Two new species of shrimp goby have been described from the western Pacific.
The new gobies, in the genus Cryptocentrus (like the one pictured above), are named by Gerald Allen and John Randall as Cryptocentrus cyanospilotus and C. multicinctus in the most recent issue of the journal Marine Biology Research.
Cryptocentrus cyanospilotus differs from congeners in having 49–54 longitudinal scales (most congeners with 70–120), and a relatively stout body. It also possesses a unique colour pattern, consisting of widely scattered small blue spots on the head and body, with those of the body roughly aligned in vertical rows with two to four spots per row.
This species is known from the Caroline Islands eastward to the Java Sea, and from the Solomon Islands and New Guinea northwards to the Ryukyu Islands.
The species name comes from the Greek meaning blue-spotted, in reference to its distinctive colour pattern.
Cryptocentrus multicinctus is known from the Bismarck Archipelago northwards to Palau and the Marshall Islands. It differs from congeners in having 79–83 longitudinal scales, 22–28 predorsal scales, body depth at pelvic-fin origin 5.4–5.6 in SL, a lanceolate caudal fin, teeth on the palate (a feature otherwise seen only in Stoniogobiops among shrimp gobies) and a unique colour pattern, particularly in the females. This consists of six relatively broad, white edged dark grey bars (whitish margins forming a series of 12 narrow vertical bars) on the side of the body. Males possess less distinct bars and have numerous small blue spots.
The species name comes from the Latin meaning many-zoned, in reference to the unique female colour pattern.
For more information, see the paper: Allen, GR and JE Randall (2011) Two new species of shrimp-associated gobies (Gobiidae: Cryptocentrus) from the Western Pacific. Marine Biology Research 7, pp. 554–564.
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