Microgobius pezoldi, Schwarzhans & Aguilera, 2024

Microgobius pezoldi n. sp.

Figure 30o–t View Fig

Holotype NMB P15702 View Materials ( Fig. 30p View Fig ), Messinian, Chucunaque FM, Pacific Panama, Darien, PPP 1578 .

Paratypes 7 specimens Tortonian : 1 specimen Angostura FM , Ecuador NMB 19301 View Materials ( NMB P15703 View Materials ) ; 3 specimens Tuira FM , Pacific Panama, Darien , 1 specimen PPP 1132 ( NMB P15704 View Materials ) , 2 specimens PPP 1163 ( NMB P 15708– 09 View Materials ) ; 3 specimens Manzanilla FM , San José Member, Trinidad , 1 specimens PPP 2674 ( NMB P15705 View Materials ) , 2 specimens PPP 2671 ( NMB P 15706–07 View Materials ) .

Referred specimen 19 specimens: 16 specimens Tortonian : 3 specimens Angostura FM , Ecuador, 2 specimens NMB 19301 View Materials , 1 specimen NMB 19081 View Materials ; 7 specimens Tuira FM , Pacific Panama, Darien , 1 specimen PPP 1137 , 3 specimens PPP 1139 , 1 specimen PPP 1593 , 2 specimens PPP 1164 ; 1 specimens Yaviza FM , Pacific Panama, Darien, PPP 1171 ; 5 specimens Manzanilla FM , San José Member, 1 specimen PPP 2669 , 1 specimen PPP 2670 , 2 specimens PPP 2671 , 1 specimen PPP 2676 . 2 specimens Messinian, Chucunaque FM , Pacific Panama, Darien, PPP 1576 . 1 specimen Piacenzian, Río Banano FM , Atlantic Costa Rica, PPP 1732 .

Etymology Named in honor of Frank Pezold (Corpus Christi, Texas), in recognition of his distribution to the knowledge of extant gobies from tropical America.

Diagnosis Otolith size up to 1.75 mm in length. OL:OH = 0.85–0.93. Otolith shape high-bodied; dorsal rim shallow, broadly crenulated; predorsal angle protruding and on same level as slightly protruding postdorsal projection. Preventral and postventral angles rounded orthogonal. Sulcus long, narrow, with low ostial lobe and rounded caudal tip; OL:SuL = 1.45–1.65; sulcus inclination angle 11–15°. Subcaudal iugum long, moderately narrow. Ventral furrow parallel and close to ventral rim of otolith.

Description Otolith size up to 1.75 mm in length (holotype 1.2 mm). OH:OT = 3.0–3.2. Otolith shape high-bodied. Dorsal rim shallow, nearly flat, without prominent postdorsal angle, smooth or broadly crenulated; predorsal angle high, distinct, slightly protruding at same level as slightly protruding postdorsal projection. Longest horizontal axis of otolith shifted dorsally to predorsal angle–postdorsal projection level. Anterior and posterior rims slightly inclined towards ventral, straight, without marked concavities. Ventral rim flat to slightly curved, horizontal. Preventral and postventral angles recessed, rounded. All rims smooth except dorsal rim.

Inner face nearly flat in vertical direction and slightly bent in horizontal direction. Sulcus long, narrow, with low ostial lobe; cauda straight, with rounded tip, slightly deepened; sulcus inclination angle 11–15°; OL:SuL = 1.45–1.65. Subcaudal iugum long, moderately narrow. Dorsal depression indistinct. Ventral furrow distinct, relatively close and parallel to ventral rim of otolith. Outer face distinctly convex, with inframedian umbo, relatively smooth.

Discussion Microgobius pezoldi is a typical member of the M. erectus plexus, which is characterized by the slightly protruding predorsal angle and postdorsal projection, resulting in a dorsal shift of the longest axis of the otolith. It resembles M. curtus ( Fig. 30m View Fig ) but tends to be less compressed (OL:OH = 0.85–0.93 vs 0.84). It is also similar to the extant M. erectus but has a more pronounced ostial lobe. Te shape of the postdorsal projection distinguishes it from both extant congeners. Microgobius pezoldi is a widely distributed species from the Tortonian of Ecuador to Trinidad and the Piacenzian of Costa Rica but is nowhere common.