Gobies (Gobioidei) of soft bottoms from Nha Trang and Van Phong bays (South China Sea,Vietnam)

Gobioid fishes collected in Nha Trang and Van Phong bays (Vietnam) represented by 44 species, including 30 species continuously associated with soft bottoms in the open parts of the bays with normal marine conditions are reviewed. A new species, Navigobius khanhoa sp. n., is described. This species differs from other species of the genus in much higher number of rays in the second dorsal fin (26), smaller size of the mouth, teeth on the jaws arranged in a single row, and other characters. Four species from the genera Acentrogobius, Eviota, Favonigobius, and Gnatholepis have not been identified to the species, and, most likely, some of them are new for science. Nine species are recorded in the fauna of Vietnam for the first time: Aulopareia unicolor, Bathygobius hongkongensis, Egglestonichthys bombylios, Glossogobius circumspectus, Oplopomops diacanthus, Oxyurichthys auchenolepis, Tomiyamichthys ex gr. russus, Tryssogobius porosus, and Valenciennea immaculata. An occurrence of Glossogobius olivaceus in the fauna of Vietnam is confirmed. Three species, G. olivaceus, Oligolepis acutipennis, and Periophthalmus kalolo, are recorded in the Cai River delta for the first time. A new synonymy is established: Eviota gurjanovae (Prokofiev, 2007) = E. prasina (Klunzinger, 1871). The current state of knowledge of Gobiidae fauna of Vietnam is discussed, and the updating of the species composition of Gobiodontini of Nha Trang Bay is presented in addition to the species list published earlier (Prokofiev, 2007).