*TORNABENE, LUKE; VAN TASSELL, JAMES

Hofstra University, Biology Dept., 114 Hofstra Univerisity, Hempstead, NY, 11549, USA

Morphometric analysis of the Atlantic species of Bollmannia (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

The genus Bollmannia Jordan is composed of fourteen nominal species, five from the Atlantic Ocean. The original description of B. litura is inconsistent with the meristics of the holotype, mainly in the counts of the second dorsal and anal fin elements. The original description of this specie was previously used to differentiate this specie from B. communis, B. eigenmanni, B. boqueronensis and B. jeannae, but the meristics of the actual holotypes show overlapping between these species. These discrepancies have led to the American Fisheries Society invalidating B. jeannae and B. litura as unique species in the 6th Edition of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes, where as Fishbase invalidates only B. jeannae and the California Academy of Science, Catalog of Fishes, still recognize both B. litura and B. jeannae as valid. In this study, we used morphometric analysis to determine if anatomical differences exist between B. communis, B. eigenmanni, B. litura, B. jeannae and B. boqueronensis, which would allow us to reconcile the species status. Through the use of TPSdig software, we were able to place digital landmarks on photographs of cataloged specimens of each species, as well as the respective holotypes to make accurate morphological measurements for the basis of comparison. The results of this experiment should provide the information necessary to resolve the status of the Atlantic species.