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Gobiodon spadix, a new coral goby (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from southern Japan

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Abstract

Gobiodon spadix sp. nov. is described on the basis of 37 specimens from Kyushu, and the Osumi and Tokara Islands, southern Japan. The new species is characterized by the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays VI-I, 9–11 (modally 9); anal-fin rays I, 8 or 9 (8); pectoral-fin rays 19–21 (20); body depth at pelvic-fin origin 32.4–38.3% (mean 36.0%) of standard length; distance between first dorsal-fin origin to dorsal-most point of pectoral-fin base 50.4–64.8% (55.2%) of head length (HL); pectoral fin relatively long, its length 90.6–112.5% (100.8%) of HL; groove between isthmus and interopercle absent; body uniformly reddish-brown; coloration of all fins darker than that of body; and five narrow vertical bluish stripes on lateral surface of head. The new species is currently known from southern Japan, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia.

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Acknowledgments

We are especially grateful to T. Suzuki (Hyogo Prefecture, Japan) for sharing his knowledge on the taxonomy of Gobiodon; H. Wada (ZUMT) for providing data for type specimens; Z. Gabsi (MNHN), R. Winterbottom (ROM), and A. S. Harold (College of Charleston) for providing information on type specimens; M. Nakae and K. Fujiwara (NSMT) for opportunities to examine specimens; T. Matsumoto (KAUM) for his kind assistance for DNA analysis; R. Koreeda, R. Furuhashi, R. A. Cabebe-Barnuevo, and S. Kanai (KAUM) for valuable comments on an early draft; T. Yonezawa (Foundation of Kagoshima Environmental Research and Service, Kagoshima) and S. Harazaki (Yakushima Diving Service Mori-to-Umi), and volunteers, graduates, and students of KAUM for curatorial assistance and collecting specimens; N. Dewa (Kagoshima City Aquarium) for advice on coral identification; A. Hay (AMS), J. Maclaine (BMNH), and D. Pitassy (USNM) for curatorial assistance; G. S. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand) for reading the manuscript and providing help with English; and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. The Malaysian specimen was collected during the JSPS (the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan) Asian Core Program, “Establishment of Research and Education Network on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia”, and the JSPS Core-to-Core Program: B Asia-Africa Science Platforms, supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (Government of Malaysia), University Putra Malaysia, and University Malaysia Terengganu. This study was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 20H03311 and 21H03651; the JSPS Core-to-Core CREPSUM JPJSCCB20200009; and the “Establishment of Glocal Research and Education Network in the Amami Islands” project of Kagoshima University adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

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  1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-8580, Japan

    Masayuki C. Sato

  2. The Kagoshima University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan

    Hiroyuki Motomura

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  1. Masayuki C. Sato
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Correspondence to Hiroyuki Motomura.

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Fish species treated in this study are not listed as threatened or endangered by the IUCN Red List or CITES. Specimens examined were all registered in fish collections of natural history museums, new Japanese specimens having been collected with permission from local fisheries cooperatives.

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Sato, M.C., Motomura, H. Gobiodon spadix, a new coral goby (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from southern Japan. Ichthyol Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-024-00950-8

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