Bathygobius Bleeker, 1878

Genus Bathygobius Bleeker, 1878 View in CoL

Agorreta et al. (2013) placed Bathygobius in a distinct clade within their Glossogobius lineage. Te otoliths of Bathygobius , however, are quite distinct from those of Glossogobius , for example characterized by the lack or weak development of a postdorsal projection; the protruding postventral angle; a large, wide, and deep sulcus with a broad concavity at the ventral sulcus margin at the ostial–caudal joint; a widened, rounded tip of the cauda; and the lack of a subcaudal iugum. Tis is a unique combination of features that makes the recognition of Bathygobius otoliths relatively easy.

Bathygobius View in CoL is a widely distributed goby genus throughout the tropics and subtropics inhabiting sheltered and exposed shallow rocky and sandy shorelines, reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, and brackish/estuarine environments ( Rodriguez-Rey et al., 2018). All these environments are unfavorable for the fossilization of otoliths, and it is therefore not surprising that so far no confirmed fossil otolith records of the genus exist. According to Rodriguez-Rey et al. (2018), Bathygobius View in CoL currently contains 29 recognized species, seven in the West Atlantic, three in the East Atlantic (one thereof, B. soporator View in CoL , shared with the West Atlantic), and four in the East Pacific. For comparison, we figure here otoliths of the following extant species: Bathygobius andrei (Sauvage, 1880) View in CoL ( Fig. 41a–b View Fig ) and B. ramosus Ginsburg, 1947 View in CoL ( Fig. 41i View Fig ), from the East Pacific; B. antilliensis Tornabene, Baldwin & Pezold, 2010 View in CoL

( Fig. 41d View Fig ), B. geminatus Tornabene, Baldwin & Pezold, 2010 View in CoL ( Fig. 41f View Fig ), B. lacertus (Poey, 1860) View in CoL ( Fig. 41g View Fig ), B. mystacium Ginsburg, 1947 View in CoL ( Fig. 41h View Fig ), and B. soporator (Valenciennes, 1837) View in CoL ( Fig. 41j View Fig ) from the West Atlantic; and B. casamancus (Rochebrune, 1880) View in CoL ( Fig. 41e View Fig ) from the East Atlantic.

Te overall otolith pattern is similar to the characterization above, but certain differences exist in the expression of features or proportions. Some species show a more pronounced albeit rounded postdorsal projection, which, however, never expands further than the postventral projection ( C. andrei , C. casamancus , C. lacertus ); other species are characterized by a more compressed otolith shape and a high, expanded postdorsal angle ( C. geminatus , C. mystacium ).