Richard Winterbottom: Feia dabra, a new species of gobiid fish (Percomorpha: Gobiidae) from Palau, pp. 45-50

A new species of the Indo-Pacific gobiid Feia, F. dabra, is described from seven collections and 13 specimens collected in 2004 in the Republic of Palau. The new species is most similar to F. ranta from Vietnam, the two species differing from the other two species in the genus in the possession of scales in the predorsal midline and on the pectoral and pelvic fin bases, a diagonal bar across the cheek from the posteroventral corner of the eye, and an eye diameter wide black bar on the body beginning at the first dorsal fin origin. Feia dabra differs from F. ranta in lacking a large, heart-shaped blotch on the opercle, having instead a small dark spot or streak on the anteroventral tip of the opercle, in lacking the ”{”-shaped dark bar on the upper base of the pectoral fin (but having a dark blotch in the middle third of the length of the upper pectoral fin rays), in the presence of three (rather than two) papillae in cheek row c, and a straight row r of three papillae on the snout in line with the anteromedial border of the eye (vs. the anterior two papillae in a line, the posteriormost offset laterally), and in having the vertical portion of the anterior preopercular ridge of papillae, row e, well forward of the vertical limb of the preopercle on the cheek (vs. just anterior to the vertical preopercle limb). Feia dabra is currently known only from the Palau Islands.

Richard Winterbottom: On the Status of Trimma tevegae and Trimma caudomaculata (Percomorpha: Gobiidae), pp. 51-56

There has been no consensus in the recent literature as to whether the goby Trimma caudomaculata Yoshino and Araga, 1975 is a species distinct from Trimma tevegae Cohen and Davis, 1969. The purported differences between the two species, involving cheek and opercular scalation and colour pattern, were examined in representative type specimens of the two nominal species, as well as for subsamples from the extensive western Pacific portion of the range of T. tevegae. I conclude that these two nominal species represent the same taxon, and therefore that T. caudomaculata is a junior subjective synonym of T. tevegae.

James E. Wetzel, William J. Poly and James W. Fetzner, Jr.: Orconectes pardalotus, a new species of crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the lower Ohio River with notes on its life history, pp. 57-72

A new crayfish is described from the main channel of the lower Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky based on examination of over 185 specimens. The new species, with gonopods of form I males typical of the subgenus Procericambarus (sensu Fitzpatrick), accounts for some of the variation previously ascribed to Orconectes placidus in Illinois. O. pardalotus is most similar to allopatric O. forceps, O. barrenensis, and O. durelli but can be distinguished from them and other species using colour in life, shape of chelae, and other characters. Colour in life can be used to diagnose O. pardalotus, and preserved specimens can be distinguished from sympatric O. placidus and many other species by the shape of the chelae and the absence of a distomedian carpal spine on the first pereiopod of O. pardalotus (present in O. placidus) and can be distinguished further from O. luteus using denticle arrangement on the chelae and structure of the gonopods of form I males. O. pardalotus is associated with rocky microhabitats at and below the summer minimum water level of the Ohio River. Notes about reproductive period and oviposition of captive specimens are provided.

John E. Randall and Gerald R. Allen: Neopomacentrus sororius, a new species of damselfish from the Indian Ocean, with description of a neotype for its sister species, N. azysron (Bleeker), pp. 73-80

A neotype is described for the Indo-Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus azysron (Bleeker). Bleeker's holotype is not extant, and his illustration bears a greater resemblance to N. sindensis (Day) than the species that recent authors have identified as as N. azysron. The neotype conforms to Bleeker??s description. The Indian Ocean damselfish previously identified N. azysron is described as a new species, N. sororius, distinct chiefly in colour from the western Pacific N. azysron.

Helen K. Larson, Walter Ivantsoff, and L. E. L. M. Crowley: Description of a new species of freshwater hardyhead, Craterocephalus laisapi (Pisces, Atherinidae) from East Timor, pp. 81-88

A new species of freshwater hardyhead, Craterocephalus laisapi, is described from the Ira Siquero River (8°26.36÷S 127°10.17÷E), East Timor. This is the first record of the genus which has hitherto been known only from Australia and from the southern rivers of the island of New Guinea. The new species is aligned with the Craterocephalus eyresii group which includes 10 other species spread widely across Australia and with one species occurring in south-eastern New Guinea. Craterocephalus laisapi superficially resembles C. centralis and C. cuneiceps from central and western Australia but is distinct and different from them. Freshwater members of the genus have short, almost tubercular gill rakers in the lower half of the gill arch and the rakers of the upper half are almost indistinct. Craterocephalus laisapi has relatively long lower gill arch rakers and the upper gill rakers are quite prominent. The occurrence of the new species is not biogeographically surprising as its close atherinomorph relatives, the Pseudomugilidae and Telmatherinidae, are known to occur on islands near Timor. A table of meristic and morphometric characters of all known members of the ”C. eyresii’ group’ is presented.