Walkaround - Nature Technicolour Clear Rivers in Japan No. 09 - Tou-yoshinobori/Amur Goby (Rhinogobius sp. OR)

Fast approaching the end of the series, next one is the penultimate walkaround and it's the Amur Goby or Tou-yoshinobori. I've mentioned in the previous walkaround that I love the bottom-dwelling type fishes because of their character and the goby family in my opinion have some of the most colourful characters of all.

The Rhinogobius genus is widespread in freshwater habitats in eastern part of Asia, right up to the New Guinea island. They are usually small, measuring 5-6 cm long making the model actually 1:1 in size. How often can you say that for an animal replica eh? Pretty cool in my opinion. There are numerous species within the genera and more are yet still to be verified. The model itself sculpted in classic goby pose, perched on a rock/pebble, making full use of their specialised, suction-disc-shaped ventral fins to cling themselves against the current. As with the the previous model (no 08 the Kajika which is also a bottom-dwelling fish), the subtle sway and angles the model manages the impart with the fins are just wonderful to give that impression of water movement around the fish.

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More on this species can be gleaned in this wonderful documentary narrated by the legendary Sir David Attenborough. The goby makes an appearance around the 13.30 minutes and its story regularly crops up throughout the whole 50 minutes. I highly recommend watching the whole thing as it's a very good insight on a little known facet of the Japanese culture.

What a wonderful topic again. It is a real addiction for me now

Did I already said I'm not a fish collector but I have a bias for goby relatives. This one is beautiful and your pics absolutely deserve it. This is really a fabulous set

As soon as I ahve 52mn to spend I will look at the movie

Wonderful fish figurine again :)

One more incredibly beautyful fish model

So little, so tiny and so perfect, - and your pictures are fantasttic

Thankyou very much for sharing, - I look forward to watching the whole film on a day when I have time

Thank you very much all for the nice comments.

Do watch the film if you have time. It's not a brainy documentary, in fact I reckon it's very good for people who lives in a bustling, "nature-disconnected" mega-city like myself to relax, relieve some tension, and a bit of self-reflection after a taxing day at work.

Thank you Riz, for this great walkaround of wonderful model, showed with perfect photos.
And also thank you for the video. For shure it will be a very interesting video. :)

I also want to thank you the documentary, I watched already a big part of it and it is really great!
I want also to thank you another great walk around!

Very nice fish, and nice walkaround. I haven't the chance to watch the documentary right now, but it's nice that they sometimes include the local fishes!