Diplecogaster Fraser-Brunner 1938
- Dataset
- Diplecogaster tonstricula, a new species of cleaning clingfish (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae) from the Canary Islands and Senegal, eastern Atlantic Ocean, with a review of the Diplecogaster-ctenocrypta species-group
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Actinopterygii
- order
- Perciformes
- family
- Gobiesocidae
- genus
- Diplecogaster
diagnosis
Diagnosis Three and one half gills; gill membranes attached to the isthmus; disc double; dorsal and anal fins normal with strong rays; disc length 3.2 – 5.2 in SL; no spine in subopercular area; 4 – 9 dorsal-fin rays; 3 – 8 anal-fin rays; 20 – 26 pectoral-fin rays; premaxillaries short; maxillaries well forward in position; head lateral-line system with two pores in the lacrymal canal.
discussion
Remarks A total of six valid species is known in this genus; a checklist of the species and an identification key are presented below. Within the genus Diplecogaster, two species groups can be distinguished: – Diplecogaster-bimaculata group: characterised by a moderate number of 4 – 8 rays in the dorsal fin and 3 – 7 in the anal fin (D. - ctenocrypta group: 9 rays in the dorsal fin, 8 rays in the anal fin), and the position of the anus which is situated in the middle between disc and anal-fin origin (D. - ctenocrypta group: situated closer to the analfin origin than to the end of the disc). Species. D. bimaculata, D. euxinica, D. megalops, D. pectoralis. Distribution. Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, eastern Atlantic Ocean, South Africa. – Diplecogaster-ctenocrypta group (reviewed in the present paper): characterised by a high number of 9 rays in the dorsal fin and 8 in the anal fin (D. - bimaculata group: 4 – 8 rays in the dorsal fin, 3 – 7 rays in the anal fin), and the position of the anus which is situated closer to the anal-fin origin than to the end of the disc (D. - bimaculata group: situated in the middle between disc and anal-fin origin). The species of the group are further distinguished from the Diplecogaster bimaculata, D. euxinica and D. pectoralis in having 14 – 15 caudalfin rays (18 – 21 in D. bimaculata, D. euxinica and D. pectoralis), and lacking lateral papillae in disc region A (many lateral papillae present in D. bimaculata, D. euxinica and D. pectoralis), and from D. megalops in 13 – 16 rakers on third gill arch (7 – 9 rakers in D. megalops). Species. D. ctenocrypta, D. tonstricula n. sp. Distribution. Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Checklist of the species of Diplecogaster
distribution
Distribution. Black Sea.
distribution
Distribution: Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde Islands.
distribution
Distribution: Canary Islands, Senegal.
distribution
Distribution: Canary Islands.
distribution
Distribution: Mediterranean Sea, north-eastern Atlantic: Norway and Faroes south to Gibraltar.
distribution
Distribution: South Africa.