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.

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

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