A new species of prickleback, Dictyosoma tongyeongensis (Perciformes: Stichaeidae) from the South Sea of Korea

A new prickleback is described based on six specimens collected by fish trap in southern Korea (water depth 5-12 m) in 2009 and 2010. The new prickleback is most similar to Dictyosoma burgeri and Dictyosoma rubrimaculatum in general morphology, but differs in the following combination of characters: dorsal contour of head almost a straight line; anal-fin rays 45-47; vertebrae 70-74; no blackish-brown blotches on head. In addition, mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences and recombination activating gene 2 (RAG2) sequences were analyzed for clarifying their genetic relationship. The neighbor-joining tree using mtDNA COI and nDNA RAG2 shows the reciprocal monophyly of the new prickleback. Accordingly, our specimens are regarded as a new species, named Dictyosoma tongyeongensis, after its type locality (Tongyeong).