Zoological Studies

Vol. 40 No. 2, 2001

Schismatogobius fuligimentus, a New Species of Freshwater Goby (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from New Caledonia

I-Shiung Chen1, Bernard Seret2, Christine Pollabauer3 and Kwang-Tsao Shao4,*

1National Museum of Marine Biology/Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan 944
2Antenne ORSTOM du'Museum national d'Histore naturelle, Laboratoire d'Ichthyologie generale et appliquee, 43, rue Cuvier, F-75231, Paris, France
3ERBIO, Noumea, Nouvelle-Caledonie, France
4Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115

I-Shiung Chen, Bernard Seret, Christine Pollabauer and Kwang-Tsao Shao (2001) A new species of the naked and small gobiid genus, Schismatogobius de Beaufort, 1912 is described from freshwaters of New Caledonia. The new species, S. fuligimentus sp. nov. can be distinguished from other species by (1) fewer (13-14) pectoral fin rays and (2) the ventral part of the head with deep black pig- mentation in the female.  This is the first Schismatogobius species reported from New Caledonia.

Key words: Fish taxonomy, Schismatogobius, Gobiidae, New Caledonia.

*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-27899545. Fax: 886-2-27883463. E-mail: zoskt@gate. sinica.edu.tw