Gonad morphology, colony demography and evidence for hermaphroditism in Gobiodon okinawae (Teleostei, Gobiidae)

Gobiodon okinawae is a small-sized, obligate coral-dwelling goby. The major ity of species in this Indo-Pacific genus exhibit an obligatory association with branching live corals and a number have been shown to be bi-direction al hermaphrodites in which adults have the capacity to shift between male a nd female function. Gonadal histology in G. okinawae demonstrated that all individuals had either an ovotestis or an ovary. Some females had an ovary with vitellogenic oocytes, indicating adult female function. Hermaphrodites having an ovotestis were either functionally male, as evidenced by the pre sence of spermatozoa or, in one instance, functionally female so judged by the presence of vitellogenic oocytes. No individuals were found to have mat ure gametes of both sexes, although a number of hermaphrodites had an inact ive ovotestis with no mature gametes of either sex. Based on size ranges fo r fish having different gonad morphologies, individuals in this species app ear to develop first as a female. They then either mature and function sole ly as a female, or become hermaphroditic. Findings based on experimentally maintained individuals suggests that adult hermaphrodites can shift sexual function in either direction. Accessory gonadal structures (AGS) were found in both sexes. These consisted of two fully differentiated pairs of lobes, each compartmentalized internally by lumina and containing PAS+secretions. The secretions of the dorsally located AGS were colloidal while those of t he ventrally located AGS were fibrillar and granular in nature. The presenc e of two sets of AGS among males appears to be characteristic of both Gobio don and its putative sister genus, Paragobiodon. However, the occurrence of fully developed AGS in both females and males has not previously been repo rted and may be unique to G. okinawae.