Oligolepis

Oligolepis is a genus with 3 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Gobies & Gudgeons section, recorded from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and 9 more countries. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
3
Adult sizes
2 in
IUCN assessed
3 of 3
Recorded from
12 countries

About the genus

Oligolepis is a genus of gobies (family Gobiidae) widespread across estuaries and coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Southeast Asia and the Philippines - the atlas records it from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Atlas species are small, around 2 in, and like many estuarine gobies they favor soft sediment and brackish to fully marine conditions near river mouths and mudflats rather than pure fresh water.

None of the three atlas species - the sharptail goby (O. acutipennis), teardrop goby (O. goni), and O. stomias - has an established presence in the freshwater aquarium hobby; a specialist brackish-water setup for any of them would need to replicate their estuarine, sediment-associated habitat rather than a typical planted tank. All three atlas species are currently Not Evaluated by the IUCN, which is common for small, wide-ranging gobies that have not been targeted for a dedicated conservation assessment.

IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated · 3

The 3 species

Every Oligolepis recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

(Valenciennes, 1837)

Sharptail goby

2 in TL · NE

Zarei, Bills, Motomura, Kovačić & Chakona, 2026

Teardrop goby

NE

(Smith, 1941)

2 in SL · NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Oligolepis. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/oligolepis/

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