Pisces, Teleostei, Gobiidae, illustrated list of additions to the fauna of the Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia.

Abstract

Previous surveys of the reef-associated ichthyofauna of the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua, Indonesiarecorded a total of 1,320 species of reef fishes, including 271 species of Gobiidae. A recent survey focused on the crypticgobies of Raja Ampat resulted in 36 new records (including nine species of both Trimma and Eviota). Sixteen of the newrecords are currently undescribed species, with seven of these identified as Raja Ampat endemics, while the remaining ninespecies are also known from localities outside Raja Ampat in the western Pacific. Five species previously recorded fromthe area have been re-identified, two of them representing undescribed species, and a new record from the literature hasbeen added. This brings the total number of reef fishes known from Raja Ampat waters to 1,357, of which 308 belong to theGobiidae. The number of species (including the undescribed taxa) apparently endemic to the Bird’s Head Peninsula of WestPapua now totals 33.