Rhinogobius rong and Rhinogobius nami, new species of freshwater goby fish from central Vietnam

NEWS - Researchers have described five species of rhinogobies (Rhinogobius T. N. Gill, 1859) for the first time in central Vietnam. Two new taxa were added as new species, Rhinogobius rong and Rhinogobius nami, and the other three species were identified as R. taenigena, R. leavelli, and R. similis.

The five species living in Da Nang City and Thua Thien Hue Province were distinguished based on head shape, number of pectoral fin rays, number of vertebrae, scale arrangement, arrangement of skin sensory papillae, and color. R. rong and R. similis are widely distributed in coastal areas, while R. nami, R. taenigena, and R. leavelli are only found inland.

The morphology of R. taenigena, R. leavelli, and R. similis differ slightly in location and number, overlap in size, and vary in color, but this study tentatively identifies all populations as R. leavelli or R. similis.

Gobies are included in the order Gobiiformes Günther (1880) as a diverse ray-finned fish with more than 2000 species. Rhinogobius is one of the specific genera that includes 94 species currently recognized as valid. Japan, Taiwan, the Yangtze basin in China to northern Vietnam are considered as hotspots for the diversification of this genus.

Central Vietnam has a large diversity, although it is still unknown until this study. Five species are distributed sympatrically in the river basins of Da Nang City and Thua Thien Hue Province comparable to the diversity in rivers in Quang Ninh Province in northeastern Vietnam.

Rhinogobius rong and Rhinogobius nami, new species of freshwater goby fish from central Vietnam 1

R. rong and R. similis are distributed in a relatively large coastal area of central Vietnam, while R. taenigena, R. leavelli and R. nami are distributed in limited upper reaches of rivers and tributaries, which has important implications for the phylogeography of this genus in central Vietnam.

Original research

Ken Maeda, Hirozumi Kobayashi, Midori Iida & Hau Duc Tran. Taxonomy of freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius (Oxudercidae, Gobiiformes) from central Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa Vol. 5493 No. 5: 14 Aug. 2024. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5493.5.3

Indian shot (Canna indica)

Puspa midra or Indian shot ( Canna indica ) is is plant species in Cannaceae, annual, shrub 0.5-2.5 meters high, depending on variety, erect stems, unbranched and leaf midrib arranged overlapping to form pseudostems and hermaphrodite flowers. C. indica forms a branched rhizome, 60 cm long which is divided into rounded segments and is covered in two stripes by pale green or purple scaly leaves. The rhizome has tubers that contain very large starch grains. The surface has transverse furrows, the underside appears white roots and numerous shoots. The leaves sit alternate and spiral or arranged in two rows, very large and divided into a leaf midrib, short stalk and blade. The strands are 30-60 cm long, 10-20 cm wide and have linear veins, green or purple-green, the base blunt or narrowly pointed and the apex immediately tapering or sharp. Hermaphrodite flowers, pedicels 0.2-1 cm long and red or yellow-orange, except in some cultivars 4.5-7.5 cm long. The sepals are triangular in shape a...

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum)

Guinea grass or buffalo grass or green panic ( Panicum maximum ) is a plant species in Poaceae, annual grasses, growing upright to form clumps, strong, cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions for very high value as fodder. P. maximum reproduces in very large pols, fibrous roots penetrate into the soil, upright stems, green, 1-1.5 m tall and have smooth cavities for diameters up to 2.5 mm. Propagation is done vegetatively and generatively. Ribbon-shaped leaves with a pointed tip, very many, built in lines, green, 40-105 cm long, 10-30 mm wide, erect, branched, a white linear bone, often covered with a layer of white wax, rough surface by hair short, dense and spread. The flower grows at the end of a long and upright stalk, open with the main axis length to more than 25 cm and the length of the bunches down to 20 cm. Grains have a size of 3x4 mm and oval. Seeds have a length of 2.25-2.50 mm and each 1 kg contains 1.2 - 1.5 million seeds. Guinea grass has two varieties. P...

Blood lily (Scadoxus multiflorus)

Blood lily or Haemanthus multiflorus ( Scadoxus multiflorus ) is a species of plant in the Amaryllidaceae, a bulbous shrub that produces rhizomes. Leaves and flowers may appear together or leaves may be produced later. The base of the leaves and stems are tightly wrapped to form a pseudo-stem or false stem, 5-60 cm long. Flowers in umbels at the top of the stem, leafless, 12-75 cm long. Pseudostems and scapes are often covered with reddish brown to dark purple spots. The flower umbel is in the shape of a globe with 10-200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk, 15-45 mm long. The tepals and filaments of the stamens are red. The base of the tepals is fused to form a cylindrical tube, 4-26 mm long, the free end of the tepals 12-32 mm long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a berry having a diameter of 5-10 mm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Haemantheae Ge...

Dlium