Fusigobius inframaculatus (Randall, 1994)

Pinault, Mathieu, Wickel, Julien, Mulochau, Thierry, Nicet, Jean-Benoît & Fricke, Ronald, 2018, First record of five fish species from Réunion Island observed during the inventory of the Marine Natural Zones of Interest for Ecology, Flora and Fauna (ZNIEFF), Cybium 42 (4), pp. 386-390 : 387

Fusigobius inframaculatus (Randall, 1994)

ZNIEFF station: Saint-Joseph, Latitude: 21°21’18.54”S, Longitude: 55°47’31.31”E, Depth: 30 m, Date: 8 April 2016, Time: 8:00.

The solitary specimen of inner-spotted sandgoby presented in this study was photographed on the south coast of the island (Saint-Joseph), at the base of an overhanging basalt column. It was laid on volcanic sand composed mainly of olivine, hence the yellow-green colour ( Fig. 2 ), close to the rock, whose crevices offered shelter where it took refuge from the approaching divers.

Its distinctive morphological features ( Tab. I) included a semi-translucent body covered with numerous small orange spots, extending from the head to the dorsal and caudal fins. Five large blackish internal spots and seven rectangular white spots were distributed on each lateral face along a discontinuous line. The first two dorsal spines were elongated and had a white colour at the tip. The gill openings were situated below the posterior half of the operculum, and the caudal fin was rounded.

Figures

Figure 2. – Specimen of Fusigobius inframaculatus photographed on 8 April 2016 at 21°21’18.54”S and 55°47’31.31”E.