A revision of the commensal gobiid fish genera Pleurosicya and Luposicya (Gobiidae), with descriptions of eight new species of Pleurosicya and discussion of related genera

Abstract

The tropical Indo-Pacific coral reef goby genera Luposicya Smith and Pleurosicya Weber are reviewed. Luposicya is represented by a single species, L. lupus, which is redescribed here. Pleurosicya is represented by 16 species of which eight (P. annandalei Horne ll and Fowler, P. bilobata (Koumans), P. boldinghi Weber, P. labiata (Weber), P. micheli Fourmanoir, P. mossambica Smith, P. muscantm (Jordan and Seale) and P. prognatha Goren) were previously known and are redescribed here. Eight species of Pleurosicya are described as new (P. australis, P. carolinensis, P. coerulea, P. elongata , P. fringilla, P. spongicola, P. occidental is and P. plicata spp nov.). The species of the genus can be distinguished from established tax a by a combination of characters which may include the amount of scalation, pectoral ray counts, extent of gill opening, jaw and tongue structure, tooth shape and arrangement, colour pattern, preferred host organism and specificity, and proportions of the head and body. All Pleurosicya species are commensal on a variety of invertebrates and plants, particularly sponges, corals, soft corals, gorgonians, seagrasses and algae, and several species are host specific. A key is given to the species of Pleurosicya and to differentiate the genus from allied genera (Bryaninops, Lobulogobius, Luposicya and Phyllogohius).