The status of the West African fish Gobius nigricinctus with reference to New World autochthones and an Old World colour-analogue

Abstract

The systematic features of a small West African marine gobiid fish, Gobius nigricinctus Delais 1951, are redescribed from the holotype with special emphasis on the head lateral-line canal and sensory papillae (tree neuromast) systems. A junior synonym is found to be Gobius lepidogenys Robins 1970. The status of G. nigricinctus is best expressed in a new monotypic genus, Gorogobius, with closest affinity to the Atlantic-Mediterranean Corcyrogobius and Odondebuenia, Similarities in head sensory papillae arrangement exist between Gorogobius and certain ‘seven-spined’ genera of the New World tropical insular fauna, but G. nigricinctus is shown not to be a recent transatlantic immigrant. The validity of the tribe Gobiosomini as a natural grouping endemic to the Americas is questioned. Close resemblance in striped coloration between Gorogobius and small Indo-West Pacific gobies, especially Quisquilius eugenius, is shown to be the result of convergent evolution.