Amblyeleotris taipinensis, Chen & Shao & Chen, 2006

Chen, I-Shiung, Shao, Kwang-Tsao & Chen, Jeng-Ping, 2006, Two new species of shrimp gobiid, Amblyeleotris (Teleostei: Gobiidae), from the West Pacific, Journal of Natural History 40 (44 - 46), pp. 2555-2567 : 2561-2562

Amblyeleotris taipinensis new species

( Figures 1B and 3 )

Materials examined

Holotype. ASIZP 057110, 44.2 mm SL, 15 m depth, Nansa , Taipin Island , South China Sea, 20 April 1994, coll. JP Chen.

Diagnosis

Amblyeleotris taipinensis is distinguished from all congeners by the unique combination of the following features:(1) meristic features: D1VI; D2 I/13; A I/14; P 19; LR 73–76; TR 28; no predorsal scale; (2) pelvic fin: very low connecting membrane and lacking frenum; and (3) colouration: snow white body with five straw yellow bands and dorsal side of body with two rows of tiny black spots; spotless on cheek; no horizontal dark bar behind eye; first dorsal and second dorsal fins with two longitudinal rows of greyish-purple stripes; pectoral fin base with a narrow vertical straw-yellow band; caudal fin translucent and somewhat straw yellow in the middle.

Description. Body proportions in Table I. Head and body moderately compressed. Eyes large. Mouth large and oblique, maxillary extending to vertical of posterior margin of pupil. Lower jaws with three to four rows of subconical teeth; outer rows elongated and separated. Inner teeth inwardly curved, one to two large canines. Snout is rather blunt, shorter than orbit. Bony interorbital is very narrow. Gill opening extending forward below posterior margin of orbit. Anterior nostril a short tube. Posterior nostril a round hole. Opercle and preopercle edges smooth. Isthmus narrow. 10+16526 vertebrae.

Fins. D1VI; D2 I/13; A I/14; P 19; V I/5. D1 II, III longest, extending to first branched ray of D2 when depressed. D2 base and A base long, rear tips just reaching the upper procurrent rays of C. A origin inserted below first branched rays of D2. P large, extending almost to the edge of anus. C lanceolate. V rather long, extending beyond the origin of A and fourth branched rays longest; the connecting membrane very low, less than 1/10. No frenum.

Scales. Body with very tiny cycloid scales anteriorly, and ctenoid scales posteriorly. Longitudinal scale rows 73–76; transverse scale rows 28; predorsal scale 0. Ventral body covered with rather tiny cycloid scales. Midline of nape naked. Scales on sides extending forward above opercle. Scales absent on opercle, cheek and pectoral fin base.

Head lateral-line system ( Figure 1B ). Canals: anterior oculoscapular canal with paired terminal pore S, single pore l and single pore K on interorbital region, paired v behind orbit; and paired lateral side of canals with pores a, B, and terminal pores R. Posterior oculoscapular canal with two terminal pores H and T. Preopercular canal with pores c, d, and E.

Sensory papillae. Six main transverse rows of papillae, row 1, 2, 3, 4 vertical. Row 5 and 6 separated as row 5s, 5i and 6s, 6i, respectively. Row b short. Row d rather long. Row f paired. Other papillae shown in detail as Figure 1B .

Colouration in life. Colouration based on the unique holotype ( Figure 3 ). Head and body snow white, body with five wide, vertical light straw-yellow bands. Nape entirely straw yellow. The band on head narrower, below orbit on cheek extending to lip corner. The first wide dorsal band from nape to opercle. Second band just below first dorsal fin base. Third band on anterior region below second dorsal fin and fourth band below posterior region of second dorsal fin. Fifth band on caudal fin peduncle. No distinct spots on cheek. A pair of brownish-black spots along first dorsal fin base; two rows of brownish-black spots behind first dorsal fin base to caudal peduncle along dorsal midline, first row with three on upper side near dorsal fin bases, second row with four such spots just below first row. First dorsal and second dorsal fins with two thin, longitudinal rows of greyish-purple stripes on basal region, and a pink longitudinal midline between them. Pectoral fin base with a narrow vertical straw yellow band. Caudal fin translucent and somewhat straw yellow in middle rays.

Distribution

So far, this new species has only been found near Nansa Isles: Taipin Island (also referred to Spratly Island) in the South China Sea.

Etymology

The specific name, taipinensis refers to the locality at which the species was found, Nansa Isles, Taipin Island, in southern region of the South China Sea.

Remarks

This species is more similar to Amblyeleotris arcupinna than any other congeneric species by the colour pattern, both with five dark bands on the body and a series of semi-paired dots in the white interspaces along dorsal body. Amblyeleotris taipinensis is different from Amblyeleotris arcupinna by: (1) first dorsal fin: no arched mark versus blackish-orange arched mark; (2) longitudinal scale rows: 73–76 versus 103–111; (3) body bands: straw yellow versus blackish-brown. This new species is more similar to Amblyeleotris japonica Tanaka, 1957 than to any other congeneric species by meristic features. However, Amblyeleotris taipinensis is well distinguished from Amblyeleotris japonica by the following combination of features: (1) dorsal fins: basal stripes and lacking spots versus many small dark spots; (2) pelvic fin: lacking frenum versus having frenum; (3) caudal fin: no such mark versus deep brown horseshoe mark; and (4) body bands: straw yellow versus deep brown. This new species is also somewhat similar to Amblyeleotris harrisorum Molmann and Randall, 2002 . However, they can be easily distinguished as follows: (1) longitudinal scale rows: 73–76 versus 81–96; and (2) colouration: head with a vertical straw yellow band below eye versus oblique yellow lines behind eye; six lateral straw yellow bands covering at least 70–1-00% of vertical region versus only four lateral bands covering most of upper half of head and body; two series of tiny black spots on dorsal side versus no such marks.

Figures

Figure 1. Head lateral-line system of (A) Amblyeleotris bleekeri, holotype and (B) Amblyeleotris taipinensis, holotype.

Figure 3. Amblyeleotris taipinensis, holotype, ASIZP 057110, 44.2 mm SL, Nansa, Taipin Island, South China Sea.