LOS PECES GOBIIDAE DE LOS ARRECIFES DEL CARIBE COLOMBIANO. III. EL GENERO Coryphopterus

Abstract

Descriptive and ecological information on nine species of the gobiid fish genus Coryphopterus, collected mainly in coral reefs of the Colombian Caribbean (including Islade Providencia), is presented; a key for species identification is also included. The most common species in the samples was C. personatus (67%), followed by C. eidolon (52%), C. dicrus (27%), C. glaucofraenum {27%), C. thrix (19%), C. tortugae (10%), C. lipernes (9%), C. hyalinus (4%) and C. alfaides (3%); important differences in their regional ocurrence and abundance were detected. Colombian continental Caribbean populations tend to be more pigmented than those of northern regions of the tropical western Atlantic, probably because southern Caribbean reefs have terrigenous dark sediments. Preliminary data about the feeding habits of eight species suggest that the genus is omnivorous, eating important amounts of detritus and a variety of microinvertebrates; some species also ingest algae.