Common names:

* proposed name

Synonyms:

*In: Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1837

Etymology:
'Boleophthalmus' is from the Greek metaphorical expression 'bolê ophthalmôn' (quick glances), which refers to the rapid movements of the eyes, or to the 'blinking' behaviour

the specific name is after Pierre Boddaert, who collected the material for the original description; Murdy (1989) recommends to reject an emendation of this name

Maximum recorded length:
135 mm SL (Murdy, 1989)
220 mm TL (Kottelat et al., 1993)

Live colouration (Murdy, 1989; pers. obs.: peninsular Malaysia):
ground colour dorsally and laterally brown to greenish, ventrally whitish to grey, darker behind anus and under the head; head and trunk with bluish, iridescent small speckles; dark to black blotches on head and nape; a dark stripe may be present from anterior nostril to dorsal tip of operculum; 7-8 diagonal saddle-like dark brown to black blotches on dorsum, posteriorly usually extending below lateral midline; D1 greenish distally whitish to blue and numerous small bluish speckles; yellow in young and juveniles (pers. obs.); D2 membrane greenish, with series of bluish spots between rays; caudal fin grey to blue; anal fin transparent with an inframarginal dark stripe, to completely blackened; pectoral fins with orange to yellow membrane, dorsally with a typical black to dark brown margin; muscular base of pectoral fins scattered with numerous whitish to bluish speckles; pelvic fins dorsally partially pigmented, ventrally whitish and pigmented proximally

Colouration on preservation (Murdy, 1989; pers. obs.):
ground colour dark brown to dark grey dorsally and laterally, whitish to greyish ventrally, with dark grey to bluish lips and chin; saddle bars and dark blotches on head sometimes retained; D1 and D2 bluish brown with whitish spots; caudal fin brown to dark grey; anal fin whitish with inframarginal dark stripe to completely blackened; pectoral fin dusky with black margin dorsally; pelvic fin whitish to dusky

Diagnosis (Murdy, 1989):
total elements of D2 24-26; total elements of anal fin 24-26; longitudinal scale count 61-79; predorsal scales 25-35; caudal fin length 17.9-23.3%SL; head length 25.0-30.4%SL; length of D2 base 40.2-46.4%SL; 1st D2 element usually unsegmented and unbranched; lower jaw teeth notched (bifid).
Species-specific sexual dimorphism: D1 spines greatly elongated in females (pers. obs.).
The genus is characterised by the greatly thickened epidermis of the head and dorsum, covered by dermal papillae; and by a rectangular piece of cartilage spanning the width of the pelvic girdle (see drawing)

Diet:
benthic feeder, almost exclusively herbivorous (diatoms, green algae: Khoo, 1966, cited in Clayton, 1993). Where this species is syntopic with the congeneric B. dussumieri, like in South-East Asia, it is probable that studies on the feeding habits of B. boddarti before the description of B. dussumieri in this area (Takita et al., 1999), often confounded these two species. However, both of them present almost identical feeding behaviours and probably have very similar diets

Reproduction:
males jump to attract females inside the burrows to spawn (pers. obs.); the details of its life cycle have not been described in literature, but are probably similar to those of congeneric species (see Reproductive behaviour and B. pectinirostris)

Ecological notes (pers. obs.: Peninsular Malaysia):
locally very abundant along the marine fringe and in the pneumatophore zone of mangrove forests; the adults dig burrows on the muddy banks of creeks, of river mouths, and on higher mudflats, usually not too far from the first row of trees (Takita et al., 1999); juveniles and young can be found in ephemeral inlets in the high mangrove forest

left: Kuala Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia: forest marine fringe, mud banks of a creek; typical habitat of adult B. boddarti (photo: G. Polgar, 1996)

right: Tg. Piai, Peninsular Malaysia: upper tidal flat with some trees of Rhizophora mucronata; here this species is very abundant (photo: G. Polgar, 2006)

Distribution:
Indo-Pacific region, from the west coast of India to Sabah and Southern Viet Nam, probably up to Southern China; type locality: Indian Ocean (Murdy, 1989; Bucholtz & Meilvang, 2005; R. Cui, pers. comm.)

Remarks:
this species is extensively farmed and consumed in Thailand, Taiwan and Southern China (see above) (Clayton, 1993)

Photographs of Boleophthalmus boddarti:

A: a female of B. boddarti: note the elongated spines of D1 (photo: G. Polgar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006); B: a young specimen with the yellow D1 (photo: G. Polgar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006); C: a close-up of a female (photo: G. Polgar, Kukup jetty, Peninsular Malaysia, 2006); D: another close-up of a female (photo: G. Polgar, Kukup jetty, Peninsular Malaysia, 2006); E: an agonistic encounter along the border of a territory (photo: G. Polgar, Kukup jetty, Peninsular Malaysia, 2006); F: close-up of a male (photo: G. Polgar, Kukup jetty, Peninsular Malaysia, 2006); G: another close-up (photo: Akinori Kamiya "Yamaneko", Can Gio, Viet Nam, 2004; © umisuzume 2006)*; H: B. boddarti preyed by the colubrid snake Cerberus rynchops (photo: K. Khor, Kuala Gula, Malaysia, 2005); I: a close-up of two fighting males (photo: K. Khor, Kuala Gula, Malaysia, 2005) - * with permission

Drawings of Boleophthalmus boddarti:

above, left: from Day, 1876 (fishbase); above, right: cephalic sensory and nasal pores of Boleophthalmus spp.: an= anterior nostril; ao= anterior oculoscapular canal pore; pn= posterior nostril (modified from Murdy, 1989)*; below: ventral view of pelvis of B. boddarti (pelvic fin elements removed from left side: modified from Murdy, 1989): PIC= pelvic intercleithral cartilage; Plv= pelvis; RC= rectangular cartilage; Plsp= pelvic fin spine* - * with permission