''Luciogobius'' is a genus of

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

of Gobionellinae, commonly called worm gobies. It is distributed along the coast of northeastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, where species can be found in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Most species occur in Japan, and several are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

.Kanagawa, N., et al. (2011)
Two new species of freshwater gobies of the genus ''Luciogobius'' (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from Japan.
''Bull Kanagawa Prefect Mus (Nat Sci)'' 40, 67-74. These gobies are unusual in appearance and habitat preference. They are small fish, about long, with very elongated bodies. The

vertebral column The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordata, ...

is flexible and finely segmented, with many more vertebrae than most other fish in the family; they have up to 50 vertebrae, whereas most gobies have about 26. This extra-segmented spine helps ''Luciogobius'' species burrow in their common habitat,

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

beaches. Most vertebrates would have difficulty living in gravel that is constantly stirred by tidal action, but the flexibility of the bodies of ''Luciogobius'' is likely an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

to this environment. They also lack

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

and the first dorsal fin. Two species, ''L. albus'' and ''L. pallidus'', are cave-adapted and live in

anchialine An anchialine system (, from Greek ''ankhialos'', "near the sea") is a landlocked body of water with a subterranean connection to the ocean. Depending on its formation, these systems can exist in one of two primary forms: pools or caves. The primary ...

waters.Romero, Aldemaro, editor (2001). ''The Biology of Hypogean Fishes.'' Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes. Other habitat types occupied by species in the genus include

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

streams, and in the case of ''L. adapel'', the

seafloor The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

up to .Kondo, M., et al. (2012)
Spawning habitat and early development of ''Luciogobius ryukyuensis'' (Gobiidae).
''Environmental Biology of Fishes'' 95(2), 291-300. Most of the species studied

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...

in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

, but one species has been observed spawning in freshwater rivers. The eggs are generally attached to the undersides of rocks or are buried in the gravel or stone substrate.

Species

There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus. There are many more

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

known that are still undescribed, for a probable total of about 37 species. The described species are: * '' Luciogobius adapel'' Okiyama, 2001 * '' Luciogobius albus''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1940 * '' Luciogobius ama'' ( Snyder, 1909) * '' Luciogobius brevipterus'' J. S. T. F. Chen, 1932 * '' Luciogobius dormitoris'' Shiogaki & Dotsu, 1976 * '' Luciogobius elongatus'' Regan, 1905 * '' Luciogobius fluvialis''

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Itai Itai (''ee-tai'') is a Hebrew biblical name, and also a Shona name. The name can also be written: Itai, Itahy, Ittai, Ittay, Etay, Eitay, Itay, Ytai, Etai, Itaj, Ithai, or Eatai. Hebrew name Itai ( he, איתי) is a Biblical name that appears i ...

Senou Senou is a small town and seat of the commune of Kemekafo in the Cercle of Dioila in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤 ...

, 2011 * '' Luciogobius fonticola'' Kanagawa, Itai & Senou, 2011 * '' Luciogobius grandis'' R. Arai, 1970 * ''

Luciogobius guttatus ''Luciogobius'' is a genus of goby in the subfamily of Gobionellinae, commonly called worm gobies. It is distributed along the coast of northeastern Asia, where species can be found in Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Most species occur in Japan, ...

'' T. N. Gill, 1859 (flat-headed goby) * '' Luciogobius koma'' (Snyder, 1909) * '' Luciogobius pallidus'' Regan, 1940 * '' Luciogobius parvulus'' (Snyder, 1909) * '' Luciogobius platycephalus'' Shiogaki & Dotsu, 1976 * '' Luciogobius ryukyuensis'' I. S. Chen, T. Suzuki & Senou, 2008Chen, I. S., et al. (2008)
A new species of gobiid fish, ''Luciogobius'' from Ryukyus, Japan (Teleostei: Gobiidae).
''Journal of Marine Science and Technology'' 16(4), 250-54. * '' Luciogobius saikaiensis'' Dotsu, 1957

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1062118 Gobionellinae Taxonomy articles created by Polbot