Sergey V. Bogorodsky

• Station of Naturalists

Citation: Bogorodsky, S.V.; Muto, N.; Hata, H.; Motomura, H.; Alpermann, T.J. Review of the Mackerel Genus Rastrelliger (Teleostei: Scombridae) with Redescription of R. chrysozonus (Rüppell, 1836) and R. kanagurta (Cuvier, 1816). Diversity 2025, 17, 72. Abstract: The Indo-West Pacific scombrid genus Rastrelliger Jordan & Starks is reviewed. Formerl...

Seven Operational Taxonomic Units within the blenniid genus Antennablennius are recognised from the north-western Indian Ocean, based on the Cytochrome oxidase-c subunit I gene (CO1). Five of them can be referred to nominal species with certainty. Two additional distinct lineages originate from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and the Socotra...

The present study contributes to the taxonomy of the family Sillaginidae, with comments on the distribution of its species in the Indian Ocean and an emphasis on the taxonomy and distribution of Sillago sihama. Thirty described and putative species with Indian Ocean distribution are listed, and a distribution range for each species is provided base...

A new species of short brown unpatterned moray eel, Gymnothorax. arabicus sp. nov., is described based on specimens collected from the northwestern Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea, Socotra Archipelago, and Arabian Gulf. The new species is characterized by having the dorsal-fin origin before the gill opening, two branchial pores, one or two medi...

The occurrence of Megalops cyprinoides (Megalopidae) in the Red Sea has been confirmed through the collection of two specimens by recreational fishers at freshwater inputs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Meristic and morphometric characters are provided, complemented by molecular COI sequences, which confirm their identification as M. cypri-noides. These...

An updated account of the exceptional diversity of surgeonfishes from the Socotra Archipelago is provided. Thirty species of four genera (Acanthurus, Ctenochaetus, Naso and Zebrasoma) are reported, including 25 species positively recorded based on underwater observations and photographs, and partly by samples. Acanthurus bariene and A. xanthopterus...

The taxonomy of the family Mugilidae has historically posed challenges, marked by discrepancies between described and valid species, compounded by cryptic diversity and a similar external appearance. Previous studies left four of six lineages unidentified within Crenimugil, including Crenimugil sp. A and Crenimugil sp. B. The goal of this study is...

The diversity of goatfishes from the Socotra Archipelago is documented for the first time. The distributional biogeography of the family in the Arabian region is analyzed and thoroughly discussed in the context of the western Indian Ocean. Twelve species of two genera, Mulloidichthys and Parupeneus , are positively recorded, including a new record...

An updated account of the diversity of parrotfishes from the Socotra Archipelago is provided. Fourteen species are positively recorded based on underwater observations, photography and collections, including confirmations of three species which were previously only tentatively recorded: Scarus falcipinnis (Playfair, 1868), Scarus scaber Valencienne...

A new species of Trimma is described from the Red Sea along the Saudi Arabian coast. Specimens and/or photographs of this species are available from the Egyptian Red Sea to Eritrea. These specimens, formerly identified as T. taylori, differ from all other samples from the Indo-Pacific currently identified as T. taylori in having 9 and 8–9 dorsal- a...

An updated checklist and status assessment of the gobioid species (Gobiiformes) in the Red Sea is provided. Of the 162 species, 141 belong to the Gobiidae, nine to Microdesmidae, five to Xenisthmidae, six to Schindleriidae and one to Kraemeriidae. The Shrimpgoby (Cryptocentrus steinhardti) and the Sand Goby (Hazeus ingressus) are reported from Eila...

The new anchovy Stolephorus meteorum, formerly confused with Stolephorus indicus, is described on the basis of 19 specimens collected from the southern Red Sea. Four other species, previously confused with or placed in the synonymy of S. indicus, have been either redescribed (Stolephorus commersonnii), described as new (Stolephorus belaerius), or r...

Four species of the gobiid genus Pleurosicya are reported from the Red Sea: P. bilobata, P. mossambica, P. plicata, and P. prognatha. Pleurosicya bilobata is reported as a new record for the Red Sea based on underwater photographs taken from a seagrass area at Dahab, Egypt, Gulf of Aqaba. A previous Red Sea record of P. micheli, a species occurring...

The gobiid species, Fusigobius humerosus sp. nov., is described based on 12 type and 18 non-type specimens collected from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The new species can be distinguished from congeners by a combination of meristic and morphometric characters. The new species was formerly misidentified with F. humeralis: both are characterised by...

Citation: Kovačić, M.; Renoult, J.P.; Pillon, R.; Bilecenoglu, M.; Tiralongo, F.; Bogorodsky, S.V.; Engin, S.; Kovtun, O.; Louisy, P.; Patzner, R.A.; et al. Abstract: After the description of Gobius incognitus Kovačić & Šanda, 2016, all previous knowledge about the geographic distribution of Gobius bucchichi Steindachner, 1870, as well as its ecolo...

New data based on multigene phylogenetic analyses using the COI, 16S, and cytb genes and subsequent molecular species delimitation revealed that the mugilid genus Chelon contains 11 species. Of these, two species, Chelon sp. A and Chelon sp. B, remained unidentified in previous studies. While Chelon sp. B seemingly is a close relative to C. dumeril...

Numerous photographs of live fishes posted by anglers and divers on social media and citizen science databases are important sources of information for ichthyological research. However, validating records that extend the known ecology and bathymetric or geographic distribution of species should rely on a rigorous identification process. The family...

The Socotra Archipelago, located in the eastern Gulf of Aden, has a unique marine environment, which combines tropical and ‘pseudo-temperate’ elements. An updated species inventory recently considered its coastal fish diversity the highest among Arabian ecoregions, necessitating to re-assess the ichthyogeographic position of the island group. The m...

The monocle bream Scolopsis vosmeri species complex is revised. Three species in the complex are recognized: Scolopsis vosmeri (Bloch, 1792), widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, from the northern Indian Ocean (Pakistan, western India, Sri Lanka, Bay of Bengal, and the Andaman Sea, but not recorded from the Red Sea or Arabian Gulf, east African coa...

This Atlas represents a print and electronic version, in Arabic language, of the respective 'Online Atlas' (<http://socotra.senckenberg.de/FishAtlas/>); an online repository of basic data and images, primarily dedicated to support fisheries management on Socotra Archipelago. Their main objectives are to (a) aid the identification of fish species en...

The representatives of Cercamia from the Indian Ocean including Red Sea are reviewed and three new species are described: Cercamia spio n. sp., formerly known as C. eremia (Allen, 1987), is described from 14 specimens, 17–33 mm SL, collected in 10–15 meters from northern (Duba) to central (Jeddah) Saudi Arabia and from Jezirat Fara’un, Egypt. It al...

A new cryptobenthic gobiid species Hetereleotris nasoramosa sp. nov. is described based on the holotype and five paratypes collected from the northeastern part of Socotra Island, Arabian Sea, from moderately large pieces of coral rocks with holes at depths of 8-11 m. Molecular phylogenetic analysis placed the new species within the genus Hetereleot...

A checklist of the flying fishes found in the waters off Socotra Archipelago, northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, is provided based on published and original data. Thirteen species from five genera occur in the study area, and four more species found nearby. Keys for the species identification are provided. The type specimen of Exocoetus socotra...

The species composition of batoid fishes from coastal waters of the Socotra Archipelago is reviewed, with confirmed records of the wedgefish Rhynchobatus djiddensis (Forsskål, 1775) and four new records of sharkrays, wedgefishes, and guitarfishes based on collected specimens, including one species from Abd al-Kuri Island, Rhina ancylostoma Bloch &...

Apogon fugax is described as a new species of cardinalfishes based on a specimen trawled off Jizan (Saudi Arabia), southern Red Sea, at a depth of 60–67 m; two specimens trawled off southwest of Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar, at 54–129 m; and two specimens trawled off Western Australia at 166 m. The new species shares characters with the modified ‘talb...

The Socotra Archipelago is recognized globally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The unique ichthyofauna of Socotra accumulates sh species from different ecoregions, including commercial species which represent an important part of the local shery. Positive identi cation of sh species and knowledge of their distributions are important for management...

The anthiadine fish Meganthias natalensis (Fowler, 1925) is reported for the first time from the Socotra Archipelago based on a single female specimen of 27.5 cm standard length taken by hook-and-line off Abd al-Kuri Island at a depth of 100–120 m. The voucher specimen represents a substantial northern extension of the distributional range for the...

A new species of toby fish, Canthigaster aziz, is described based on a single specimen collected from the northern Red Sea off Saudi Arabia. The holotype was trawled from a depth of 315 m, the second deepest record for the genus. The new species is distinguished from other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: 8 dorsal-fi...

This Atlas represents an online repository of basic data and images, primarily dedicated to support fisheries management on Socotra Archipelago. Its main objectives are to (a) aid the identification of fish species encountered in the small-scale fishery of the island group; and to, (b) help preserving local fish denominations in the non-written ind...

A new species of snake eel Ophichthus olivaceus is described based on two specimens trawled from a depth of 35–63 m from a soft substratum off Jizan, Red Sea coast of southern Saudi Arabia. It differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: vertebrae 141–145; tail moderately short (2.15 in TL); head short (9.6–11.1 in TL); un...

Thirty-eight species of moray eels (Muraenidae) from the Red Sea are reported in an updated review. A species account is provided for each species, along with a full synonymy of all nominal species described from the Red Sea. One species is new to science, G. pharaonis, and two species are new for the Red Sea, Gymnothorax phasmatodes (Smith) and Sc...

Thirty-eight species of moray eels (Muraenidae) from the Red Sea are reported in an updated review. A species account is provided for each species, along with a full synonymy of all nominal species described from the Red Sea. One species is new to science, G. pharaonis, and two species are new for the Red Sea, Gymnothorax phasmatodes (Smith) and Sc...

The Socotra Archipelago, located in the eastern Gulf of Aden, has a unique marine environment which combines tropical and ‘pseudo-temperate’ elements. Studies on the fish biogeography of the archipelago, partially framed in regional studies, have substantially outpaced critical elementary research on the archipelago’s fish diversity. The present st...

Two new species of the gobiid genus Hetereleotris, H. aurantiaca sp. nov. and H. semisquamata sp. nov., are described from the Red Sea, the former from Saudi Arabia at Jeddah from the cave at depth of 14-16 m, and the latter from the southern Egypt from reef flat. Hetereleotris aurantiaca sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by having dorsa...

Gymnoxenisthmus flavicinctus n. sp. is described from the 20.2 mm SL holotype collected from Sharm Obhur, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, central Red Sea. It differs from the holotype and only known specimen of its congener G. tigrellus in having entirely unbranched pectoral-fin rays (versus only upper two rays and lowermost ray unbranched), 17 (versus 15) p...

Apogonoides Bleeker 1849 is identified as the senior synonym of Cercamia Randall & Smith 1988. We present evidence that Cercamia has become well established in the literature. Reversal of priority is proposed for the genus. The type species, macassariensis, is identified with Cercamia eremia (Allen 1987) based on geographic evidence. Reversal of pr...

A new genus and species of cryptobenthic goby, Cerogobius petrophilus is described from the Red Sea based on nine specimens not exceeding 2.5 cm in total length, collected from a stone-rubble habitat at Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, at depths of 8-15 m. It was also observed underwater at the southern tip of Ras Mohammed and Marsa Alam in Egypt. Cerogobius...

A recent study of the present authors highlighted the coastal fish diversity of Socotra Archipelago as the highest of any comparable site in the seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. The study suggested that substantial gaps exist concerning the distributional biogeography and ichthyogeography of the wider Gulf of Aden–Socotra–Somalia region, pro...

The Red Sea is characterised by a unique composition of species of fishes which, based on unpublished data of the present authors, currently consists of 1166 species from 159 families whose habitats range from shallow waters to the deep sea. There is a total of 1120 species in coastal waters of the Red Sea recorded within an overall depth range 0–2...

The gobiid genus Koumansetta Whitley, placed in synonymy by some authors with the similar genus Amblygobius Bleeker, is redescribed and its validity based on an integrated morphological and molecular assessment is confirmed. The following characters have been found that distinguish Koumansetta from any of 15 recognized valid species of Amblygobius:...

Ten species of Carangoides from the Red Sea are reviewed. Imposter Trevally, Carangoides talamparoides Bleeker, is reported from the Red Sea for the first time on the basis of four small specimens and three adults trawled off Jizan, southern Saudi Arabia. Previously known from the Gulf of Oman east to Guam, its distribution range is extended to the...

Additional data, resulting from examination of newly collected material from the Red Sea, east coast of Africa, Arabian Gulf, Pakistan, and western coast of India, and a phylogenetic analysis of the COI barcoding region, confirms Crenidens crenidens (Forsskål) and C. indicus Day as valid species. The latter species was earlier regarded as a subspec...

The ariid catfish Plicofollis dussumieri (Valenciennes) is redescribed in detail based on examination of the holotype and additional material from the Indian Ocean. Part of the material examined herein was collected by bottom trawl from sandy bottoms off Jizan, Saudi Arabia, and represents the first record of the species for the Red Sea. Plicofolli...

Three species of the xenisthmid genus Xenisthmus Snyder are recorded from the Red Sea. Xenisthmus polyzonatus (Klun-zinger), the only described species previously known from the Red Sea, is reported on the basis of eight specimens from Egypt, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia. Xenisthmus oligoporus new species is described from four specimens, 17.7–25.0 mm...

The Indo-West Pacific sand goby Valenciennea parva Hoese & Larson is recorded from the Red Sea for the first time on the basis of underwater observation of several individuals and one specimen collected from sandy bottom adjacent to coral reefs at Al Lith, Saudi Arabia, at a depth of 8 m. Detailed morphomet- ric and meristic data for the specimen i...

Records of the stingfish genus Minous (family Synanceiidae) from the Red Sea are reviewed. Although excluded from the recent checklist of fishes from that region, both Minous inermis Alcock 1889 and Minous trachycephalus (Bleeker 1855) are reported from the Red Sea, on the basis of two and seven voucher specimens, respectively. On the other hand, t...

A taxonomic review of the Dendrochirus brachypterus complex resulted in the recognition of five species, including Dendrochirus barberi (Steindachner 1900), Dendrochirus bellus (Jordan and Hubbs 1925), Dendrochirus brachypterus (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes 1829), Dendrochirus hemprichi sp. nov. and Dendrochirus tuamotuensis Matsunuma and Moto...

Five species of Callogobius Bleeker have been previously reported from the Red Sea: C. amikami Goren, Miroz & Ba-ranes, C. clarki (Goren), C. dori Goren, C. flavobrunneus (Smith), and C. maculipinnis (Fowler). Records of C. bifasciatus (Smith) in the Red Sea are referable to C. clarki. Callogobius amikami has been previously known only from a singl...

The labrid fish Cheilinus quinquecinctus Rüppell, originally described from the Red Sea, has long been regarded as a junior synonym of C. fasciatus (Bloch). Herein, both nominal species are redescribed, based on examination of the types and additional material from the Red Sea (for C. quinquecinctus) and the Indo-West Pacific (for C. fasciatus). Rü...

A new whipray, Maculabatis ambigua sp. nov., described from material collected from the Red Sea and off Zanzibar (Tanzania), is probably more widespread in the northwestern Indian Ocean. It has been confused with other Indian Ocean whiprays of the genus Maculabatis (formerly Himantura in part) i.e. M. gerrardi and M. randalli . Maculabatis ambigua...

A new species of Reefgoby, Priolepis melanops, is described from Al Lith, central Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea, on the basis of a single adult specimen. It is a distinctive species, and can distinguish from its congeners by the following characters: dorsal-fin rays VI + I,9, no elongate spines in first dorsal fin; anal-fin rays I,8; pectoral-...

The number of goatfish species has increased recently, thanks in part to the application of molecular approaches to the taxonomy of a family with conservative morphology and widespread intraspecific color variation. A new subspecies Mulloidichthys flavolineatus flavicaudus Fernandez-Silva & Randall is described from the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, inc...

A new species of the gobiid genus Coryogalops, C. nanus sp. nov. is described from the Red Sea. Coryogalops nanus sp. nov. is distinguished from congeners in having dorsal-fin rays VI + I,10; anal-fin rays I,9; pectoral-fin rays 12-14 (lowest count known for the genus), two upper rays with free tips; pelvic fins I,5, joined to form an emarginate di...

A new species of Pygmygoby, Trimma quadrimaculatum, n. sp., is described from the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea on the basis of 16 adult specimens. It is small-sized species, with the largest examined specimen reaching only 16.8 mm SL. The new species has characteristics of both Priolepis and Trimma, and easily may be confused with Priolepis r...

Lepadichthys bilineatus is described as a new species of gobiesocid fish from a single specimen, 23.5 mm in standard length, collected from 1.5 m in a tidepool on the southeastern coast of Oman. It is distinct from other Lepadichthys species in having the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays 16; anal-fin rays 13; pectoral-fin rays 2...

Gerres infasciatus Iwatsuki & Kimura, 1998 est répertoriée pour la première fois dans le sud de la mer Rouge et dans le golfe Arabique. Les espèces incluses dans le complexe G. filamentosus (G. filamentosus, G. infasciatus et G. macracanthus) en provenance de cette région ont été réexaminées avec une attention particulière pour leur distribution. L...

Kaupichthys atronasus Schultz, 1953 is recorded from two specimens from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Phyllophichthus xenodontus Gosline, 1951 is recorded from two specimens collected from Egypt. Geographic variation in this species is discussed. Gorgasia preclara Batlike & Randall, 1981 is recorded from a photograph taken of a live individual at Dahab,...

Koeda et al. (2014) published a review of fishes of the genus Pempheris of the Red Sea. They concluded that there are four species: P. adusta Bleeker, P. mangula Cuvier, P. nesogallica Cuvier, and a new species, P. tominagai. We show that the first three species they cite are not present in the Red Sea, as follows. 1) P. adusta is a western Pacific...

Two new species of the gobiid genus Coryogalops, C. guttatus sp. nov. and C. pseudomonospilus sp. nov., are described from the Red Sea. Coryogalops guttatus sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by having dorsal-fin rays VI + I,12; anal-fin rays I,10-11; pectoral-fin rays 17, three upper rays with free tips; pelvic fins I,5, joined to form a...

Species of the callionymid fish genus Diplogrammus of the Red Sea are reviewed. Four species are recognized: D. gruveli Smith, 1963 from the northern Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal; D. infulatus Smith, 1963 from the western shores of the Red Sea and the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba; D. paucispinis n. sp. from the eastern shore of the Red Sea; D. rand...

During a survey of demersal fishes of the southern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia off Jizan, 98 species were collected by trawling. Five of these represent new records for the Red Sea: Saurida longimanus, Dactyloptena gilberti, Jaydia novaeguineae, Pomadasys maculatus and Parapercis maculata. Additionally a specimen of the rare moray Gymnothorax ret...

A new species of the genus Hetereleotris is described from Farasan Island, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea, on the basis of a single specimen. Hetereleotris dorsovittata sp. nov is unique among the known sixteen species of Hetereleotris, except for H. diademata and H. psammophila, in the combination of the absence of head canals and lack of squamation. The l...

Species of the callionymid fish genus Diplogrammus of the Red Sea are reviewed. Four species are recognized: D. gruveli Smith, 1963 from the northern Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal; D. infulatus Smith, 1963 from the western shores of the Red Sea and the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba; D. paucispinis n. sp. from the eastern shore of the Red Sea; D. rand...

The occurrences of two species of rays of the families Dasyatidae and Rhinopteridae are confirmed for the central and southern Red Sea, respectively. The Oman Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera jayakari, is reported as a new record from the Red Sea on the basis of two males collected at Jizan, southern Saudi Arabia. An adult individual of the Mangrove Whipray...

Two new species in the dwarfgoby genus Eviota, E. oculopiperita and E. geminata, are described from Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, bringing the total number of species of Eviota in the Red Sea to eight. Eviota oculopiperita is most similar to E. shimadai, but differs in coloration and the structure of the fourth pelvic-fin ray. Eviota geminata is mos...

A new species of the genus Hetereleotris is described from the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, on the basis of two specimens. Hetereleotris psammophila sp. nov. is unique among the species of the genus Hetereleotris, except for H. diademata, in lacking scales and head pores. The new species differs from the morphologically similar H. diademata in having fe...

Gymnoxenisthmus tigrellus is described from the 15.2 mm SL holotype collected from the Farasan Archipelago, southern Red Sea. It is distinguished from other xenisthmid genera in having the following combination of characters: head pores absent; no scales; first dorsal fin with five spines; at least some dorsal-, anal- and pectoral-fin rays branched...

Acanthoplesiops cappuccino is described from the 16.4 mm SL holotype collected from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea. The following combination of characters distinguishes it from congeners: dorsal-fin rays XVIII,4; anal-fin rays VII,4; pectoral-fin rays 18; caudal fin not connected to last rays of dorsal and anal fins by membrane; and caudal peduncle...

Two new species of the gobiid genus Cabillus, C. nigromarginatus sp. nov. and Cabillus nigrostigmus sp. nov. are described. Cabillus nigromarginatus (from Rodrigues, Western Indian Ocean) is distinguished from congeners by having 18-20 pectoral-fin rays; predorsal area naked; two scales with enlarged ctenii ventrally and dorsally at the caudal-fin...

Four new species of the coral-associated gobiid genus Gobiodon were discovered in the Red Sea. Although several of these species are common not only in the Red Sea but also in the Indian and western Pacific Ocean, they have not been described before. Detailed descriptions of the four species are based on morphological and molecular genetic (mitocho...