Genus: Lythrypnus, Gobies

LYTHRYPNUS

GOBIES

Body compressed, a little deep; head profile round; head without pores; papillae around mouth, on cheeks and operculum and over eye; front nostril a long tube, rear nostril a raised rim; mouth very oblique; tongue round to blunt; gill opening narrow, ~pectoral base; 5-7 gill rakers; gill membranes with 5 rays; dorsal fin VI + I, 8-17 rays; length of 2nd dorsal base > distance from 2nd dorsal base to tail fin; pectoral rays unbranched; pelvic fins I, 5, fused into disc; tail fin short, round, with 17 segmented rays; scales rough, body scaled except for chest and pectoral base, 25-30 rows on body, none on head and nape; no lateral line; body with thin, obvious dark bars.

A new world tropical to warm temperate genus with about 20 species; 10 species endemic to the eastern Pacific, with 9 of those in shallow water in our region.