Antilligobius nikkiaeis the name of the deep water sabre goby that was first reported by collectors in Curacao. Not only is the sabre goby a new genus and species to science, it was also discovered in our own tropical backyard of the Caribbean Sea andAntilligobius nikkiae也被报道从波多黎各。在集成电路hthyologist even got their hands on it the sabre goby was being sold to the aquarium trade in extremely limited numbers for over a thousand dollars, which is actually not a bad deal for such an interesting fish with beautiful markings, color and unique finnage.
Some characteristics of the newAntilligobiusgenus include the elongated first dorsal fin in both sexes, and an asymmetrical caudal fin with the top rays being much shorter than some of the bottom ones, forming what appears to be a notch in the tail. The newAntilligobiusnikkiaeis so far only known from deep water habitats near Puerto Rico and Curaçao, at a depth of almost 300 feet in the former, and almost 600 feet deep at the latter location.Antilligobiusis most closely related to gobies in theBollmaniaandParallelagenera but the bold yellow stripe ofAntilligobius nikkiaeeasily differentiates it from the drab species ofBollmaniaandParallela.
Antilligobius nikkiaeis described by Dr. James Van Tassel et. al. in the April 2012 issue ofAqua.
