Fauna Sinica, Osteichthyes, Perciformes (V), Gobioidei
The editors Wu Hanlin and Zhong Junsheng did a great job on the latest Perciformes volume of Fauna Sinica series. The book encompasses 307 species of 106 genera, 5 subfamilies and 9 families, which displays a 13.9% share of the all gobiid species worldwide known hitherto. In order to obtain valuable literature and specimen of Japanese gobies Wu Hanlin was received more than 10 times by his Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan, who is himself a goby enthusiast.
The books commences with a comprehensive overview of the history of gobiid fishes in China and worldwide partly, followed by detailed explanations of morphological features and characteristics of Gobioidei. All characters are supported by various figures (b/w sketches). There is emphasize of the cephalic sensory systems consisting of pores and pore channels. Different types of scapula (the upper endochondral bone on which the pectoral fin tip rests), branchiostegals, mandibular arches, caudal skeletons, pterygiophores, vertebrae, and digestive tracts are accurately explained accompanied with plenty of b/w figures.
The book enables one to distinguish Tridentiger trigonocephalus (Gill,1859) clearly and at a first glance from its congenerT. bifasciatus Steindachner, 1881. This is the latter gobiine species from brackish water in Shandong, Qingdao County, Qingdao City peripheries.
Ecology and biology and larval development stages are intensively treated for selected species. The worldwide geographical distribution of all gobiid families is given, in particular the distributional range, worldwide and in China, is given for the 307 species treated in this book. A full chapter is dedicated to the nomenclatural classification of the superfamily Gobioidei. Gobioidei is split into 9 families:
Rhyacichthyidae (1 gen., 1sp.)
Odontobutidae (5 genera, 8 spp.)
Eleotridae (8 genera, 13 spp.)
Gobiidae (84 genera, 269 spp.)
Microdesmidae (1 gen., 1 sp.)
Ptereleotridae (4 genera, 11 spp.)
Kraemeriidae (1 gen.,1 sp.)
Xenisthmidae (1 gen., 1 sp.)
Schindleriidae (1 gen., 2 spp.)
Acanthogobius lactipes inhabits sandy bottom substrate in the shoreline along the Yellow Sea. This specimen was caught in Shandong Province, Qingdao County, Qingdao periphery. The species goes into brackish water estuaries.
Commencing the species chapter the authors explain how to use this book; morphometrics and meristics, all possible cephalic sensory pores and channels, and pelvic shapes are displayed in detail. Following the Fauna Sinica tradition all species are displayed in excellent drawn b/w figures. The synonymy, morphometrics and meristics are given. The descriptive features ( characteristics) of the species is accurately conveyed to the reader, its coloration, standard length and occurrence in traditionally short abstracts are provided.
At the end of the book one can find 32 color plates of selected frequent species as an absolute novum for the Fauna Sinica series.
