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First record of the Cheekscaled frill-goby, Bathygobius cotticeps (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) from Jeju-do Island, Korea

Min-Soo Kim1,2https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1153-7585, Heung-Heon Lee3https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5577-2569, Young-Min Ko4https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2198-4290, Sung-Geun Jo2https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0683-862X, Jae-Goo Kim2,5,*https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1626-939X
1SOKN Institute of Ecology and Conservation, Inc., Yangpyeong 12563, Korea
2Department of Marine Biological Resource and Aquaculture, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Korea
3E&E Environment and Ecology Research Cooperative, Jeonju 55021, Korea
4Jeju Amphibian Ecology Institute, Jeju 63109, Korea
5Alpha Research Ecology Institute, Gunsan 54151, Korea
*Corresponding author: Jae-Goo Kim, Alpha Research Ecology Institute, Gunsan 54151, Korea, Tel: +82-70-4099-1400, Fax: +82-70-8280-5800, E-mail:jgkim0909@jbnu.ac.kr

Copyright © 2024 The Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Mar 13, 2024; Revised: Apr 19, 2024; Accepted: May 02, 2024

Published Online: Aug 31, 2024

Abstract

A single specimen of Bathygobius cotticeps (41.0 mm SL) was collected from the rocky pools of intertidal zone of Jeju-do Island, Korea. This species is characterized by having VI–I, 9 dorsal fin rays, I, 8 anal fin rays, scales on cheek and opercle, 23 predorsal scales, 38 longitudinal scales, 24 pectoral fins, 7 free rays on upper pectoral fin, each divided to 5–7 branches, cephalic sensory canal pores H and K fused, and the middle of pelvic frenum curved inwards smoothly. We propose a new Korean name, “Bi-neul-mu-nui-mang-duk” for the B. cotticeps based on the presence of scales on the cheek.

Keywords: Bathygobius cotticeps; Gobiidae; Jeju-do Island; Korea; First record

Introduction

Gobiid fishes of the genus BathygobiusBleeker (1878) have been reported as a total of 28 valid species worldwide (Nelson et al., 2016). To date, four species of the genus have been documented in Korea Bathygobius coalitus (Bennett, 1832), Bathygobius cyclopterus (Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1837), Bathygobius fuscus (Rüppell, 1830), and Bathygobius hongkongensisLam, 1986 (Kwun & Kang, 2023).

The genus Bathygobius is distributed along tropical coasts and has features such as the VI first dorsal fin, branched free rays on the upper pectoral fin, the longitudinal pattern of cheek papillae, and a gill opening equivalent to the base of the pelvic fin (Akihito & Meguro, 1980; Hoese, 1986).

During the fish survey of the rocky tidal zone, we found a single gobiid fish belonging to the genus Bathygobius. It was stored as a specimen for more detailed identification, and recently, this species was identified as Bathygobius cotticeps (Steindachner, 1879) based on the morphological characters of 7 free rays on the upper pectoral fin each branch into 5 to 7, scales on the cheek and opercle, 23 predorsal scales, 24 pectoral fins, cephalic sensory canal pores H and K fused, and the middle of the pelvic frenum curved inwards smoothly, but without protrusions (Akihito & Meguro, 1980; Akihito et al., 2002). The distinctiveness of the pectoral fins in free rays was identified and compared to those of the previously announced Bathygobius to accurately identify the species. Hence, this study reports the appearance of a fifth fish belonging to the genus Bathygobius in Korea.

Materials and Methods

The single specimen was captured from the rocky tidal zone in northwest Jeju Island using a set net, fixed in 10% formalin, and subsequently preserved in 70% ethanol. Methods of counting and measurements followed by Hubbs et al. (2004) and expressed in percentages of standard length (SL) or head length (HL). Cephalic sensory canal pores and scales count method followed Uyeno et al. (1984). The specimen is deposited at the Kunsan National University, Korea.

Results and Discussion

Bathygobius cotticeps (Steindachner, 1879)

(New Korean name: Bi-neul-mu-nui-mang-duk) (Table 1; Figs. 1 and 2).

Table 1. Comparison of meristic and morphometric characters of Bathygobius cotticeps
Present study (n = 1) Steindachner (1879) Akihito & Meguro (1980) Hoese (1986)
Standard length (mm) 41.0 70.0 - -
Meristic characters
 Dorsal fin rays VI–I, 9 VI–I, 9 VI–I, 9–10 VI–I, 9
 Anal fin rays I, 8 I, 91) I, 8 I, 8
 Pectoral fin rays 24 21–22 21–25 23–24
 Free rays on pectoral fin 7 - 6, 7, 9 -
 Branches on free rays 5–7 - 5–7 5–7
 Longitudinal scales 38 33 35–46 35–38
 Predorsal scales 23 - 21–32 21–32
 Scales on cheek Present Present2) Present Present
Measurements in % of SL
 Body depth 19.5 - - -
 Body width 14.6 - - -
 Head length 30.5 - - -
 Predorsal length 35.1 - - -
 Preanal length 60.7 - - -
 Prepelvic length 31.7 - - -
 Prepectoral length 29.3 - - -
 Caudal peduncle length 20.7 - - -
 Caudal peduncle depth 13.4 - - -
Measurements in % of HL - - -
 Snout length 23.2 - - -
 Eye diameter 24.0 - - -
 Interorbital width 12.0 - - -

It is considered a difference in measurement method (Hubbs et al. (2004) counts the last two rays as one).

Data from Akihito & Meguro (1980) which was written by measuring holotype.

SL, standard length; HL, head length.

Download Excel Table
fas-27-8-533-g1
Fig. 1. Bathygobius cotticeps (AREIS-0002, 41.0 mm SL) collected from Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do Island, Korea. SL, standard length.
Download Original Figure
fas-27-8-533-g2
Fig. 2. Cephalic sensory pores of Bathygobius cotticeps (AREIS-0002, 41.0 mm SL). ANP, anterior nasal pore; PNP, posterior nasal pore; S, single pore (scale bar indicates 5 mm); SL, standard length.
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Gobius cotticepsSteindachner (1879): 137 (Society Islands, French Polynesia).

B. cotticeps (Steindachner, 1879): Akihito & Meguro, 1980: 229; Uyeno et al., 1984: 273 (Japan); Hoese, 1986: 781; Akihito et al., 2002: 1219 (Japan).

Materials examined

B. cotticeps, AREIS-0002, 41.0 mm SL, was collected from the Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do Island, Korea, using a hand net on 18 November 2011. It lived in rocky intertidal areas, hiding in algae and rocky crevices.

Description

Meristic and measurements are shown in Table 1. Body moderate and compressed posteriorly. Body covered in scales from predorsal to caudal fin base. Head depressed with slight triangular cross section. Anterior nasal pores cylindrical and covered skin flap. Snout short. Mouth terminal and maxilla slightly extend beyond the anterior border of the eye. Opercle and upside cheek covered with scales. Pectoral fin rounded shape. Free rays on the upper part of the pectoral fin and at each branched, respectively (5 to 7). Pelvic fin united, forming like a disc. Middle of pelvic frenum curved inwards smoothly not convexity. Anal fin originates posterior to the second dorsal fin. Length of second dorsal fin base longer than anal fin base length. Margin of caudal fin rounded.

Cephalic sensory canal pores (Fig. 2): anterior oculoscapular canal with B’, C (single), D (single), E, F, G, and H; posterior oculoscapular canal with K and L’; the anterior and posterior oculoscapular canals are united. So, H’ and K’ pores are one opening, HK; preopercular canal with M’, N, and O’.

Coloration

The body coloration changes easily depending on the surrounding environment. When fresh, the background color of the body consists of a dark brown. Upper body with some whitish brown transverse bands. No blotches alongside body. Abdominal region relatively bright. Each membrane of fins is translucent. Small dark spots concentrate on pectoral fin base. After preserved, whole body color is pale brown. Band pattern faint.

Distribution

B. cotticeps is a tropical fish and has a wide distribution range. Southwestern Japan, Taiwan, western central pacific (Akihito & Meguro, 1980; Akihito et al., 2002), western coast of India (Manilo & Bogorodsky, 2003; Sreeraj et al., 2022), and Korea (this study).

Remarks

The present specimen collected from Jeju-do Island, Korea, matched with characters of the genus Bathygobius and was identified as B. cotticeps by the following meristic count features 23 pectoral fin rays, 7 free rays on the upper pectoral fin part, 5–7 branches of free ray, 23 predorsal scales, 38 longitudinal scales, and cephalic sensory canal pores H and K fused (Akihito & Meguro, 1980). The original description of B. cotticeps is considerably insufficient, particularly with the number of longitudinal scales being 33, However Akihito & Meguro (1980) confirmed the holotype and used a longitudinal scale range of 35–46 as the standard in this study.

These features distinguish B. cotticeps from the other four Bathygobius species in Korea. B. cotticeps has 21–25 pectoral fins (vs. 17–20 in B. coalitus and 16–20 in B. fuscus), 21–32 predorsal scales (vs. 13–17 in B. hongkongensis and 12–20 in B. cyclopterus), connected cephalic sensory canal pore (HK) is present only in B. cyclopterus, and scales on the cheek which are only present in B. cotticeps, unlike the other four species (Akihito & Meguro, 1980; Akihito et al., 2002; Lam, 1986).

We, therefore propose a new Korean name, “Bi-neul-mu-nui-mang-duk” for B. cotticeps, which refers to the presence of scales on the cheeks.

Competing interests

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Funding sources

Not applicable.

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Upon reasonable request, the datasets of this study can be available from the corresponding author.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study conformed to the guidance of animal ethical treatment for the care and use of experimental animals.

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