taxonID	type	description	language	source
01B5366717A55C4C9A39A3DD85BF67B1.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. D VI-I, 10; A I, 8 - 9; P (R / L) 22 / 21; V I- 5; C 17; in 9 / 8 pattern; branched caudal rays 8 / 7; longitudinal scales 44; TRB 19; predorsal scales 37; circumpeduncular scales 16. First dorsal-fin pterygiophore formula 3 - 22110 (Fig. 1 D). Vertebrae (including urostyle) 10 + 16 = 26. Two anal pterygiophores before haemal spine of first caudal vertebra. One epural. Fins black. Caudal fin almost 1 / 2 SL. Pelvic frenum absent. Body without darker bands. Head sensory papillae developed.	en	Chen, Jia-Jie, Zeng, Sheng, Passmore, Roland, Tian, Wei, Luo, Yi-Ming, Zhong, Jun-Sheng, Yang, Meng-Ling, Yang, De-Yuan, Ye, Jin-Qing, Chen, Yuan-Ge (2025): A new record of the blackfin goby (Egglestonichthys melanoptera, Gobiidae) from China, with complete mitochondrial genomes of two Egglestonichthys species and their phylogenetic implications. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1057-1069, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.152501
01B5366717A55C4C9A39A3DD85BF67B1.taxon	description	Description. Based on 1 specimen, 84.13 mm SL. Counts and proportional measurements are given in Table 1. Body moderately robust, rounded anteriorly, compressed posteriorly; dorsal / ventral margins shallowly arched. Depth at first dorsal origin 37.24 % SL; caudal peduncle depth 8.73 % SL. Head broad (29.62 % SL), wider than body depth; snout blunt (1.23 times eye diameter), terminating at eye superior margin. Preopercular width 71.59 % HL. Mouth terminal (~ 45 ° to body axis), jaws subequal (lower slightly prominent), reaching mid-eye level; upper jaw 41.08 % HL. Lips smooth (upper lip 2.2 times eye diameter). Eyes dorsolateral (18.45 % HL), no supraorbital ridge. Interorbital convex (25.77 % HL; 1.40 times eye diameter; 1.13 × SnL) (Table 2). Chin smooth, lacking mental folds / barbels. Paired nostrils separated; anterior tubular, positioned at upper lip posterior margin (short tube, no ventral / anterior orientation); posterior rounded pore-like, adjacent to eye anterodorsal margin (Fig. 2 A). Gill openings wide, vertically extended anteriorly to mid-eye. Body and head fully scaled (cycloid); predorsal region (snout tip to first dorsal-fin origin), operculum, preoperculum, cheek, isthmus, breast, abdomen, and pectoral fin base scaled. Lateral line absent; cephalic sensory canals and pores absent. Sensory papillae system comprising: suborbital row a with four long and four shorter transverse multi-papillate rows; longitudinal row b extending medially from first long row of a to row c; transverse row c positioned between longitudinal rows b and d; longitudinal row d running from c to upper lip posterior margin (connecting ul). Preoperculo-mandibular series e uniserial, ascending to ul at mouth angle. Preorbital pe with dual rows: lower connecting to ul, upper reaching anterior nostril base. Thirty-five short i rows below e; three i rows per side extending to mid-isthmus. Mental row f longitudinal on anteroventral mandible (not reaching mid-isthmus). No dorsal cephalic papillae observed (Fig. 2 C). Dorsal fins separate, elevated. First dorsal fin short-based, origin posterior to pectoral fin base; soft spines with third spine longest, extending to second dorsal origin. Second dorsal fin longer-based, taller than first, fourth ray longest not reaching caudal base. Anal fin origin opposite second dorsal, base shorter than height; mid-rays not reaching caudal base. Pectoral fins broad and elongated, exceeding head length, posterior margin surpassing anus; no dermal flaps on leading edge. Pelvic fins elliptic-pointed, shorter than pectorals, base 1 / 5 length; fused into thin-membraned disc. Caudal fin elongate-pointed, longer than head length. Anus positioned anterior to anal fin origin, aligned with third ray of second dorsal fin.	en	Chen, Jia-Jie, Zeng, Sheng, Passmore, Roland, Tian, Wei, Luo, Yi-Ming, Zhong, Jun-Sheng, Yang, Meng-Ling, Yang, De-Yuan, Ye, Jin-Qing, Chen, Yuan-Ge (2025): A new record of the blackfin goby (Egglestonichthys melanoptera, Gobiidae) from China, with complete mitochondrial genomes of two Egglestonichthys species and their phylogenetic implications. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1057-1069, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.152501
01B5366717A55C4C9A39A3DD85BF67B1.taxon	distribution	Distribution and ecology. Egglestonichthys melanoptera is documented from the Godavari Estuary, eastern India (Visweswara Rao 1971); Parangipettai, southeastern India (50 – 100 m depth; Ragul et al. 2024); Myanmar waters (50 – 74 m, muddy substrates; Psomadakis et al. 2020); Vietnam; Samar Sea, Philippines (50 – 70 m); Orokolo Bay, Papua New Guinea (Larson and Hoese 1997); and the southeastern coast of Hainan Island, China (60 m depth; this study). The species demonstrates an Indo-West Pacific distribution pattern, predominantly inhabiting continental shelf depths of 50 – 100 m.	en	Chen, Jia-Jie, Zeng, Sheng, Passmore, Roland, Tian, Wei, Luo, Yi-Ming, Zhong, Jun-Sheng, Yang, Meng-Ling, Yang, De-Yuan, Ye, Jin-Qing, Chen, Yuan-Ge (2025): A new record of the blackfin goby (Egglestonichthys melanoptera, Gobiidae) from China, with complete mitochondrial genomes of two Egglestonichthys species and their phylogenetic implications. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1057-1069, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.152501
