Molecular identification and morphological description of an unrecorded goby Bathygobius coalitus (Perciformes: Gobiidae), from Jeju-do, Korea

Abstract

A single specimen of the whitespotted frillgoby, Bathygobius coalitus (Bennett, 1832), was collected from Jeju-do, Korea, in October 2020. The species is characterized by the absence of a flap on the nostril, the extension of the anterior tip of the predorsal scale beyond the posterior margin of the preopercle, and a pectoral fin with four upper rays free from membrane, each divided into two branches. Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I analysis revealed that the specimen corresponds to B. coalitus (99.8% similarity) rather than any of the three previously known congeneric Korean species. The species is newly recorded in the Korean fish fauna, and the proposed Korean name for the species is “Heuin-jeom-mu-nui-mang-dug”.