Description:

Dorsal spines: 7; Dorsal rays: 28-32; Anal spines: 1; Anal rays: 27-30.

Small goby, elongate slim body. Anterior spines of first dorsal fin form very elongate and filamentous. Caudal fin round. 

Colour. Anterior body pale pink to white, dusky red posteriorly, pelvic fins white. 

Maturity: unknown. Max length : 9.0 cm TL.

Inhabits burrows on the upper portion of outer reef slopes (depth 6-70 m, usually 6-28 m). Benthopelagic. Hovers above the bottom, facing the current to 
feed on zooplankton: primarily copepods and crustacean larvae. Does not stray far from its burrow, and occurs individually or in pairs. Monogamous.
Has habit of flicking its pennant-like first dorsal fin back and forth.

This species is not protected or subject to fishery regulations.  

Photograph (c) GIF 2023. Photo'd off North Island. 
This species was first documented in Seychelles by Randall and van Egmond (1994) who recorded it at St Joseph atoll in the Amirantes and south of Round 
Island, Praslin. 
A popular aquarium fish and harvested internationally for the aquarium trade.

Froese, R. & D. Pauly. (Eds.) (2022). FishBase. Nemateleotris magnifica. https://www.fishbase.se/summary/6629 (22/10/23).
Larson, H.K. (2010). Nemateleotris magnifica. The IUCN Red List 2010 (errata version 2017): https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T155229A4751981.en. (22/10/23). 
Randall, J.E. & van Egmond, J. (1994). Marine fishes from the Seychelles: 108 new records. Zool. Verh. Leiden 297:43-83.
Tea, Y.-K. & H.K. Larson, (2023). Synopsis of the ptereleotrine goby genus Nemateleotris, with description of a new species from the western and central 
Pacific Ocean (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71:248-266. 

Nevill, J.E.G. & Accouche, W. (2023). Nemateleotris magnifica, Fire goby. Seychelles Seatizens. www.seatizens.sc. https://seatizens.sc/species/nemateleotris-magnifica-fowler-1938/