Common Name
Thin-barred Goby
Year Described
Van Tassell, Tornabene, & Baldwin, 2016
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VII, 10
Anal Fin: 9
Pectoral Fin: 18
Caudal Fin: 17 segmented rays
Vertebrae: 11+16= 27 (total)
Body elongate with a large head. Eye medium sized. Dorsal fin with anterior spines slightly elongate and last two spines more spaced than the first five. Pectoral fin elongated. Pelvic fin rays branched except for the last which is much shorter than fourth and unbranched. Pelvic fins not fused. One anal-fin pterygiophore anterior to the first haemal spine. Papillae rows 5i and 5s are connected as a single row. Cephalic lateralis pores absent. Head and trunk naked. Basicaudal scales absent.
Color
Body white to pale yellowish with a striking pattern of thin golden-brown bands with thin darker margins. Body with five bands: the first to base of pectoral fin, the second under spiny dorsal, the third and fourth under soft dorsal, and the fifth on the caudal peduncle. Head with a eyeband running from lower jaw to the nape and another thinner one from the eye to the cheek. A thin interorbital band often present. First dorsal fin with two golden-brown bands, a thick golden submarginal band, and a white margin. Second dorsal fin with thin golden-brown oblique bands and a white margin. Caudal fin with four vertical golden-brown bands and a white margin. Anal fin white with a thin dark margin. Pelvic fin white. Pectoral fin strongly bicolored with white below and brownish-gold above.
Size
Holotype measures 26.8mm SL.
Habitat
Only known specimen collected at 114-137m on a sandy bottom inside a glass bottle.
Range
So far only taken off Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea.
References
Tornabene, L., J.L. Van Tassell, R.G. Gilmore, D.R. Robertson, F. Young, & C.C. Baldwin. 2016. Molecular phylogeny, analysis of character evolution, and submersible collections enable a new classification of a diverse group of gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Nes subgroup), including nine new species and four new genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.