It’s been a short while since we’ve had some new species of gobies being described and Cryptocentrus epakros and Tomiyamichthys zonatus are here to fill that gap. The two new species of sand dwelling gobies are both associated with Alpheid shrimp partners and the two gobies from different genera are described together because they both hail from the Milne Bay region of Papua New Guinea.
The new Tomiyamichthys zonatus goby is well patterned to camouflage with the sandy brown substrate in which it lives. Males of T. zonatus have up to five brown saddles of color on their backs which are offset with orange-brown bars on the ventral side. A prominent black bar crosses the edge of the anal fins meanwhile the pelvic fins are yellow with yellow spots.
Meanwhile the new Cryptocentros epakros is yet another new species of yellow goby in this genus, adding to the new number of species that could be mistaken for the common yellow prawn goby, Cryptocentrus cinctus. Like that species, C. epakros is primarily yellow in coloration, but it lacks the definite colored spotting on the face, instead being replaced by just a few squiggles and stripes on the gill cover of the males. [JOSF]
