New Zealand Black Goby

Uniformly dark brown or black with irregular markings on head and operculum and a conspicuous white semi-circular marking on shoulder at base of pectoral fin. Larger individuals mottled with irregular blotches on head and body. Pectoral, pelvic and anal fins becoming paler distally.

Dorsal spines (total): 67; Analspines: 1; Analsoft rays: 10

Occurs in rock pools and deeper reefs, usually in narrow crevices where fine silt accumulates. Secretive and usually only the head is seen protruding out of the crevice; will retreat when disturbed.

Gobiopsis atrata (Griffin)

Callogobius atratus Griffin, 1933:176, pl. 25.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Eight collections, 19 specimens (29.8–73.4 mm SL), all from New Zealand. NORTH ISLAND: AIM Ps 286.1, holotype, male, 50.9 mm SL, Cable Bay, Mangonui; NMNZ 3141 (2 specimens), outer Bay of Islands; USNM 216445 (5), out of NMNZ 3141; USNM 216446 (1), Goat Island, Leigh, formerly NMNZ 5393; NMNZ 5944 (1), Lyall Bay, Wellington; NMNZ 5945 (1), Wellington harbor entrance; NMNZ 3285 (1), Ohiro Bay, Wellington. STEWART ISLAND: NMNZ 5627 (3), Rosa Island, Port Pegasus; NMNZ 5644 (4), upper Port Pegasus.

DIAGNOSIS.—Cephalic sensory pores absent; head barbels reduced to a single, median stumplike protuberance on chin; outer preoperculo-mandibular row of papillae ascends on border of posterior margin of preopercle; postorbital row of papillae short and weakly developed; fleshy cheek fold enlarged; interorbital wide; dark mark at base of pectoral fin large, prominent, sickle shaped; anal rays I,10; vertebrae 10+17.

DESCRIPTION.—Dorsal fin rays VI–I, 11 (18), VI–I, 12(1); anal rays I,10 (19); pectoral rays 19 (18), 20 (13), 21 (1); pelvic rays I,5 (6); segmented caudal rays 17 (19); branched caudal rays 15 (10), 16 (6), 17 (3); lateral scale rows about 55–65 (8); transverse scale rows 23–26 (6); predorsal scales about 25.

Scales cycloid; eccentric, narrow focus; primary radii in anterior field about 6–7 and 1–2 secondary radii; no radii in posterior field.

Gill rakers moderate in length, about 10 on lower limb of first arch, 2 or 3 on upper limb.

Vertebrae 10+17 (17); pterygiophore formula 3 (22110); neural and haemal spines of PU2 compressed and spatulate.

A large species for Gobiopsis; body elongate, head depressed, trunk compressed posteriorly; head profile viewed from above moderately acute; snout long, pug nosed, gape oblique, wide; lower jaw protrudes; angle of lower jaw not reaching vertical from anterior margin of eye; interorbital wide, about equal to or greater than eye diameter in larger specimens; eyes situated more dorsolaterally than on G. springeri or G. exigua; anterior and posterior nares widely separated, the posterior naris close to eye, both at end of tube; tongue broadly rounded or truncate, the tip free; gill opening moderate, similar to Gobiopsis sensu stricto, not as wide as on G. springeri and G. exigua.

Pectoral fin comparatively short, not extending to vertical at anterior margin of anus, posterior margin round or somewhat pointed; pelvic fins form a short oval cup, the inner rays joined, the frenum large and strongly developed; pelvic fin length 63 to 74 percent of distance from pelvic insertion to anal fin origin; first and second dorsal fins about equal in height; membrane of first dorsal fin just reaching origin of second dorsal fin; caudal fin rounded, equal to head length or slightly less.

Scales small, more crowded and smaller anteriorly than posteriorly on trunk; scales absent on cheek, opercle, and area just posterior to eyes; nape and occipital area with small, crowded scales.

Genital papilla of male short, depressed, and tapers slightly at tip; papilla of female short and bulbous and slightly bilobed at tip.

Dentition of upper jaw with an outer row of about 35 caninoid teeth, slightly larger on anterior part of jaw, equal to or twice as long as width of spaces between them; a patch of 2 rows of small villiform teeth behind outer row; a row of about 6 recurved caninoid teeth medially behind villiform patch. The outer row of teeth on lower jaw same as that of upper jaw; a villiform patch of teeth in about 3 to 4 rows behind outer row; an inner row of about 30 caninoid teeth behind villiform patch, three-fourths as long as those of outer row.

Barbels absent except for a single median, squarish, short mental protuberance.

The cutaneous papillae system (Figure 2) is well developed and the general pattern resembles that of G. aporia but differs mainly as follows: the suborbital row is absent; the nasal row consists of coarse, widely spaced papillae and is confluent behind the eye with the lateral cephalic row, which also has coarse, widely spaced papillae (the secondary lateral cephalic row has close-set papillae like those of G. aporia); a short vertical row of 2 or a group of 3 papillae present below eye, above cheek fold; postorbital row reduced to 1 or 2 papillae; occipital series reduced to 2 paired groups having 1 and about 3 papillae each; snout with a regular row of coarse papillae parallel to nasal row but laterad to nares rather than numerous scattered papillae; an anterior and posterior pair of coarse papillae on snout in area that bears posterior internasal barbels on G. aporia; the fleshy cheek fold is well developed and has a row of large, coarse papillae beneath it, but there is no row of papillae mounted on its edge; a row of papillae is present above posterior margin of fold and extends on cheek to posterior preopercle (equals first cheek row?); third cheek row absent or reduced to a single papilla; fourth cheek row shorter and positioned closer to cheek fold than in G. aporia. Trunk and caudal series as described by Lachner and McKinney (1978).

COLOR IN PRESERVATION.—A darkly colored species, highly mottled in larger specimens. Head behind eyes and nape with strong, blackish, irregular mottling over brownish black background, mottling reduced or lacking in smaller specimens; side of head with dark streak from eye to upper edge of opercle; cheek with a strong oblique dark mark from eye to lower opercle; 2 dark irregular blotches or barlike marks below eye; upper opercle with dark mottling, snout and chin with faint dark mottling. Trunk dorsolaterally with 6 light roundish spots, larger than orbit, separated from each other by brownish background and obliterated or nearly so by black, irregular mottling in larger specimens; spots create a wavy brownish midlateral stripe mostly in smaller specimens, obliterated by black mottling or patches in larger specimens. Six or 7 dark, irregular blotches along dorsal midline pass through dorsal fins and over caudal peduncle in larger specimens, faintly present or absent in most of smaller specimens. Breast, belly, and lower caudal peduncle dark brown to blackish in larger specimens, a more uniform and lighter brown in smaller specimens. Fleshy base of pectoral fin mottled with black in larger specimens, mottling reduced in smaller specimens; proximal portion of pectoral fin light, followed by a large, black, sickle-shaped mark, uniform in smaller specimens but in larger specimens forms a black wedge on upper portion of fin, which divides or nearly so the light pectoral base; sickle-shaped mark extends outward on rays, becoming faint distally and terminating at outer fifth of ray, remainder of pectoral fin clear. Pelvic fin with basal portion, including all of frenum, blackish, becoming gradually lighter distally, more pigment on interradial membrane than on rays, outer fifth of fin clear or light brown. First and second dorsal fins of larger specimens blackish with heavier black mottling or irregularly arranged black spots; smaller specimens with dark brown basal spot anteriorly on first dorsal fin and about 5 similar spots along second dorsal fin base, remainder of fins light brown. Anal fin dark brown to black proximally, light brown to clear distally. Caudal fin uniformily dark brown, somewhat lighter at its extremity.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—Gobiopsis atrata, apparently a New Zealand endemic, is represented in our material from the northeast coast of North Island, the vicinity of Wellington, and Stewart Island at the southern extremity of South Island.

Gobiopsis atrata, the New Zealand black goby, is a species of goby endemic to the marine waters around northern New Zealand where it occurs in tide pools and on reefs down to depths of about 30 metres (98 ft). It lives in narrow crevices and is most commonly seen with its head poking out of its lair to which it will hastily retreat if disturbed. This species can reach a length of 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) TL.