Scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute, the University of Sydney and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory have described a new species of the genus Nemateleotris from the waters of the western and central Pacific Ocean.
Nemateleotris is a small genus of dartfishes in the bony fish family Gobiidae (gobies).
Members of the genus are small (rarely exceeding 7 cm, or 2.8 inches, total length), brightly colored, elongate and moderately compressed fishes.
They possess an elongate pennant-like first dorsal fin which they flick back and forth repeatedly, often in synchrony with their pelvic fins.
They are frequently found hovering close to the substrate near or in coral reefs at depths between 6-100 m (20-328 feet), especially in areas replete with sand channels and loose coral rubble.
Their diet primarily plankton and other small invertebrates which they pick out of the water column.
They are most frequently observed singly or in pairs, juveniles sometimes in small groups, often mixed with other plankton feeders.
When startled they quickly dart into small holes or crevices in the substrate, emerging a few minutes later when the threat has passed.
Nemateleotris currently includes five scientifically recognized species native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.
“The new species, the lavender-blushed dartfish (Nemateleotris lavandula), is described on the basis of the holotype from Augulupelu Reef, Palau, and twelve paratypes from across the western and central Pacific Ocean, including Fiji, Guam, Japan, and the Marshall Islands,” said Dr. Yi-Kai Tea from the Australian Museum Research Institute and the University of Sydney and Dr. Helen Larson from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
“It was previously confused with the Helfrich’s dartfish (Nemateleotris helfrichi), but molecular analysis reveals a difference of 1% in sequence data between both species, in addition to differences in morphometric measurements,…
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