Description

SINGLE PAPER

Volume 18, Issue 2 – 15 April 2012

James L. Van Tassell, Luke Tornabene, Patrick L. Colin: Review of the western Atlantic species of Bollmannia (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Gobiosomatini) with the description of a new allied genus and species, pp. 61-94

Abstract
Bollmannia Jordan is a poorly studied group of American seven-spined gobies with representatives in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic and tropical eastern Pa­cific oceans. We review the taxonomy of the western Atlantic species and provide redescriptions for the four valid species: B. boqueronensis, B. communis, B. eigenmanni and B. litura. Bollmannia jeannae is considered to be a junior synonym of B. boqueronensis. We also describe a new genus and species of deep-water goby and discuss its affinities to Bollmannia and other genera of the Micro­gobius group of the Gobiosomatini. An identification key is provided for all western Atlantic members of the Microgobius group. Results of this study highlight the need for a combined morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis to resolve the relationships among the genera of the Microgobius group.