Oxyurichthys petersii ( Klunzinger, 1871 )

Kovačić, Marcelo, Renoult, Julien P., Pillon, Roberto, Svensen, Rudolf, Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Engin, Semih & Louisy, Patrick, 2022, Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of the continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals, Zootaxa 5144 (1), pp. 1-103 : 71

Oxyurichthys petersii ( Klunzinger, 1871) ( Fig. 45 )— Red Sea Tentacle-goby

Apocryptes (Gobiichthys) petersii Klunzinger, 1871: 480 ; type locality: Red Sea , Egypt, Al Quseir .

Size. Attains about 17 cm total length.

Morphology. D VI + I,12–13; A I,12–13; P 22–23. Body elongate, the depth 5.6–6.5 in standard length. Eyes protruding, their upper part well above dorsal profile of head ( Fig. 45 ), each topped by a short fleshy knob. A narrow dermal crest present on nape. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Spines of first dorsal fin elongate, each ending in a short filament. Dorsal and anal fins long-based. Pelvic fins united to form a disc. Caudal fin lanceolate, nearly twice as long as head ( Fig. 45 ). Scales on body ctenoid posteriorly, becoming cycloid anteriorly below middle of first dorsal fin, no scales on cheek, opercle, and prepectoral area ( Pezold & Larson 2015). Scales small, at best visible on body as pattern of pale dots.

Live coloration. Yellowish to greenish gray dorsally, abdomen whitish, with a midlateral row 6 slightly elongate, blackish blotches, the first blotch on pectoral-fin base, the last on mid caudal peduncle at caudal-fin base ( Fig. 45 ), sometimes alternating with 5 smaller dark spots. Head with a broad dark bar below eye, indistinctly edged with a pale blue line, followed by a row of dark blotches across operculum. Males with a series of oblique iridescent blue streaks on body, the first below origin of first dorsal fin; membranes of both dorsal fins with yellowish marks, forming longitudinal stripes, separated by short blue stripes.

Similar species. Cryptocentrus steinhardti .

Habitat. Inhabits silty sand or mud substrata of sheltered bays or estuaries, from the shallows to depths of 50 m; takes refuge in a burrow, but is able to dive quickly into mud if threatened when away from shelter.

Geographic distribution. In the native area restricted to the Red Sea ( Pezold & Larson 2015). The most common Lessepsian goby migrant in the Mediterranean, where reported from Greece at Kastellorizo Island ( Apostolopoulos & Karachle 2016), Israel ( Ben-Tuvia 1983; Golani 2021), Lebanon ( Bariche & Fricke 2020), Syria ( Ali 2018), Tunisia ( Golani et al. 2002), and Turkey from Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea coasts (Bilecenoğlu et al. 2002; Akyol et al. 2006).

Figures

FIGURE 45. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Oxyurichthys petersii. Photo by J.E. Randall, Port Sudan, Sudan, Red Sea.