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Alternative life-history styles of fishes pp 125–142Cite as

Patterns of gonad structure in hermaphroditic gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

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Part of the book series: Developments in environmental biology of fishes ((DEBF,volume 10))

Synopsis

Hermaphroditism has been reported for a small number of gobiid fishes, but the extent of this sexual pattern within the family is not known. Gonad structure was examined in one or more species from twenty-one gobiid genera. No evidence of hermaphroditism was found in the species selected from 14 genera. Laboratory studies supported the conclusion of gonochorism for the examined species in four of them: Asterrop-teryx, Bathygobius, Gnatholepis, and Psilogobius. Currently, the absence of precursive testicular tissues associated with the ovary in females, in conjunction with no retained ovarian features in the testes of males, appear to be reliable indicators of a gonochoristic sexual pattern in gobiid fishes. Evidence for hermaphroditism was observed in seven genera: Eviota, Trimma, Fusigobius, Lophogobius, Priolepis, Gobiodon, and Paragobiodon. Protogyny was experimentally confirmed in E. epiphanes, and the gonad structure in another nine of ten species of Eviota suggested either protogyny or protogynous tendencies. With the exception of Gobiodon and Paragobiodon, which exhibited similar gonadal structure, ovarian and testicular structure varied considerably among the hermaphroditic genera examined, both with regard to the configuration and to the degree of development of ovarian and testicular tissues, or testicular tissue precursors. Findings of this study indicate that hermaphroditic gonad structure will prove to be a useful trait in determining evolutionary relationships within the Gobiidae.

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Author notes

  1. Kathleen S. Cole

    Present address: Department of Biology, Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, Quebec, J1M 1Z7, Canada

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  1. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, APO Miami, FL, 34002-0011, USA

    Kathleen S. Cole

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  1. Kathleen S. Cole
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Michael N. Bruton

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© 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Cole, K.S. (1990). Patterns of gonad structure in hermaphroditic gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae). In: Bruton, M.N. (eds) Alternative life-history styles of fishes. Developments in environmental biology of fishes, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2065-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2065-1_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7427-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2065-1

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