The dragonet gobies (Schismatogobius) are small species of freshwater gobies, that reach between 3 and 5 cm length. They live in small rivulets near the coast but above the tide on sandy bottoms. Here they burry themselves very fast if necessary. The larvae devolop – as far as this known – in the sea. The ability to change coloration is phenomenal in these gobies. The genus Schismatogobius has been established in 1912, 10 species have been accepted since then. Two of them, S. ampluvinculus and S. roxasi, we have introduced to you already (see http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/?s=schismatogobius).
The year 2017 sees an explosion of newly decribed species in Schismatogobius. First, in a revision of the species occuring from Papua-New Guinea to Samoa, 7 new species have been described, shortly later, in a revision of the species from Indondesia, 4 new species.
We have imported this week Schismatogobius from Indonesia. All the species from Indonesia look very similar to each other and occur in direct neighbourhood; this makes the determination a difficult thing. The scientific deliminations of the species base on DNA-analyses and characters not visible in live specimens. We deny killing specimens for determination purposes. But we are pretty sure that our new importations belong to the species Schismatogaobius risdawatiae, described in July 2017 from Sumatra, due to the very special coloration of the pectoral fins, which are visible in specimens photographed over white bottom from top. S. risdawatiae is a small species, reaching only 2.5-3 cm length (without the caudal fin). The charming animals are absolutely an enrichment for the aquarium hobby.
For our customers: the fish have code 454842 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
Literature:
Keith, P., C. Lord and H. K. Larson (2017): Review of Schismatogobius (Gobiidae) from Papua New Guinea to Samoa, with description of seven new species. Cybium v. 41 (no. 1): 45-66.
Keith, P., C. Lord, H. Darhuddin, G. Limmon, T. Sukmono, R. Hadiaty and N. Hubert (2017): Schismatogobius (Gobiidae) from Indonesia, with description of four new species. Cybium v. 41 (no. 2): 195-211.
