LOS PECES GOBIIDAE DE LOS ARRECIFES DEL CARIBE COLOMBIANO. I. ESPECIES, DISTRIBUCION, FRECUENCIA Y ABUNDANCIA

Abstract

Forty-six species of fishes of the family Gobiidae are reported from the reef environments (mainly coralline) of the Colombian Caribbean. Of these, 11 were previously unknown from the southern Caribbean and 24 are new records for the northern Colombian coast. Forty species occur in the continental coast and 37 in Isla de Providencia. Based on rotenone collections, information on their distribution, frequency and abundance is presented and analyzed. Among the small reef ichthyofauna, gobies are in average more than one fourth of the species, about one third of the individuals, and less than one tenth of thé biomass. The most common species in the whole Colombian Caribbean are Coryphopterus personatus and Gnatholepis thompsoni (present in 68% of the samples), followed by Quisqui/ius hipoliti (57%), Coryphopterus eidolon (52%) and Elacatinus illecebrosum (51%). Regional differences in composition, frequency and abundance of the reef gobiid fauna are noted. A key for the identification of the 17 studied genera is included.