Stolephorus lotus, a New Anchovy (Teleostei: Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from the Northern Territory, Australia.

Abstract

A new anchovy Stolephorus lotus sp. nov., is described based on 30 specimens collected from Van Diemen Gulf, Northern Territory, Australia. The species closely resembles Stolephorus acinaces Hata, Lavoué and Motomura, 2020 and Stolephorus andhraensis Babu Rao, 1966, in having a long maxilla (posterior tip just reaching or extending slightly beyond the posterior margin of the opercle), indented posterior preopercular margin, anal fin with 16-18 branched fin rays, and 21-23 lower gill rakers, and lacking a predorsal scute and pelvic scute spine. However, the new species differs from the other two species in having higher counts of longitudinal series of scale rows and predorsal scales (37-39 and 20 or 21, respectively vs. 35-38 and 17-19 in the other two) and a more anteriorly located anal-fin origin (below bases of sixth to eighth dorsal-fin rays vs. eighth to tenth dorsal-fin rays).