Abstract
A new species of damselfish, Altrichthys alelia sp. n. is described from specimens collected in shallow water (1–8m depth) off Busuanga Island, Palawan Province, Philippines. It differs from the other two species in the genus, A. curatus and A. azurelineatus, in various features including having golden upper body lacking dark edges of dorsal and caudal fins, higher modal number of tubed lateral line scales, as well as differences in two mitochondrial markers, one nuclear marker, and RAD markers.
Highlights
The damselfish genus Altrichthys Allen, 1999 includes two species, the azure damselfish, Altrichthys azurelineatus (Fowler & Bean, 1928), and the guardian damselfish, Altrichthys curatus Allen, 1999, that occur on shallow coral reefs in the Calamian Archipelago, northern Palawan Province, Philippines (Allen 1999, Bernardi 2011, Bernardi et al 2017)
Species of the genus Altrichthys together with their close relative Acanthochromis polyacanthus are unusual as they brood their young (Allen 1999, Bernardi et al 2017), whereas most coral reef fishes have a pelagic larval stage (Leis 1991)
An identical behavior was observed in A. alelia, where fry and adult pairs were associated, and to the other Altrichthys species, Porites cylindrica is used as a nesting substrate (Bernardi et al 2017)
Summary
The damselfish genus Altrichthys Allen, 1999 includes two species, the azure damselfish, Altrichthys azurelineatus (Fowler & Bean, 1928), and the guardian damselfish, Altrichthys curatus Allen, 1999, that occur on shallow coral reefs in the Calamian Archipelago, northern Palawan Province, Philippines (Allen 1999, Bernardi 2011, Bernardi et al 2017). While conducting exploratory dives in the less-studied area of northern. Busuanga Island, in the region of San José, we observed and collected Altrichthys individuals that after closer examination and laboratory work showed unique morphological and genetic characters that distinguish them from previously described Altrichthys species. We can confirm the presence of a third Altrichthys species that we hereby describe as the new species Altrichthys alelia (Figure 1)
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