Palatogobius magnus, Schwarzhans & Aguilera, 2024

Palatogobius magnus n. sp.

Figure 25h View Fig

Holotype NMB P15609 View Materials ( Fig. 25h View Fig ), Zanclean , Cayo Agua FM, Atlantic Panama, PPP 2240 .

(See figure on next page.)

Fig. 25 a–g View Fig Palatogobius grandoculus Greenfield,2002 ; a extant, USNM 438754 About USNM , 15°34’N 61°28’W, 194 m; b–c Cubagua FM , Venezuela, PPP 3057 , NMB P15603-04 View Materials ; d, e Bastimentos FM , Ground Creek Unit, Bocas del Toro, Panama, PPP 3204 , NMB P15605-06 View Materials ; f Cubagua FM , Venezuela, PPP 3055 , NMB P15608 View Materials ; g Bastimentos FM , Ground Creek Unit, Bastimentos Island, Panama, PPP 1252 , NMB P15607 View Materials . h Palatogobius magnus n. sp., holotype (h1 SEM picture), Cayo Agua FM , Atlantic Panama, PPP 2240 , NMB P15609 View Materials . i–k Palatogobius pacificus n. sp., Armuelles FM , Pacific Panama; k holotype, NMB P15610 View Materials , PPP 3240 , i–j paratypes, PPP 3237 , NMB P15611-12 View Materials . l–q Palatogobius vantasselli n. sp., Manzanilla FM , Trinidad, PPP 2666 ; l holotype, NMB P15613 View Materials ; m–q paratypes, NMB P15614-18 View Materials . r–u Palatogobius sp.1 , Cubagua FM , Venezuela, PPP 2571 , NMB P15619-22 View Materials . v Palatogobius sp.2 , Tuira FM , Darien, Panama, PPP 1137 , NMB P15623 View Materials

Etymology From magnus (Latin) = large, referring to the large size of the otolith.

Diagnosis Otolith size 1.7 mm in length. OL:OH = 0.92; OH:OT = 3.0. Otolith shape high-bodied with relatively regularly curved dorsal rim, highest at its middle. Inner face completely flat. Sulcus deep, short, relatively wide, with very low ostial lobe; OL:SuL = 2.0; sulcus inclination angle 11°. Subcaudal iugum moderately long, relatively narrow. Dorsal depression wide, with indistinct margins. Ventral furrow distinct, regularly curving, relatively distant from ventral rim of otolith.

Description Otolith size 1.7 mm in length. Otolith shape high-bodied with relatively regularly curved dorsal rim; dorsal rim highest at its middle, with rounded postdorsal tip and high, very gently rounded predorsal angle. Anterior and posterior rims near vertical; posterior rim with very wide and shallow concavity. Ventral rim straight, horizontal. Preventral angle well-developed, postventral angle broadly rounded. All rims smooth.

Inner face completely flat. Sulcus small, wide, deep, with very low ostial lobe; sulcus inclination angle 11°; OL:SuL = 2.0. Subcaudal iugum moderately long, well-developed and relatively wide. Dorsal depression large, wide, with indistinct margins, reaching close to sulcus. Ventral furrow distinct, regularly curved, relatively distant from ventral rim of otolith. Outer face evenly convex, smooth.

Discussion Palatogobius magnus is remarkable for its size, which immediately puts it apart from the extant P. grandoculus and the other two species, of which otoliths are not known, but which are distinctly smaller even than P. grandoculus . Te otolith and sulcus shape, however, characterize the single, very well preserved holotype unequivocally in the genus Palatogobius .