Cryptocentrus

Cryptocentrus
Cryptocentrus cinctus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiiformes
Family:	Gobiidae
Subfamily:	Gobiinae
Genus:	Cryptocentrus Valenciennes, 1837
Type species
Gobius cryptocentrus Valenciennes, 1837
Synonyms
AlepidogobiusBleeker, 1874 BatmanWhitley, 1956 IotogobiusSmith, 1959 MarsJordan & Seale, 1906 ObtortiophagusWhitley, 1933 SmilogobiusHerre, 1934

Cryptocentrus, also known as Watchman gobies, and one of the genera known as shrimp gobies or prawn gobies, is a genus of gobies native to tropical marine waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Species

There are currently 41 recognized species in this genus: ^[1]

• Cryptocentrus albidorsus (Yanagisawa, 1978) (White-backed shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus altipinna Hoese, 2019
• Cryptocentrus bulbiceps (Whitley, 1953) (Bluelined shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus caeruleomaculatus (Herre, 1933) (Blue-speckled prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus (Rüppell, 1830) (Harlequin prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus callopterus H. M. Smith, 1945
• Cryptocentrus cebuanus Herre, 1927 (Cebu shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus cinctus (Herre, 1936) (Yellow prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus cryptocentrus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Ninebar prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus cyanospilotus G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 2011 (Bluespot shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus cyanotaenia (Bleeker, 1853) (Lagoon shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus diproctotaenia Bleeker, 1876
• Cryptocentrus epakros G. R. Allen, 2015 (Pointedfin shrimpgoby) ^[2]
• Cryptocentrus fasciatus (Playfair (fr), 1867) (Y-bar shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus flavus Yanagisawa, 1978
• Cryptocentrus haydeni (Herre, 1936)
• Cryptocentrus inexplicatus (Herre, 1934) (Inexplicable shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus insignitus (Whitley, 1956) (Signal goby)
• Cryptocentrus leonis H. M. Smith, 1931
• Cryptocentrus leptocephalus Bleeker, 1876 (Pink-speckled shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus leucostictus (Günther, 1872) (Saddled prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus liolepis Bleeker, 1876
• Cryptocentrus lutheri Klausewitz, 1960 (Luther's prawn-goby)
• Cryptocentrus malindiensis (J. L. B. Smith, 1959)
• Cryptocentrus maudae Fowler, 1937 (Maude's shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus melanopus (Bleeker, 1860)
• Cryptocentrus multicinctus G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 2011 (Multibarred shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus nanus Greenfield & Allen, 2018
• Cryptocentrus nigrocellatus (Yanagisawa, 1978)
• Cryptocentrus niveatus (Valenciennes, 1837)
• Cryptocentrus pavoninoides (Bleeker, 1849)
• Cryptocentrus pretiosus (Rendahl (de), 1924)
• Cryptocentrus sericus Herre, 1932
• Cryptocentrus shigensis N. Kuroda, 1956 (Shige shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus steinhardti Goren & Stern, 2021
• Cryptocentrus strigilliceps (D. S. Jordan & Seale, 1906) (Target shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus taiwanensis Chen & Yang, 2024
• Cryptocentrus tentaculatus Hoese & Larson, 2004 (Tentacle shrimpgoby)
• Cryptocentrus venustus Seale, 1914
• Cryptocentrus wehrlei Fowler, 1937
• Cryptocentrus yatsui Tomiyama, 1936

References

1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Cryptocentrus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 1 October 2025.
2. Allen, G.R. (2015). "Descriptions of two new species of shrimpgobies (Gobiidae: Cryptocentrus and Tomiyamichthys) from Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 16: 67–81.