Parahollardia schmidti, a New Triacanthodid Fish from the Western Caribbean

Abstract

occur in different areas, the former being usually well concealed in grassy situations, the latter occupying more open sites among dead leaves and twigs. Breeding calls of nigrita and feriarum are readily distinguished by the observer. Sound spectrograms of the calls indicate that the two species differ with respect to dominant frequency, duration of call and pulse rate. The dominant frequency is higher and the call duration longer in nigrita than in feriarum, but some overlap was found in both characteristics. No overlap was observed in pulse rate, which averages about four times as great in calls of feriarum as in calls of nigrita. Mechanisms apparently operating to promote reproductive isolation of the two breeding systems include: (1) ecological differences in breeding pool site resulting for the most part in single species choruses, (2) ecological segregation of the nigrita and feriarum components even in mixed breeding choruses and (3) conspicuous species differences in pulse rate and other aspects of the mating call which would make it possible for females to orient toward males of their own kind