Identification of Freshwater Goby Species From the Biak and Koyoan Rivers, Luwuk Banggai, Central Sulawesi

Abstract

Sulawesi is an island famous for its biodiversity, including many endemic species. In particular, Sulawesi has the highest number of gobies in the world, including species with potential as food and/or ornamental fishes. The exploration of freshwater ichthyofauna is important in the context of Indonesian and global biodiversity. This research aimed to identify gobies found in the Luwuk Banggai area of Central Sulawesi, as a contribution to the exploration of Indonesian ichthyofaunal biodiversity. Gobies were sampled from January to March 2019 in the Biak and Koyoan Rivers. The sampled fish were measured and identified based on morphological characteristics. A total of 52 specimens were collected, and identified as belonging to 17 species within two families, the Gobiidae and Eleotridae. Gobies from the Koyoan River comprised 32 specimens from 8 species, while 20 specimens belonging to species were found in the Biak River. Only two species were found in both rivers: Stiphodon semoni and Sicyopterus lagocephalus. These results augment the body of knowledge regarding the presence and distribution of gobies in Indonesia

Are Awaous ocellaris and Belobranchus belobranchus the two species of Nike fish schools ?

“…The lack of distribution and biological data of B. belobranchus potentially threatens the existence of the species. B. belobranchus as Eleotridae fish is also recorded in Danao, Cebu, Philippines (Ken et al, 2011), Sukamade River, East Java (Rukmana et al, 2014), Efate Island, Vanuatu (Bouffandeau et al, 2019), and Biak River, Central Sulawesi (Gani et al, 2019). B. belobranchus is one of the freshwater indigenous goby populations inhabiting the whole stretch of Mandulog River in Iligan City.…”

“…Studies regarding the discovery of several new species of goby fish in Indonesia Keith et al, 2012;Keith et al, 2015) as well as in other areas Mennesson et al, 2016;Keith et al, 2019) indicate that goby fish distribution is not only broad but also holds potential as high species diversity. Gani et al (2019) mentions that exploration of the species diversity of freshwater fishes, in particular gobies, contributes to the knowledge on the species richness of Indonesian ichthyofauna. The study has the potential to discover and to improve awareness regarding the dispersal of new and known species.…”

Penja fish (Genus: Sicyopterus) from Karama River, West Sulawesi, Indonesia: Growth Pattern and Habitat Characteristics

“…The morphology of S. longifilis in Karama River (Figure 2) has a different color with S. longifilis described by Gani et al (2019) in Biak River. The body coloration is dominated by brown in S. longifilis in Karama River, which is reported to be similar to S. longifilis from Japan (Maeda and Saeki 2018), while S. longifilis in Biak River is dominated by blue.…”

“…Penja fish was found by Nur et al (2018) in Karema River, West Sulawesi, but the genus has not been identified. Gani et al (2019) found Sicyopterus lagocephalus and S. longifilis in Biak and Koyoan River, Central Sulawesi. S. longifilis and S. pugnans were also identified by Olii et al (2019) in Gorontalo Bay and Bone River, Gorontalo waters.…”

“…In Taiwan, Japan, China, and Thailand, local people consume gobies in soups and salads due to the delicacy and high nutritional value (Rojtinnakorn et al 2012;You et al 2015;Kachhi et al 2020). Sicydiinae gobies in Indonesia are a typical food of West Sulawesi Province with various preparations (Gani et al 2019;Nurjirana et al 2019). The local community usually preserved these fishes by salting and sun-drying then sold them in the traditional and online markets.…”