A new species of Allomogurnda (Gobioidei: Eleotridae) from the Sepik River system of Papua New Guinea.

Allomogurnda multicincta, n. sp. is described on the basis of 168 specimens, 11-36 mm SL, collected from Malas Creek, a small tributary of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea. Morphological and preliminary genetic comparisons indicate it is closely related to A. nesolepis, which is widely distributed in northern New Guinea. The new species differs from A. nesolepis and all other members of the genus in typically having fewer predorsal scales (15-18 versus 15-24, but usually 19-21 for A. nesolepis and usually 18-27 for other congeners). Moreover, unlike other members of the genus, which have a peculiar scale orientation in the interorbital region, featuring many scales with freely exposed anterior margins, only the anteriormost 1-3 scales exhibit this condition in A. multicincta. The new species also differs from A. nesolepis and other congeners in possessing a unique colour pattern consisting of a series of relatively narrow brown bars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]