Protemblemaria perla, a new species of tube blenny (Perciformes : Chaenopsidae) from the tropical eastern Pacific

Prolemblemaria perla, from Isla del Rey, Islas Perlas Panama, is distinctiv e in having a long unbranched cirrus on the posterior nostril, a U-shaped f leshy ridge bearing fleshy flaps and a pair of papillae on the nape, a rela tively high number (18) of segmented dorsal-fin rays, and small rust-colore d spots on the dorsal fin. Protemblemaria perla and P. punctata, from the s outhern Caribbean, share several morphological features and form a transist hmian species pair. Although the degree of color variation is unknown in P. perla, color varies greatly in P. bicirris and P. punctata, both of which have an orange morph.