ABSTRACT
Pat Colin, Lloyd Findley, Jean-Christophe Joyeux, Ed Murdy, Frank Pezold, and Luke Tornabene. Special thanks to Lloyd Findley for contributing his unpublished distribution data for the eastern pacifi c species. Additional detailed information for each of the species, not provided here, is available at www.gobiidae.com. Th e family Gobiidae is divided into fi ve subfamilies: Amblyopinae (36 species worldwide); Gobiinae (1027); Gobionellinae (377); Oxudercinae (46); and Sicydiinae (109) (Eschmeyer and Fong, 2010). Members of the subfamilies Amblyopinae and Oxudercinae are absent from the Americas. Th e Gobiinae (Pezold, 1993) contain about 100 genera worldwide and are represented in the Americas by 31 genera, of which 27 are endemic. Th e Gobiinae tribe Gobiosomatini (= Birdsong’s [1975] Gobiosomini — the proper spelling, Gobiosomatini, recognized by Smith and Baldwin [1999]) is endemic to the Americas and comprises 128 species — 73% of American Gobiinae and 55% of American Gobiidae. The tribe, as originally proposed by Birdsong (1975), included what has been commonly called the American seven-spined gobies and several closely allied genera, all endemic to the Americas. Th e tribe was expanded by Hoese (1976) and again by Birdsong in 1988 and 1995. Th e genera currently included in the Gobiosomatini are: Aboma, Akko, Aruma, Barbulifer, Bollmannia, Chriolepis, Elacatinus, Eleotrica, Enypnias, Evermannichthys, Ginsburgellus, Gobiosoma, Gobulus, Gymneleotris, Microgobius, Nes, Ophiogobius, Palatogobius, Pariah, Parrella, Psilotris, Pycnomma, Risor, Robinsichthys, Tigrigobius and Varicus. The tribe was originally hypothesized to be monophyletic by Birdsong (1975); later work by Birdsong et al. (1988) inferred that a subset of the group, known as the “Gobiosoma Group” was monophyletic. Th e remaining genera (Akko, Bollmannia, Microgobius, Palatogobius, Parrella) were referred to as the “Microgobius Group.” Th e monophyly of the seven-spined gobies, including the two major groups (Gobiosoma and Microgobius groups), is supported by the molecular phylogeny of Rüber et al. (2003). Th e primary morphological characters used to unite the Gobiosomatini are a dorsal-fi n pterygiophore formula of 3-221110 (in all genera except Evermannichthys, Pariah, and Risor), a vertebral count of 11+16-17 (in all but Evermannichthys and Pariah), and the fusion of hypurals 1-2 with 3-4 and the terminal vertebral element (in all genera except Aboma, Bollmannia, Microgobius, Palatogobius, and Parrella) (Birdsong, 1975; Van Tassell, 1998). The Gobiosomatini display a great diversity in color, ecology, and behavior. They are found in fresh, brackish, and marine waters and in association with habitats of mud, shell, gravel, coral and/or rocky reefs. They occur in the intertidal and to depths of 500 meters (Rüber et al.,
2003; Colin, 2010). Differences in dentition indicate specialized diets, although little information is available for most species. Th e genera have diversifi ed in behavior: for example, Elacatinus contains members that are involved in cleaning symbioses, removing ectoparasites from other fi shes; Nes lives in association with snapping shrimp; Evermannichthys lives within sponges; and Ginsburgellus lives in association with urchins (Böhlke and Robins, 1968).
