Stenogobius watsoni
Etymology
Named for goby taxonomist Ronald E. Watson, who described numerous Stenogobius species from New Guinea in the 1990s.
Species Summary
Described from Laiavakain Creek on Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, Stenogobius watsoni lives in the lower reaches of streams close to the sea, typically below 10 m elevation, over sandy pool edges in water of 23.8–28.0 °C, where it occurs alongside Redigobius and Awaous species. It is placed within the subgenus Insularigobius and is distinguished from the similar Stenogobius hoesei by having 9–11 narrow blackish body bars and lacking that species’ naked predorsal patches and dusky head colouration. The holotype male shows a broad black oblique band from below the eye to the rear corner of the cheek, dorsal fins with yellowish, semi-translucent membranes carrying reddish “scribble” markings and a broad red submarginal band.
Compiled for Home of the Rainbowfish from ANGFA sources: G. R. Allen, “Two new species of gobiid fishes (Lentipes and Stenogobius) from fresh waters of Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea”, Fishes of Sahul 18, 2004, pp. 87–96.