Three new species of freshwater goby fish found in Japan and the Philippines

A staff of biologists from Japan and the Philippines have recognized three new species of goby fish, belonging to the genus Lentipes. They were described in a study published right now in the journal, Systematics and Biodiversity.

A single of the new species was located living in the Philippine archipelago of Palawan and has been presented the Latin scientific name Lentipes palawanirufus, which interprets as “red Lentipes goby of Palawan”. The other two new species have been uncovered in Okinawa, a sub-tropical island in Japan, and have been named Lentipes kijimuna and Lentipes bunagaya.

“The names were influenced by Kijimuna and Bunagaya, who are wooden spirits in Okinawan folks mythology normally portrayed as getting purple hair or pores and skin,” claimed Dr. Ken Maeda, initially creator of the study and employees scientist in the Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Engineering Graduate College (OIST). “Like their namesakes, these two new species have pink markings on their human body.”

Lentipes kijimuna was the first species found out back in 2005, when Dr. Maeda located an unfamiliar-seeking male goby fish although carrying out fieldwork for his Ph.D. at the College of the Ryukyus.

 “I was surprised by its fiery purple head and lower system. The condition was identical to Lentipes armatus, which right up until now, was the only recognized Lentipes species in Japan, but the shade sample was absolutely unique,” Dr. Maeda recalled.

Color patterning is an conveniently observable characteristic but the romance concerning system shade and species is not clear-slash. In some situations, two distinctive fish species can look equivalent in shade sample, but at other situations, fish from the similar species can show lots of versions in color pattern, with each and every variant of fish recognised as a colour morph.

To find out no matter whether this fish was just a rare coloration morph of Lentipes armatus, or a new species totally, the scientists necessary to thoroughly analyze its DNA. But initial, they wanted much more specimens.

It was not until eventually 2010, soon after becoming a member of OIST as a researcher, that Dr. Maeda identified a few additional male fish in Okinawa with the very same special pink coloration and collected one of them for later on study. And then in 2012, he manufactured yet another discovery—a next coloration morph, also male. This one experienced two bands of crimson on the reduced overall body.

Then, through surveys of freshwater fish in Palawan from 2015 to 2018 in a collaboration job involving OIST and the Western Philippines College, Dr. Maeda observed males that displayed a 3rd variation in shade, with a bright crimson head and a reddish-brown lower entire body.

Getting finally collected plenty of samples, Dr. Maeda and his collaborators unraveled the evolutionary connection concerning the differently-patterned fish. Initial, they analyzed all the DNA in the mitochondria, and then looked at precise locations throughout the whole genome, which includes the nucleus.

The scientists discovered no variances in the DNA from the mitochondria but discovered that tiny variations in DNA throughout the complete genome separated the fish into four unique species, in line with their colour styles.

 “We consider that these fish have to have diverged just lately, so the mitochondrial genes have not experienced adequate time to mutate,” claimed Mr. Hirozumi Kobayashi, a Ph.D. student from the College of the Ryukyus who analyzed the nuclear DNA with his supervisor, Professor Kazunori Yamahira.

Dr. Maeda also verified that the fish looked diverse in human body sort and color sample from all 19 identified species of Lentipes of the planet. The crew hence reported a few new species: L. kijimuna, L. bunagaya, and L. palawanirufus.

The researchers believe that the distinctive coloration patterns of the Lentipes males enjoy an significant part in maintaining their separate lineages. The staff noted that in the course of courtship, males shown a far more vivid shade than normal and exhibited distinctive conduct that highlighted their distinct shade sample when approaching girls. The scientists advise that the woman might not settle for males of the other species with various coloration designs, whilst further more reports are necessary to validate this.

The scientists also hope to track down extra specimens of Lentipes kijimuna and L. bunagaya on other islands in the South-East Asia region. Whilst Lentipes grownups dwell and reproduce in small freshwater streams, the larvae are carried downstream into the ocean and can be transported by ocean currents to distinct distant islands.

“Lentipes kijimuna and L. bunagaya are almost never seen in Okinawa,” discussed Dr. Maeda. “So we consider that these species we encountered listed here were born somewhere else in Southeast Asia and transported to Okinawa when they were larvae.”

Additional extreme evolutionary scientific tests, as properly as getting the origin and geographic distribution of the gobies, could support glow light-weight on how the larvae disperse. It could also help confirm if woman decision is 1 of the drivers for how these species have preserved their separate lineages and not interbred. Larval dispersal generally stops new species from forming, as men and women from unique populations have the chance to reproduce with each individual other. Nonetheless, Lentipes gobies buck this craze, as they truly harbor a higher degree of species variety.

“This paper aids to expose the thriller of these Lentipes gobies,” said Dr. Maeda, “but you can find still so much to locate out.”