Gobiodon howsoni Allen, 2021

Gobiodon howsoni Allen, 2021 : Howson’s Coralgoby

Synonyms or described as: No recorded synonyms.

Description: Gobiodon howsoni is distinguished by a semi-translucent grey body. A white stripe is present on the flank aligned with the spinal column with a brown stripe on either side running from head to caudal peduncle ( Figure 17). The ventral brown stripe is typically wider than the dorsal brown stripe ( Allen, 2021). Small individuals and juveniles (smaller than 20 mm standard length), sometimes lack the brown stripe closest to the dorsal fins and may exhibit a more yellowish colouration ( Allen, 2021). The length for G. howsoni is between 15.9–27.1 mm SL, therefore they are a smaller member of genus Gobiodon ( Allen, 2021) . The body shape exhibited by this species is akin to that of a congener G. okinawae , though the two differ in both body colouration, fin ray counts, canine dentition counts and length of the genital papillae ( Allen, 2021).

Distribution: The species has only been observed in the lagoonal areas of Clerke Reef in the Rowley Shoals area of Western Australia in the eastern Indian Ocean ( Allen, 2021).

Habitat: It is currently only recorded inhabiting densely branching Acropora species, primarily the sub-arborescent structured A. longicyanthus ( Milne Edwards, 1860) with a preferred depth of around 12 m ( Allen, 2021).

Status: There is currently insufficient data for the IUCN to designate a population status ( Allen, 2021).

Sociality: No known social analyses have been conducted on this species.

Genetics: No known genetic analyses have been conducted on this species.

Notes: This species does share similarities to G. spilophthalmus regarding small size and colouration.Individuals matching G. spilophthalmus’ description have since been shown to be juveniles of other members of the genus, G. acicularis and G. ceramensis ( Hing et al., 2019) . The individuals known of G. howsoni have been described to have a similar body shape to G. okinawae ( Allen, 2021) , a member of the same genetic clade as G. acicularis and G. ceramensis which have been shown to undergo colour pattern changes with age. Therefore, it should be noted that thorough morphological and genetic analysis should be conducted to ensure that no members that may be identified as G. howsoni are juvenile members of other Gobiodon species.