Notes on the Behavior and Early Life History of Captive Lyre Gobles, Evorthodus Lyricus

Lyre gobies, Evorthodus lyricus (Girard), were found in burrows in a shallow, mud-bottomed pool near Yabucoa Bay, southeastern Puerto Rico. After eight gobies had been collected, transported to a laboratory aquarium, and acclimated to fresh water, each fashioned a crude burrow in coarse sand substrate beneath broken clay flowerpots. Agonistic, spawning, and parental behaviors are described. Egg deposition occurred on the interior wall and roof of burrows of dominant males. The minute, pear-shaped eggs were less than 0.5 mm long. Pelagic larvae, 1.9 mm long, hatched 16 to 20 h after fertilization at 26.5°C. Adult males guarded egg masses, fanned them, and physically removed small-sized potential egg predators from the vicinity of the burrow. The larvae did not survive more than 2 days in the aquarium. Certain aspects of the morphology and early life history of E. lyricus are compared with those of Gobionellus boleosoma (Jordan and Gilbert). The lyre goby's distribution is probably related to physical factors such as prevailing coastal currents, which would affect dispersal of the pelagic larvae.