Roa haraguchiae, a new species of butterflyfish (Teleostei: Perciformes: Chaetodontidae) from Japan and the Philippines

Abstract

A new butterflyfish, Roa haraguchiae, is described on the basis of eight specimens (63.2–92.8 mm standard length: SL) collected from Japan and the Philippines. The new species is most similar to Roa rumsfeldi Rocha, Pinheiro, Wandell, Rocha and Shepherd 2017, known only from the holotype from the Philippines. Both species are distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: long snout (12.6–14.1% of SL), lesser head depth (46.2–54.9%), short postorbital area (12.1–14.1%) and pectoral fin (27.9–32.4%), and second and third bands on the body without blackish edges. The new species is however easily distinguished from R. rumsfeldi (based on the original description and an additional Philippine specimen) in having 5–8 non-pored lateral-line scales (vs. 13 scales in the latter), 11 or 12 scale rows above the lateral line (vs. 8), 22–28 scale rows below the lateral line (vs. 19), 10–12 scale rows under the longer axis of a black blotch on the dorsal-fin soft-rayed portion (vs. 8), the anterior margin of the second body band not reaching anteroventrally to the pelvic-fin spine base, and the pelvic-fin spine and first soft ray white (vs. black).