Species composition and distribution of the family Gobiidae in coral reefs in the Nha Trang bay

Abstract

Studies on species composition and distribution of the gobies (Gobiidae) were widely conducted at 18 sites locating at the islands and the coastal reefs in the Nha Trang bay, of which 8 sites were sampled in May 2002 using rotenone and 10 sites in April-May 2015 using soapberry/chinaberry. A total of 34 species belonging to 16 genera of the gobies were found, in which Fusigobius humeralis (Randall, 2001) was newly recorded for Vietnam. In general, the coastal and offshore sites supported lower number of species than those in the middle sites of the bay.