Egglestonichthys melanoptera

description

Description of Taiwanese specimens. Meristic and morphometric data are provided in Tables 1 and 2. Dorsal-fin rays VI – I, 10; pectoral-fin rays 20 – 22 / 20 – 21; pelvic-fin rays I, 5 / I, 5; anal-fin rays I, 9; segmented caudal-fin rays 9 / 8; branched caudal-fin rays 8 / 7; unsegmented procurrent caudal-fin rays 6 / 5 – 6. Gill rakers on outer face of first arch 3 + 1 + 14 – 15 = 18 – 19. Longitudinal scale rows 33 – 39; transverse scale rows 10 – 14; circumpeduncular scales 16 – 18; predorsal scales 23 – 26 (n = 2). Vertebrae 10 + 16 = 26; dorsal-fin interdigitation pattern 3 / 22110 / 9; anal-fin pterygiophores anterior to first haemal spine 2. Body slender, greatest depth 4.1 – 4.8 in SL. Head oval in shape, length 3.3 – 3.5 in SL, its depth smaller than its length, depth 1.6 – 1.8 in HL; upper profile in front of dorsal fin flat; eyes moderate, 3.8 – 4.0 in HL; space between eyes flat and narrow, interorbital width 6.1 – 8.9 in HL; snout slightly rounded, its length 4.8 – 5.2 in HL and not protruding before premaxilla. Mouth moderate, upper-jaw length 2.2 – 2.3 in HL; its posterior end slightly anterior to vertical through middle of eye. Two nostrils (Fig. 3 A, B), with ante

New records of two goby species from Taiwan, northwestern Pacific Ocean (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)

discussion

Remarks The present specimens are identified as Egglestonichthys melanoptera (Visweswara Rao 1971) based on the absence of a pelvic frenum, large mouth with its posterior end extending to below the eye and the dark brown to black coloration of both body and fins (Larson & Hoese 1997; Larson 2013). Meristic data generally match earlier records (Larson & Hoese 1997; Table 1). However, our specimens exhibit fewer predorsal scales (23 – 26 vs. 29 – 37 in Larson & Hoese 1997) and slightly more circumpeduncular scales (16 – 18 vs. 14 – 16). These differences may be due to the deciduous nature of the scales and their irregular arrangement, which can make scale counts variable.

New records of two goby species from Taiwan, northwestern Pacific Ocean (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)

distribution

Distribution Originally described from India (Visweswara Rao 1971), and later recorded from the Samor Sea, the Philippines (Larson & Hoese 1997), Vietnam (Larson & Hoese 1997; Prokofiev 2016), Myanmar (Psomadakis et al. 2020), Papua New Guinea (Larson & Hoese 1997), and Hainan Island, China (Chen et al. 2025). Our specimens represent the northernmost record of this species, where it occurs at depths less than 100 m.

New records of two goby species from Taiwan, northwestern Pacific Ocean (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)

materials_examined

Specimens examined NMMB-P 22723, 76.3 mm SL, off Dong-gang fishing port (ca. 22 ° 22 ' 22 " N, 120 ° 27 ' 34 " E), Pingtung, southwestern Taiwan, 3 December 2014, bottom trawl, collected by H. - C. Ho. NMMB-P 38470, 80.4 mm SL, off Dong-gang fishing port, 16 July 1985. NMMB-P 40719, 69.0 mm SL, Ke-Tzu-Liao (ca. 22 ° 42 ' 53 " N, 120 ° 13 ' 12 " E), Kaohsiung, southwestern Taiwan, 2 August 2021, bottom trawl, collected by S. - L. Ng. NMMB-P 41619, 79.1 mm SL, off southwestern Taiwan, 22 ° 38 ' 23.78 " N, 120 ° 10 ' 10.27 " E, R / V New Ocean Researcher III (NORIII), hr. 1400 – 1600, 4 November 2023, bottom trawl at speed of 2 knots for 30 minutes, depth ca. 100 m, collected by T. - J. Hu et al.

New records of two goby species from Taiwan, northwestern Pacific Ocean (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)