Korean sand burrower (Limnichthys koreanus), a new creediid fish from tidal waters of Jeju Island

NEWS - Korean sand burrower (Limnichthys koreanus) was described based on the holotype and 11 paratypes from the subtidal waters of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, Korea, which was previously considered to be the anti-equatorial L. fasciatus in the Northern Hemisphere. Molecular analysis of mitochondrial COI and 16S genes found genetic divergence of 9.4% and 15.0% between the new species and the topotype specimen of L. fasciatus.

Creediidae consists of 8 genera with 18 species that are distributed globally and are mostly concentrated in subtropical and tropical coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. These fish are known as sand burrowers, small, slender sand-dwelling fish that camouflage and hide in the uppermost layer of sand while waiting for prey.

Six species of Limnichthys are currently recognized as valid: L. fasciatus Waite (1904), L. marisrubri Fricke & Golani (2012), L. nitidus Smith (1958), L. orientalis Yoshino, Kon & Odabe (1999), L. polyactis Nelson (1978) and L. rendahli Parrott (1958). They show anti-equatorial distributions, except for L. nitidus which occurs in tropical to temperate waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Morphological and molecular comparisons of specimens from Korea in the Northern Hemisphere show that they differ from the topotype examples of L. fasciatus from southeastern Australia. Specimens of the new species were collected during a monitoring survey of subtropical fish species from the subtidal zone of Jeju Island, Korea.

L. koreanus differs from all other Limnichthys species by the following combination of coloration and morphological characteristics: 38-40 vertebrae, 0-6 dorsal saddles connecting the mid-lateral lines, small infraorbital sensory pores, one median interorbital pore, and well-developed vomerine teeth.

The researchers analyzed 12 specimens from 1-2 meters depth that were initially thought to be L. fasciatus. The new species has spots on the dorsal fin. The number of dorsal saddle patterns ranges from 5 to 9. Limnichthys species typically have 8 caudal fin segments, however, L. koreanus has 8-9 branched caudal fins.

The new species is only known from Jeju Island, Korea. They inhabit relatively thick sand (or possibly fine gravel) substrates, often hiding almost entirely in the sand in the subtidal zone. They dart out to catch prey and then return to their original position. Females have mature eggs in their gonads from June to August, 522 eggs per individual and 0.62-0.65 mm in diameter.

Original research

Lee Y-J, Kim J-K (2024). Limnichthys koreanus, a new species of creediid fish (Teleostei, Acropomatiformes, Creediidae) from Korea. ZooKeys 1214: 59-75, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1214.128977

Dlium theDlium

Tiang fern (Cyathea contaminans)

Paku tiang or pole fern or tiang fern ( Cyathea contaminans ) is a plant species in Cyatheaceae, has a height of up to 12 m, a single stem and the old part shows traces of leaves, the basal part is thickened by adventitious roots and grows mixed with other species. C. contaminans has stipe for 100 cm long, gloucous, purplish to the base, very thorny, when young has scales on all parts, up to 45x3 mm in size, pale brown, very thin and setiferous. The main rachis is pale, prickly, scaly as a stipe but then glabrescent. Pinnae has the largest size of 60 cm and the lowest decreases with stems up to 10 cm. Pinnules have a size of 150x30 mm or smaller with 1-2 pairs of basal segments more or not at all, the rest of the pine curved almost to the rib. Costules have a size of 4-5 mm. Common veins are 12 pairs. The lamina segment is hard, rough on the bottom and fibrous edges. Sori is exindusiate, near costule and pale paraphrase is no more than sporangia. The scales and hair on the pi...

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Dlium