From China a new Rhinogobius species has been described. This small Goby originates from a small tributary of the Changjiang River. They only grow to around 4 centimeters total length. As they can only be found in a small area we doubt they will be readily available for the aquarium trade.
Their name maxillivirgatus is a reference to two stripes behind their upper jaw.
The full paper is available, just follow the link at the bottom!
Abstract
The genus Rhinogobius Gill 1859 is widely distributed in fresh waters along the Western Pacific coast of tropical and temperate Asia. A new species, Rhinogobiusmaxillivirgatus, is described from Anhui Province in Eastern China. This species can be differentiated from all congeners by a combination of the following characters: up to 6 longitudinal brown to black stripes along the side of the body; pectoral-fin rays modally 14; predorsal scale series 5–9; lateral scale series 28–30; transverse scale series 6–7; branchiostegal membrane with about 20 red round spots in males; and 2 black oblique stripes parallel along the upper jaw on the anterior portion of the cheek. Analyzing sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I revealed that the new species is closely related to, but distinct, from Rhinogobius wuyanlingensis.
Diagnosis. Rhinogobius maxillivirgatus is distinguishable from the other species in the same genus by the unique combination of the following features: D2 rays modally I/8 (rarely I/9); A rays modally I/7; P rays 13–15; LL 28–30; TR 6–7; predorsal scales 5–9; vertebral count 10+17=27; lateral side with 5–6 longitudinal serrated stripes, ventral ones dark; a whitish band across from snout to dorsal portion of operculum, interrupted by orbit; a black stripe along lower half of upper jaw, followed by a longer parallel stripe across anterior portion of cheek; rear edge of orbit with a black blotch; cheek and operculum spotless, branchiostegal membrane grayish with up to 20 red spots in male; D1 with 3–4 horizontal rows of spots and D2 with 5–6 rows; P base with an arched reddish brown band, membrane with several vertical rows of spots and a bold mark near the origin; and C base with a large dark spot, with vertical rows of spots in membrane and the anterior row enlarged.
Distribution. Currently Rhinogobius maxillivirgatus is only known from a particular tributary of the Changjiang Basin in Qimen County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China.
Etymology. The name maxillivirgatus is a noun in apposition and derived from the Latin maxilla meaning “upper jaw” and virgas meaning “stripes,” referring to 2 distinctive stripes behind the upper jaw of both sexes.
Jian-Hong Xia, Han-Lin Wu, Chen-Hong Li, Yuan-Qi Wu and Su-Han Liu. 2018. A New Species of Rhinogobius (Pisces: Gobiidae), with Analyses of its DNA Barcode. Zootaxa. 4407(4); 553–562. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4407.4.7
