Abstract
We describe a new species of goby, Varicus lacerta sp. n., which was collected from a mesophotic reef at Curacao, southern Caribbean. The new species is the tenth species of Varicus, all of which occur below traditional SCUBA depths in the wider Caribbean area. Its placement in the genus Varicus is supported by a molecular phylogenetic analysis of three nuclear genes and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. In addition, the new species has one anal-fin pterygiophore inserted anterior to the first haemal spine, which distinguishes Varicus species from most species in the closely related and morphologically similar genus Psilotris. Varicus lacerta sp. n. is distinguished from all other named species of Varicus by the absence of scales, having highly branched, feather-like pelvic-fin rays, and in its live coloration. We provide the cytochrome c oxidase I DNA barcode of the holotype and compare color patterns of all species of Varicus and Psilotris for which color photographs or illustrations are available. This study is one of several recent studies demonstrating the utility of manned submersibles in exploring the diversity of poorly studied but species-rich deep-reef habitats.
Highlights
Operating out of Substation Curaçao, the Smithsonian Institution’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) uses the manned submersible Curasub to capture tropical marine fishes and invertebrates at depths up to 300 m, providing new information on the fauna that inhabits poorly studied deep-reef ecosystems
The molecular phylogeny (Fig. 1) shows the new species nested within the genus Varicus, where it is recovered as sister to an undescribed species Varicus sp. 1 from Curaçao
This undescribed species is represented by a single specimen in poor condition that lacks body scales, but is readily distinguishable from V. lacerta based on live coloration
Summary
Operating out of Substation Curaçao (www.substation-curacao.com), the Smithsonian Institution’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) uses the manned submersible Curasub to capture tropical marine fishes and invertebrates at depths up to 300 m, providing new information on the fauna that inhabits poorly studied deep-reef ecosystems. Many of the new species belong to the Gobiidae, most notably the tribe Gobiosomatini (Van Tassell et al 2012; Tornabene et al 2016). This tribe comprises the American seven-spined gobies, a taxonomically and ecologically diverse clade of fishes that is endemic to the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. One of the most ecologically and taxonomically diverse clades within the Gobiosomatini is the Nes subgroup, which comprises 39 species in 11 genera that inhabit a wide variety of marine habitats (Tornabene et al 2016). We describe a tenth deep-reef species of Varicus based on a single specimen that was collected at 129-147 m from Curaçao
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