30. Glossogobius tenuiformis Fowler, 1934 ―Natal Flathead goby, Oman Freshwater Goby ―Native

Taxonomy: Original description: Glossogobius tenuiformis Fowler, 1934:496, fig. 49 [ from the St. Lucia Lake, 20 miles up, northern Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Holotype: ANSP 60250]. Synonyms: None .

Status in the Arabian Peninsula. First record from Wadi Shab, Oman by Freyhof et al. (2020) as Glossogobius sp., re-described by Al Jufaili et al. (2022), and confirmed by Esmaeili et al. (2022).

General distribution. Western Indian Ocean: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa); Oman. Habitat: freshwater, brackish, marine.

Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula. Oman: Wadis Hasik and Shab.

Economic importance. No commercial importance. Conservation. Not Evaluated (NE).

Remarks: Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822) was described from the Ganges River, India and is distributed in southern Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Socotra, Seychelles, Madagascar and western Mascarenes, east to Society Islands, north to Philippines, south to Pilbara (Western Australia), Queensland (Australia) and New Caledonia (Fricke et al. 2023). Based on uncertainty about the type locality of Glossogobius giuris and its widespread distribution, a comprehensive study has been suggested to define the taxonomical status of this taxon. Hammer et al. (2021) grouped the G. giuris complex in four lineages based on molecular studies: “ giuris A” from Vietnam, Bangladesh and China; “ giuris B” from South Africa and India; “ giuris C” from India, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Vietnam and “ giuris D” from South Africa. The Oman populations of Glossogobius is placed in the “ giuris D” group and it is now considered as G. tenuiformis (Al Jufaili et al. 2022) . Found in estuaries and freshwater (Larson 2022).