Barryichthys, Conway, Kevin W., Moore, Glenn I. & Summers, Adam P., 2019

Conway, Kevin W., Moore, Glenn I. & Summers, Adam P., 2019, A new genus and two new species of miniature clingfishes from temperate southern Australia (Teleostei, Gobiesocidae), ZooKeys 864, pp. 35-65 : 35

Barryichthys gen. nov.

Genus B Hutchins 1994a: 309; 2008: 725.

Diagnosis.

A genus of the Gobiesocidae differing from all other genera by the following unique characters: a double adhesive disc with elongate papillae in regions A and B (Fig. 1A), few enlarged papillae (with circular or elongate cuboid margins) in disc region D, and papillae absent from region C; two distinct types of ray in the pectoral fin including a longer ray comprising a pair of poorly ossified and unsegmented hemitrichia (uppermost 10-12 rays) and a shorter, stouter ray comprising a pair of well-ossified and segmented hemitrichia (lowermost 4-5 rays); anterior part of parasphenoid a narrow strut of bone, ~1/4 width of wider posterior part of bone; a greatly reduced gill-arch skeleton in which the hypobranchial and basibranchial elements (including cartilages) and lower pharyngeal jaw teeth are absent; and a sexually dimorphic urogenital papilla that is housed within a shallow groove posterior to the anus that is either flanked by a pair of swollen skin folds (male) or not (female). The following characters are also diagnostic, although not unique to the genus: a well-developed skin pad covering base of lower pectoral-fin rays and girdle; a thick, fleshy upper lip that is thicker along midline than at lateral margins; the absence of preoperculo-mandibular and lachrymal lateral line canals; a single lateral line canal pore (PO1) posterior to orbit; gill filaments of the first gill arch comprising a hemibranch of 5-6 poorly developed gill filaments; branchiostegal rays 5 or 6; dorsal and anal fins with 4-6 rays, well separated from caudal fin; 4+4 principal caudal-fin rays; and 1-2 procurrent caudal-fin rays.

Etymology.

Named for Barry Hutchins, in honour of his work on Australian clingfishes. Masculine.

Type species.

Barryichthys hutchinsi sp. nov.

Remarks.

Hutchins (1994a) provided a brief overview of Barryichthys (his Genus B) based on relatively few specimens from the coasts of Victoria and Tasmania. Later, Hutchins (2008) provided a more in-depth summary of the characteristics that he considered important for separating his Genus B from other genera of gobiesocids inhabiting the southern coast of Australia and extended the range of the genus to Western Australia.