First Record of a Sicydiine Goby, Stiphodon multisquamus (Actinopterygii: Gobioidei: Gobiidae), from Okinawa Island, Japan

Abstract

The morphology of four specimens of Stiphodon multisquamus Wu and Ni, 1986, collected from two streams on Okinawa Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago, is described. This is the first record of this species of goby from Japan; it was formerly regarded as endemic to southern China (Hainan and Guangdong Provinces). Stiphodon multisquamus is very rare on Okinawa Island and may have arrived as a result of transport of pelagic larvae by ocean currents.