Drombus globiceps (Hora 1923)

Chinese common name: 球头捷虾虎鱼

Distribution in China: Taiwan; Guangdong; Hainan.

国内分布：台湾省，广东省，海南省。

Distribution abroad: Western Pacific: South-east Asia, Philippines, north to Ryukyu Islands.

Live specimen collected in Shanwei, Guangdong, China. SL: 35 mm.

采自汕尾。SL: 35 mm.

中国和日本的文献里，这个物种常被记为“头纹细棘虾虎鱼/スズメハゼ”（Acentrogobius viganensis，当然由于后来的分类变动它被分到了裸颊虾虎鱼属Yongeichthys viganensis）。该物种自发表后，最早出现于明仁等人的The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago (1984)，并延续存在于之后中日两国的志书中，如《中国动物志-虾虎鱼亚目》和《日本產魚類檢索》。不过，在其他地区的记录中，如Allen在Reef fishes recorded during the RAP survey of the Calamianes Islands以及许许多多的其它文献里，都把这个尾鳍上端有斜条纹的物种定为Drombus ocyurus或Drombus globiceps（也常有后者为前者异名的观点，但Eschmeyer Catalog尚未正式采纳此观点）。其中，在南海北部地区的本鱼常被定为Drombus globiceps。

In Chinese and Japanese literature, this species is often referred to as "头纹细棘虾虎鱼/スズメハゼ" (Acentrogobius viganensis). However, due to later taxonomic revisions, it has been reassigned to the genus Yongeichthys, becoming Yongeichthys viganensis. This species first appeared in The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago by Akihito et al. (1984) and has since been included in both Chinese and Japanese reference books, such as Fauna Sinica Gobiiformes and Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the speciess. However, in other regions, such as in Allen's Reef fishes recorded during the RAP survey of the Calamianes Islands, and in many other publications, the species with slanted stripes on the upper part of the caudal fin is identified as Drombus ocyurus or Drombus globiceps (with some considering the latter a synonym of the former, though this view has not yet been formally accepted by Eschmeyer's Catalog). In the northern part of the South China Sea, this species is often classified as Drombus globiceps.

那么哪个名称是正确的？此时可以参考原始文献。在Drombus globiceps发表时有一幅十分清晰的插图，绘制十分精美，加上文字描述，我们不难看出这就是Drombus globiceps：

So which name is correct? To answer this, we can refer to the original literature. When Drombus globiceps was first described, a very clear and detailed illustration was provided, along with a textual description, making it easy to identify this species as Drombus globiceps:

再看Yongeichthys viganensis。这个物种在发表之初并没有插图，文字也寥寥数句，仅仅提供了模式标本，看来除非前往模标保存的博物馆亲自鉴定，难以看出它到底是什么。但是，Larson在Coastal Fishes of the West Indian Ocean以及Allen在Descriptions of two new gobies (Gobiidae: Acentrogobius) from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea中，都有把另一个名称Yongeichthys audax作为Yongeichthys viganensis异名的观点。虽然Eschmeyer's Catalog截至2024年10月初并没有采纳，但也表明了“possibly a junior synonym”，我们不妨看看Yongeichthys audax的原始描述。幸运的是这个种有详细描述和插图：

Now let's look at Yongeichthys viganensis. When this species was first described, no illustration was provided, and the textual description was minimal, only mentioning the type specimen. Therefore, unless one visits the museum where the type specimen is kept, it is difficult to ascertain what it truly is. However, Larson in Coastal Fishes of the West Indian Ocean and Allen in Descriptions of two new gobies (Gobiidae: Acentrogobius) from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea both suggested that Yongeichthys audax might be a synonym of Yongeichthys viganensis. Although Eschmeyer's Catalog had not accepted this view by early October 2024, it did note that it is "possibly a junior synonym." Let's take a look at the original description of Yongeichthys audax. Fortunately, this species has a detailed description and illustration:

原始描述也并未提到尾鳍斜纹，加上插图，我们可以将这个种指向西北太平洋和印度洋的另一个物种。至此我在本数据库中采纳Drombus globiceps作为本种的学名。

The original description does not mention slanted stripes on the caudal fin, and the accompanying illustration further suggests that this species corresponds to a different species found in the Northwest Pacific and Indian Ocean. Based on this, I have adopted Drombus globiceps as the valid scientific name for this species in the current database.