Last update: 05 May 2013

Common names:

* proposed name

Synonyms:

Etymology:
'Scartelaos' is probably a compound name from the Greek 'skarthmos' (leaping), and 'laos' (people, folk), which maybe refers to the typical tail-stand of males during courtship

'tenuis' means 'thin' in Latin, which refers to the slenderness of this mudskipper

Maximum recorded length:
155 mm SL (Randall, 1995)
190 mm TL (Abdoli et al., 2009)

Live colouration (Murdy, 1989, pers. obs.: Iran):
ground colour on dorsum and flanks light brown to light grey: dorsally darker; venter whitish; head and dorsum with dark grey to brownish mottling, which become larger posteriorly; dark grey blotches may be present posteriorly on flanks. D1 bluish grey with an orange tip in some specimens; D2 dusky to yellowish grey with grey blotches posteriorly and a black margin, posteriorly more intense; an inframaginal white stripe may be present; caudal fin orange in the background, dark grey in the middle with orange ocular spots and a dorsal black margin; an inframaginal white stripe may be present; anal, pectoral and pelvic fins greyish to fleshy; pectoral fins with small dark grey spots

Colouration on preservation (Murdy, 1989, pers. obs.: Iran):
ground colour bluish grey to brownish, ventrally paler; several dark bars on trunk may be visible; numerous dark spots may be visible on nape, cheeks, opercula, and pectoral fins; D1 paler basally; a white spot may be present on top; D2 speckled, with a black dorsoposterior margin and large, dark spots posteriorly; caudal fin with a black dorsoposterior margin with ocular spots; anal and pelvic fins hyaline

Diagnosis (Murdy, 1989):
head depth 9.5-10.8%SL; caudal fin length 21.7-26.3%SL; length of D1 base 5.6-8.3%SL; D2 and anal fins not connected by membrane to the caudal fin; no barbel near the symphysis of lower jaw; 15-18 vertical dark bars on flanks; large, dark spots or stripes basally on D2.
The genus is characterised by the presence of barbels on the ventral surface of the head

Diet:
no published study is available

Reproduction:
no published study is available

Ecological notes (pers. obs.: Iran):
adults locally very abundant on lower and higher mudflats, wherever semi-liquid mud is present; some notes on the ecology and behaviour of this species are also present in Clayton & Vaughan, 1986 (= S. viridis). Recently, a population of this species was found to be parasitised by a leech (Zeylanicobdella arugamensis, Piscicolidae) in southern Iran by Polgar et al. (2009).

middle: Bandar Khamir, Hormozgan, Iran: a tidal mudflat exposed at low tide, ranging from a supratidal sand dune to the sea; S. tenuis adults were abundant here, from a distance of about 250 m from the sand dune (photo: G. Polgar, 2007)

Distribution:
from Persian Gulf to Pakistan; type locality: Karachi, Pakistan (Murdy, 1989)

Photographs of Scartelaos tenuis:

A: S. tenuis fixed and preserved in formalin (photo: G. Polgar, 2007); B-C: close-up of a specimen in laboratory (photo: G. Polgar, 2007); D: another close-up in aquarium (photo: G. Polgar, 2007); E: a specimen on a tidal mudflat (photos A-E: G. Polgar, Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, Iran, 2007); F: two specimens on a tidal mudflat (photo: D. Clayton, Kuwait) - * with permission

Drawings of Scartelaos tenuis:

A

B

A: cephalic sensory and nasal pores of Scartelaos spp.: an= anterior nostril; ao= anterior oculoscapular canal pore; pn= posterior nostril (modified from Murdy, 1989)*; B: Boleophthalmus tenuis Day (Day, 1876) - * with permission