Skip to main content

New species of goby fish in Taiwan, Luciogobius opisthoproctus

NEWS - At low tide in a tidal estuary ecosystem with a gravel bottom amidst sediment, researchers saw long, worm-like or eel-like creatures emerge from the rocks. They reached into the water and pulled out, not sea worms or eels, but a new species of goby fish, Luciogobius opisthoproctus.

New species of goby fish in Taiwan, Luciogobius opisthoproctus 1


Kuan-Hsun Chen and Te-Yu Liao of National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, say the fish, which inhabits the tidal zone and estuary with an elongated, scaleless, wriggling body, has several differences that make it stand out.

The goby is white and yellow, covered in black spots that extend down to its muscles and is semi-transparent. Its lower jaw protrudes from its head. Its cheeks and the area behind its eyes are covered in tiny papillae, or bumps, that help it sense the water and its surroundings.

New species of goby fish in Taiwan, Luciogobius opisthoproctus 2


L. opisthoproctus comes from the Greek words opisthe, meaning back, and proktos, meaning anus, referring to the posterior part of the anus. The researchers measured the body length between the lower fin and the fish’s anus, again indicating that the fish is a previously unidentified species.

The new species is currently only known from northeastern and southeastern Taiwan. It mostly inhabits shallow gravel rivers near estuaries. Both rivers where the fish were found drain into the Pacific Ocean along Taiwan’s east coast.

Original source:

Chen K-H, Liao T-Y (2024) A new species of the genus Luciogobius Gill, 1859 (Teleostei, Oxudercidae) from Taiwan. ZooKeys 1206: 241-254. DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1206.118757

Popular Posts

Blood lily (Scadoxus multiflorus)

Blood lily or Haemanthus multiflorus ( Scadoxus multiflorus ) is a species of plant in the Amaryllidaceae, a bulbous shrub that produces rhizomes. Leaves and flowers may appear together or leaves may be produced later. The base of the leaves and stems are tightly wrapped to form a pseudo-stem or false stem, 5-60 cm long. Flowers in umbels at the top of the stem, leafless, 12-75 cm long. Pseudostems and scapes are often covered with reddish brown to dark purple spots. The flower umbel is in the shape of a globe with 10-200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk, 15-45 mm long. The tepals and filaments of the stamens are red. The base of the tepals is fused to form a cylindrical tube, 4-26 mm long, the free end of the tepals 12-32 mm long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a berry having a diameter of 5-10 mm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Haemantheae Ge...

Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Java palisandre or Indian rosewood ( Dalbergia latifolia ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight. D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves. The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green. The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish. Indian rosewood grows at elevations below 600 m,...

Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - The genus frangipani trees ( Plumeria Tourn. ex L.) has only 18 officially recorded species and two very similar species, frangipani ( Plumeria rubra L.) and white frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa L.). Both have the same habitus, flowers and fruits and are difficult to distinguish. The leaves of both species have slightly different shapes. Therefore, the leaves are very important to distinguish the two species, especially the shape of the tip. P. rubra has simple, lanceolate leaves with acute tips. P. obtusa has simple, elliptic leaves with rounded tips. By Aryo Bandoro Founder of Dlium.com . You can follow him on X: @Abandoro . Read more: Plumeria rubra Plumeria obtusa