Distinctive color variation in Rhinolepadichthys geminus (Gobiesocidae: Diademichthyinae) from Alor Islands, Indonesia: morphological and molecular insights

Variação de cor distinta em Rhinolepadichthys geminus (Gobiesocidae: Diademichthyinae) das Ilhas Alor, Indonésia: percepções morfológicas e moleculares

Abstract

Rhinolepadichthys geminus, one of three recently described species in the genus Rhinolepadichthys (previously known as Lepadichthys lineatus complex), is characterized by several distinct diagnostic morphological and color features, including a pair of yellow stripes on the body ventral midline. However, one of three specimens recently collected from the Alor Islands, Indonesia, possessed a yellow circular line, instead of a pair of yellow stripes, indicating that the latter were not an invariable feature. Morphological and molecular evidence confirmed the identity of the specimen and intraspecific significance of the color variation.

Keywords:
coloration; diagnostic characters; Lepadicthys lineatus complex; molecular analysis; morphology