 40-50 m depths (area with pebbles); the young at depths of 8 m to about 30 m, but apparently on rare occasions; the species symbiotically associates with alpheid shrimp (species name uncertain) (Ref. 55718).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Shibukawa, K. and T. Suzuki, 2004. Vanderhorstia papilio, a new shrimp-associated goby from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (Perciformes: Gobiidae: Gobiinae), with comments on the limits of the genus. Ichthyol. Res. 51:113-119. (Ref. 55718)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
