A new, mesophotic Coryphopterus goby (Teleostei, Gobiidae) from the southern Caribbean, with comments on relationships and depth distributions within the genus.

Carole C Baldwin,D Ross Robertson

doi:10.3897/zookeys.513.9998

Abstract

A new species of western Atlantic Coryphopterus is described from mesophotic depths off Curaçao, southern Caribbean. Coryphopterus curasub sp. n., is similar to Coryphopterus dicrus in, among other features, having two prominent pigment spots of roughly equal intensity on the pectoral-fin base, the pelvic fins fused to form a disk, and no pelvic frenum. The two species can be differentiated by body depth (shallower in Coryphopterus curasub at origin of dorsal fin and caudal peduncle); differences in the pigmentation on the head, trunk, and basicaudal region; and usually by total number of rays (spinous plus soft) in the second dorsal fin (10–11, usually 11, in Coryphopterus curasub, 10 in Coryphopterus dicrus). Coryphopterus curasub differs from other Coryphopterus species that have a prominent pigment spot on the lower portion of the pectoral-fin base (Coryphopterus punctipectophorus and Coryphopterus venezuelae) in, among other features, lacking a pelvic frenum. Coryphopterus curasub was collected between 70 and 80 m, the deepest depth range known for the genus. Collections of Coryphopterus venezuelae at depths of 65–69 m extend the depth range of that species by approximately 50 m. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) data corroborate the recognition of Coryphopterus curasub as a distinct species but do not rigorously resolve its relationships within the genus. A revised key to the western Atlantic species of Coryphopterus is presented.

Highlights

Coryphopterus gobies live in mostly shallow warm waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans, dwelling on sand around coral and rocky reefs or hovering above or perching on reef structures
Most Coryphopterus species inhabit depths < 40 m, but C. hyalinus Böhlke & Robins has been recorded to 52 m; C. eidolon Böhlke & Robins and C. thrix Böhlke & Robins to 54 m; C. dicrus Böhlke & Robins to 56 m; C. lipernes Böhlke and Robins to m; C. glaucofraenum Gill to m; and C. personatus (Jordan & Thompson) to 70 m (Böhlke and Robins 1960, 1962; Thacker and Cole 2002; Feitoza et al 2005, Robertson and Van Tassell 2015)
Exploratory submersible diving to 300 m off Curaçao is resulting in the discovery of numerous new fish species, only a few of which have been described to date (Baldwin and Robertson 2013, 2014; Baldwin and Johnson 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Coryphopterus gobies live in mostly shallow warm waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans, dwelling on sand around coral and rocky reefs or hovering above or perching on reef structures. Twelve species are known from the western Atlantic and one from the eastern Pacific (Böhlke and Robins 1960, 1962; Thacker and Cole 2002; Victor 2007; Baldwin et al 2009). Thacker and Cole (2002) investigated species relationships within Coryphopterus based on morphology and one mitochondrial gene (ND2) Their phylogeny suggests that Coryphopterus is restricted to the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific and that the Indo-Pacific genus Fusigobius, which Randall (1995) synonymized with Coryphopterus, is distinct. A new western Atlantic species, Coryphopterus kuna Victor, was described in 2007 but not included in the molecular phylogeny of Thacker and Roje (2011). As noted by Baldwin et al (2009), Thacker and Cole’s (2002) DNA sequence from Belize previously thought to be from C. punctipectophorus (GenBank Accession No AF391396) is from C. dicrus

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion and conclusions