Description:

Dorsal spines: 7; Dorsal rays: 10 (last ray divided to base); Anal spines: 1; Anal rays: 9 (last ray divided to base).

Scales cycloid. Eighty to 108 rows of scales in lateral series from dorsal angle of branchial opening to base of caudal fin. Midline of nape scaled. Gill opening extending forwards ventrally to vertically below a point half way from upper hind margin of preoperculum to dorsal gill aperture.  Small forward-pointing spine on lower margin of operculum. Sensory papillae on head and anterior portion of body well developed.

Colour. Head and body tan to dark brown. 7 or 8 pale narrow vertical bars. Head with numerous blue and/or green spots, such spots also occurr on posteriro portion of body. Several dark spots also on head and anteririor body. Fins tan to hyaline. First dorsal fin with 2 to 7 black spots. Second dorsal fin typically with numerous black spots. Caudal fin uniformly hyaline in larger fish, with several black spots dorsally. Anal fin lightbrownish with pale patches; pectoral and pelvic fins hyaline.
 

Unknown. Max length : 13.0 cm TL.
 

Inhabits the sandy bottoms of shallow coastal lagoons and seagrass beds.It lives symbiotically with burrowing shrimp (i.e., Alpheus djiboutensis and A. purpurlienticularis). Gobies within the genera Cryptocentrus typically feed by filtering mouthfuls of sand through their gill rakers or by directly picking organisms from the sand within close proximity of their burrows. 
Pollunin and Lubbock (1977) report this species in Seychelles as "found living with burrowing alpheid prawns on sand patches within, or bordering on, sea-grass beds, in water less than 3 m deep." 

This species is not protected or subject to fishery regulations.

Photos courtesy and (c) 2023 Farima Barbier.

This specimen was caught in the harbour of the Yacht Club, Victoria. 

Froese, R. & D. Pauly. (Eds.) (2024). FishBase. Cryptocentrus cryptocentrus, Ninebar prawn-goby. https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Cryptocentrus-cryptocentrus.html# (07/04/24). 
Larson, H. (2019). Cryptocentrus cryptocentrus. The IUCN Red List 2019: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T123432514A123494752.en. (07/04/24).
Pollunin, V.C. & Lubbock, R. (1977). Prawn-associated gobies (Teleostei : Gobiidae) from the Seychelles, Western Indian Ocean: systematics and ecology. J. Zool., Lond. (1977) 183, 63-101. 
Smith, J.L.B. & Smith, M.M. (1963). The Fishes of Seychelles. Department of Ichthyology. Rhodes University. Grahamstown. 

Nevill, J.E.G. & Barbier, F. (2024). Cryptocentrus cryptocentrus, Ninebar prawn-goby. Seychelles Seatizens. www.seatizens.sc. https://seatizens.sc/species/cryptocentrus-cryptocentrus-valenciennes-1837/