Animalia Life

Alabes dorsalis
FAMILY
Gobiesocidae
TAXONOMY
Alabes dorsalis Richardson, 1845, attributed to the northwest coast of Australia, but this is likely a type locality error.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Shore eel.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body small and elongate (eel-like) with reduced fins. Vestigial sucking disc. Color variously gray to black, with prominent green spots along the flank and gray to black blotches regularly spaced along the dorsal fin. Grows to 4.7 in (12 cm) in length.
DISTRIBUTION
Australia from southern New South Wales south to Tasmania and west to central South Australia.
HABITAT
Intertidal zone under rocks.
BEHAVIOR
Poorly known. This species is secretive and seldom seen. The common shore-eel moves rather like a true eel among and under rocks, into holes, and along the bottom of tide pools. Nothing is known about its social
BEHAVIOR
, although it may be territorial, like others in its
FAMILY
. May tolerate exposure to air during exceptionally low tides.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds upon small benthic invertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Unknown. Spawning probably is seasonal, during warmer months, and paired with the deposition of demersal eggs. Larvae are probably planktonic.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN. May be at risk from habitats destruction or pollution.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
May be collected infrequently for aquaria.

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