Luciogobius is a genus of goby in the subfamily of Oxudercidae, commonly called worm gobies. It is distributed along the coast of northeastern Asia, where species can be found in Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Japan. Most species occur in Japan, and several are endemic.
These gobies are unusual in appearance and habitat preference. They are relatively small fish, about long, with very elongated bodies. The vertebral column is flexible and finely segmented, with many more vertebrae than most other fish in the family; they have up to 50 vertebrae, whereas most gobies have about 26. This extra-segmented spine helps Luciogobius species burrow in their common habitat, gravel beaches. Most vertebrates would have difficulty living in gravel that is constantly stirred by tidal action, but the flexibility of the bodies of Luciogobius is likely an adaptation to this environment. They also lack scales and the first dorsal fin. Two species, L. albus and L. pallidus, are cave-adapted and live in anchialine waters.
Other habitat types occupied by species in the genus include estuaries, freshwater streams, and in the case of L. adapel, the seafloor up to .
Most of the species studied spawn in the intertidal zone, but one species has been observed spawning in freshwater rivers. The eggs are generally attached to the undersides of rocks or are buried in the gravel or stone substrate.
Species These are the currently recognized species in this genus. There are many more species known that are still undescribed, for a probable total of around 40 species. Those species are usually divived into 5 subdivision
The described species are:
Luciogobius gutattus complex Luciogobius guttatus T. N. Gill, 1859 (flat-headed goby) Luciogobius martellii Di Caporiacco, 1948 Luciogobius brevipterus J. S. T. F. Chen, 1932 Luciogobius ryukyuensis I. S. Chen, T. Suzuki & Senou, 2008 Luciogobius dongyinensis Chen, Shao, Chou, Chen & Chan, 2024 - Dongyin earthworm goby Luciogobius yubai Ikeda, Tamada & Hirashima, 2019 Luciogobius newtaipeiensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang, 2024 Luciogobius matsuensis Chen, Shao, Chou, Chen & Chan, 2024 - Matsu earthworm goby
Luciogobius pallidus complex A group of Luciogobius that dwell in the vicinity of subterranean river
Luciogobius pallidus Regan, 1940 Luciogobius albus Regan, 1940 There is a ongoing debate of distinguishment between this species and L. fonticola. Luciogobius fluvialis Kanagawa, Itai & Senou, 2011 Luciogobius fonticola Kanagawa, Itai & Senou, 2011 Luciogobius dormitoris Shiogaki & Dotsu, 1976 There is a ongoing debate of distinguishment between this species and L. pallidus.
Luciogobius elongatus complex Luciogobius elongatus Regan, 1905 Luciogobius parvulus (Snyder, 1909) Luciogobius adapel Okiyama, 2001 L. adapel is found from the deep seafloar, unlike other congeneric species. Luciogobius punctilineatus Koreeda & Motomura, 2022 Luciogobius opisthoproctus Chen & Liao, 2024 Luciogobius chaojinensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang, 2024
Luciogobius grandis complex Luciogobius grandis R. Arai, 1970 Luciogobius huatungensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang, 2024
Luciogobius platycephalus complex Luciogobius platycephalus Shiogaki & Dotsu, 1976 Luciogobius griseus Koreeda, Maeda & Motomura, 2023
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