Visual census, photographic records and the trial of a video network provide first evidence of the elusive Sicyopterus cynocephalus in Australia

Opportunistic encounters with an elusive large-bodied sicydiine goby in a single plunge pool led us

to photograph and deploy three video cameras to detect individuals in that pool. Subsequently, a catchment-wide

search indicated that the species, eventually identified as Sicyopterus cynocephalus, was confined to the single

pool where it was originally detected. A network of ten video cameras was then deployed to estimate the number

of individuals of that species and of a congener, S. lagocephalus, by non-destructive means. This study provides

the first record of S. cynocephalus in Australia, and showcases the synergy of active snorkel searches and a

remote camera network in counting individuals of two sympatric species of Sicyopterus.