Dorsal-fin Soft Rays Research Articles

A new species of anglerfish (Lophiidae: Lophiodes) from the western Pacific

Lophiodes endoi sp. nov. is described from the western Pacific Ocean. Within the genus Lophiodes, the new species belongs in the L. mutilus group mainly defined by the absence of the fourth dorsal fin spine and differs from other species in the L. mutilus group in having a rounded esca with a paler tip, a third dorsal spine bearing a pair of black tendrils at two-thirds its length, 20–21 pectoral fin rays, a relatively short head, a relatively short illicium, a relatively short third dorsal spine, and a relatively long fifth dorsal spine, reaching the third soft dorsal fin ray when folded back. Comments on a similar species, L. bruchius, newly collected from the Kyushu–Palau Ridge, and notes on the distribution of congeneric species in the northwestern Pacific are provided.

Revision of the East Asian genus Ditrema (Embiotocidae), with description of a new subspecies

A review of the species and subspecies of Ditrema from East Asia recognized the following taxa: D. jordani Franz, 1910, D. temminckii pacificum subsp. nov., D. t. temminckii Bleeker, 1853, and D. viride Oshima, 1940. Ditrema jordani is characterized by a coppery-red body when fresh, the posterior end of the dorsal-fin base anterior to that of the anal-fin base, a dark rounded marking on the anterior suborbital area margined with white lines or a broad dark inverse trapezoid marking on the anterior part of the suborbital region, the lower half of the spinous portion of the dorsal fin often with a longitudinal black stripe, and a faint longitudinal dark line along the anal-fin base. Ditrema temminckii is characterized by a silvery body, usually bluish dorsally when fresh, a black oblique band on the anterior suborbital area, the spinous portion of the dorsal fin with a black distal margin, and no dark line along the anal-fin base. Ditrema t. pacificum, mainly distributed along the Pacific Ocean coast, differs from D. t. temminckii, mainly distributed along the coast of Sea of Japan, in lacking a dark spot on the anterior portion of the preopercle (vs. dark spot present in the latter), but having a black line along the posterior margin of the pelvic-fin spine (vs. black spot anteriorly on base of pelvic fin), fewer dorsal-fin spines (usually 9 or 10 vs. 10 or 11), more dorsal-fin soft rays (mode 21 vs. mode 20), and longer pectoral, pelvic, and caudal fins. The two nominal species (D. smitti and D. leave) are regarded as junior synonyms of D. t. temminckii. Ditrema viride is characterized by a silvery, dorsally yellowish-green body when fresh, 9–11 dorsal-fin spines (mode 10), a dark triangular marking on the anterior suborbital area, the spinous portion of the dorsal fin with a black distal margin, a longitudinal black line along the anal-fin base and the pelvic fin slightly darkish, and lacking a black spot anteriorly on the base. Neotypes are designated for D. jordani and D. viride. A key to the species and subspecies of Ditrema is provided.

Taxonomic reviews of two Indo-Pacific sea chubs, Kyphosus cinerascens (Forsskål, 1775) and Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther, 1886)

The closely related Indo-Pacific kyphosid fishes, Kyphosus cinerascens (Forsskal, 1775) and K. sydneyanus (Gunther, 1886), are taxonomically reviewed and redescribed. The two species differed from other Kyphosus in having 12 dorsal fin and 11 anal fin soft rays and 50–58 scales in a longitudinal row along the midbody. Synonymic reviews and redescriptions of K. cinerascens and K. sydneyanus were based on examination of types and many non-type specimens, including consideration of ontogenetic morphological changes. The anterior part of the soft-rayed portions of the dorsal fin and anal fin become elevated with growth in K. cinerascens, the longest dorsal fin soft ray being clearly longer than the longest dorsal fin spine, in addition to 26–31 (mode 28) gill rakers on the first gill arch and 17–19 (mode 18) pectoral fin rays. Such elevation is absent in K. sydneyanus, in which the longest dorsal fin soft ray is clearly shorter than the longest dorsal fin spine, in addition to 19–21 (mode 21) gill rakers on the first gill arch and 16–18 (mode 17) pectoral fin rays. Cantharus maculates Valenciennes, 1830, Pimelepterus indicus Cuvier, 1831, Pim. altipinnis Cuvier, 1831, Pim. dussumieri Cuvier, 1831, Pim. raynaldi Cuvier, 1831, Pim. altipinnoides Guichenot, 1863, Pachymetopon squamosum Alleyne and Macleay, 1877, and Scorpis vinosa Alleyne and Macleay, 1877 are all recognized as junior synonyms of K. cinerascens. Pimelepterus tahmel (Forsskal, 1775) sensu Ruppell (1835) is applicable to K. cinerascens but is not a valid scientific name for the species. Pimelepterus meridionalis Ogilby, 1887 and Segutium klunzingeri Whitley, 1931 are junior synonyms of K. sydneyanus. A neotype of K. cinerascens is designated here. Kyphosus cinerascens is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region, except for the southern coast of Australia, whereas K. sydneyanus is distributed only in the southern half of Australia (between Shark Bay in Western Australia and Moreton Bay in Queensland), including northern Tasmania, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, and in northern New Zealand.

Meristic character counts and incidence of skeletal anomalies in the wild Diplodus puntazzo (Cetti, 1777) of an area of the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea

The sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo, Cetti 1777) is a species rarely found in coastal areas of Sicily, but is important in Mediterranean aquaculture. In order to detect the number of meristic characters and the main types of body deformation, 588 specimens of sharpsnout seabream were collected from a coastal zone of south-east Sicily (Licata, AG—Italy). Different sized classes were examined and the relationship between size and the number of meristic characters (number of fin rays) was found. The number of vertebrae, anal fin hard rays and dorsal fin hard rays was constant and did not vary with size. Seventeen types of skeletal and fin anomalies were observed, but no grave anomalies were found, such as the absence of a swimbladder, lordosis, kyphosis and calculi in the terminal tract of the urinary duct. The most prevalent anomalies were associated with the fins, especially E7 (pectoral fin rays), F7 (anal fin rays) and I7 (dorsal fin soft rays). There was no correlation between frequency of anomaly and size class. The malformation index was 4.54.

A new species of Nanochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Mai Ndombe, central Congo Basin, Democratic Republic of Congo

Nanochromis wickleri, a new cichlid species from Lake Mai Ndombe in the central Congo basin, is described. The large, deep-bodied species differs from all congeners in the possession of an elevated soft dorsal fin ray count (10–11 vs. 5–8) and by the presence, in adults, of strongly produced membranous fin lappets on the second and third dorsal fin spines. Pending comprehensive phylogenetic analysis Nanochromis wickleri is tentatively placed within a morphologically diagnosable subclade of Nanochromis, herein named the “nudiceps group”.

Identity and distribution of southern African sciaenid fish species of the genus Umbrina

Two Umbrina species, U. canariensis Valenciennes 1843 and U. robinsoni Gilchrist and Thompson 1908, are recognised from southern Africa. The latter species was hitherto believed to be a synonym of Umbrina ronchus Valenciennes 1843 (type locality Canary Islands). U. canariensis is distributed along the South Africa eastern seaboard from Cape Point to Sodwana Bay and U. robinsoni is known from False Bay to Madagascar and Oman. African Umbrina taxonomy has, however, been hindered by geographic samples that were either too few or consisted of specimens of disparate length; and as a result the identification and distribution of South African Umbrina species was confused. Morphological comparison of a large number of South African Umbrina with specimens from the type locality (Canary Islands) confirmed the identity of South African U. canariensis and allowed for an expanded description of the species. However, differences between specimens of U. ronchus and those of the second South African species (n = 251) led us to resurrect U. robinsoni (Gilchrist and Thompson 1908) as a valid name for this species. U. robinsoni differs from U. ronchus in having a smaller supraoccipital crest and thus a less steep pre-dorsal profile; a shallower preorbital bone (13–21% head length [HL] vs 21% HL); and a shorter nostril-orbit distance (2.4–6.9% HL vs 7.8–8.5% HL). Colour patterns also differ between the two species, with U. ronchus lacking the oblique, wavy, white stripes evident on the flanks of U. robinsoni. U. ronchus does not occur in South African waters, and is an eastern Atlantic species occurring from Gibraltar to Angola. Specimens from the east coast of Africa (Moçambique to Gulf of Oman) that were previously identified as U. ronchus are U. robinsoni. Differences between U. robinsoni and U. canariensis include: a lower modal number of soft dorsal fin rays, (22–27 vs 24–30); less deep body depth, (26–36% standard length [SL] vs 33–39% SL); shorter pectoral fin length (15–21% SL vs 20–25% SL); longer caudal peduncle length (26–34% SL vs 21–28% SL) and snout length (27–38% HL vs 23–32% HL); and smaller orbit diameter (14–33% HL vs 23–34% HL). Otoliths of U. robinsoni differ from those of U. canariensis in being smaller, less elongate, lacking a massive post-central umbo and having a post-dorsal spine remnant. The body colour and nature of the striping pattern on the flanks differs markedly between the species: in U. robinsoni the oblique stripes are thin, wavy, white lines; in U. canariensis the oblique stripes are thicker, nearly straight and brown; U. robinsoni also lacks the triangle-shaped mark on the outer operculum and the dark pigmentation of the inner operculum that is found on U. canariensis. Spatial analysis of South African specimens collected with a variety of gear revealed U. robinsoni to be a shallow-water species found from the surf-zone to 40m, whereas U. canariensis occurs predominantly from 40 to 100m depth. Although both species occur throughout the South African eastern seaboard, U. canariensis is most common west of the Kei River, where the shelf is wider. Examination of three specimens of U. steindachneri Cadenat 1950 confirmed the presence of a fourth sub-Saharan Umbrina species that is limited to tropical West African waters from Senegal to Angola. U. steindachneri differs from the other African Umbrina in having a high number of soft dorsal rays (28–29), a greater 3rd dorsal spine length (25–27% SL) and a very pronounced and convoluted striping pattern on the flanks.

New Species of Scorpionfish, Scorpaena cocosensis (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) from the Cocos Islands, Costa Rica, Eastern Pacific Ocean

A new species of small-sized scorpionfish, Scorpaena cocosensis, is described on the basis of a single specimen collected from off Nuez Island, Cocos Islands, Costa Rica, eastern Pacific Ocean. The new species is similar to two eastern Pacific species of Scorpaena, Scorpaena russula and Scorpaena sonorae, in overall body appearance and in lacking a supplemental preopercular spine. However, it is distinguished from these two species by the following characters: eight dorsal-fin soft rays; well-exposed scales covering anteroventral body surface; interorbital ridges well developed, beginning just behind nasal spines, diverging anteriorly and posteriorly in dorsal view; lateral margins of frontal diverging posteriorly in dorsal view; upper posttemporal spine directed upward; posterior margin of maxilla just reaching level with posterior margin of pupil; posterior tip of pectoral fin reaching level with origin of third dorsal-fin soft ray; large head length (48.8% SL); large orbit diameter (16.9% SL); wide interorbital space between supraocular spine bases (9.2% SL).

Two new species of Kyphosus (Kyphosidae) and a taxonomic review of Kyphosus bigibbus Lacep�de from the Indo-Pacific

Two new species of Kyphosus, K. pacificus and K. hawaiiensis, are described and the taxonomy reviewed of K. bigibbus Lacepede, 1801, closely related to the former. These three species are clearly distinguished from other species of Kyphosus in having 12 dorsal-fin soft rays, the anterior part of the dorsal-fin soft-rayed portion not elevated, 11 anal-fin soft rays, and 58–72 (usually more than 59) scales in longitudinal row along the middle body. Kyphosus pacificus is distributed in the Western-Central Pacific, being characterized by a pointed snout and 26–29 gill rakers (mode 27). Kyphosus hawaiiensis is distributed only in the Central Pacific and is characterized by a blunt snout, 23–25 gill rakers (mode 24), 18 pectoral fin soft rays, and the anterior part of the anal-fin soft-rayed portion well elevated. Kyphosus bigibbus is distributed antitropically in the Indo-West Pacific and is characterized by a blunt snout, 21–24 gill rakers (mode 22), 19 pectoral fin soft rays, and the anterior part of the anal-fin soft-rayed portion not elevated. In addition, Pimelepterus fallax Klunzinger, 1884 was found to be a junior synonym of K. bigibbus Lacepede. A lectotype and paralectotypes are designated for the former because the original type series included an example of a second species.

Petilipinnis, a new genus for Corvina grunniens Schomburgk, 1843 (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) from the Amazon and Essequibo river basins and redescription of Petilipinnis grunniens

Petilipinnis, new genus, is proposed for Corvina grunniens Schomburgk, from the Amazon and Essequibo river basins. It is distinguishable from other Sciaenidae genera with the exception of Menticirrhus, by the presence of only one spine in the anal fin. From Menticirrhus, Petilipinnis differs by the morphology of the swimbladder and the number of dorsal fin soft rays. Also a redescription of Petilipinnis grunniens is presented.

Petilipinnis, a new genus for Corvina Grunniens Schomburgk, 1843 (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) from the amazon and essequibo river basins and redescription of Petilipinnis Grunniens

Petilipinnis, newgenus, is proposed for Corvina Schomburgk, from the Amazon and Essequibo river basins. It is distinguishable from Other Sciaenidae genera with the exception of Menticirrhus, by the presence of only on espine in the analfin. From Menticirrhus, Petilipinnis differs by the morphology of the swimbladder and by the number of dorsal fin soft rays. Also a redescription of Petilipinnis grunniens is presented

Tomiyamichthys alleni: A New Species of Gobiidae from Japan and Indonesia

Tomiyamichthys alleni is described from eight specimens from Japan and Indonesia. The species is distinguishable from the only congener T. oni and closely related genus Flabelligobius in having the following combination of characters: occipital region narrow, equal to interorbital width, separated from upper margin of cheek by an irregularly curved groove; anterior oculoscapular canal with pores B′, C(S), D(S), F, and G′ (F located in groove between occipital region and cheek); first dorsal fin triangular, first and second spines elongated and filamentous; second dorsal and anal fin soft rays 10. The species occurs between 15 m and 40 m on fine sandy bottoms and is associated with the shrimp Alpheus randalli.

A new anthiine fish (Perciformes: Serranidae),Holanthias kingyo, from the Ryukyu Islands

A new anthiine fish,Holanthias kingyo sp, nov., is described on the basis of two specimens (male and female) from the Ryukyu Is., Japan. The new species is most similar toH. natalensis (Fowler, 1925), known only from South Africa, in having the following characters: dorsal fin soft rays 16 or 17, anal fin soft rays 9, pored lateral line scales 46 or 47, scale rows above lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 9 1/2 or 10 1/2, and gill rakers 10 or 11 +24 or 25=34–36. It differs from the latter in having more scales below the lateral line to the origin of the anal fin (27 1/2 vs. 18–24), a U-shaped caudal fin with paddle-like lobes (vs. deeply forked caudal fin with each lobe ending in a long slender filament), the outer margin of the soft anal fin vertical (vs. gently convex) and brown spots on the body in female (vs. spots absent in females).

Johnius (johnieops) philippinus, a new sciaenid from the philippines, with a synopsis of species included in the subgenusjohnieops

A new sciaenid,Johnius (Johnieops) philippinus, is described from the Davao Gulf, Mindanao Island Philippines. It differs from all known species of the subgenus in the combination of 29–32 dorsal fin soft rays, 5–6 scales above and 10–13 scales below the lateral line, 10–12 lower gill rakers, a broadly rounded anterior snout margin (from dorsal aspect), large eyes (28–35% HL), a narrow interorbital space (23–28% HL) and well-developed pleural ribs on 11th vertebra. A synopsis of species included in the subgenusJohnieops is provided.

Atrosalarias hosokawai, a new species of blenny (perciformes: Blenniidae) from the western pacific

A new species of blenny,Atrosalarias hosokawai is described on the basis of 15 specimens from the western Pacific. It is distinguished from the only known congeneric species,A. fuscus (=A. fuscus fuscus+A. fuscus holomelas), by the following: supraorbital cirrus broad and flat (vs. slender and thread-like inA. fuscus); dorsal fin broadly contacting caudal fin (vs. narrow contact); anal fin narrowly contacting caudal fin (vs. usually free or (rarely) very narrow contact); posteriormost dorsal and anal fin rays long (vs. short); first or posteriormost soft dorsal fin ray shortest (vs. posteriormost ray shortest); first soft anal fin ray shortest (vs. posteriormost ray shortest); caudal fin rays branched in specimens over 36.0 mm SL (vs. unbranched); a large dark spot on base of pectoral fin absent (vs. present or absent); a red margin on anterior dorsal fin absent (vs. present). Futhermore,A. hosokawai differs fromA. f. fuscus in having a lower number of dorsal fin spines (ten vs. eleven) and geographical distribution (western Pacific Ocean vs. Indian Ocean and Red Sea). AlthoughA. hosokawai occurs sympatrically withA. f. holomelas, it can be further distinguished from the latter in lacking a large dark spot on base of pectoral fin.

Pennahia ovata, a new sciaenid from the Bay of Bengal

A new sciaenid,Pennahia ovata, is described from the Bay of Bengal. It differs from its most similar congener,P. anea, in having weakly differentiated teeth on the lower jaw, usually 24–25 dorsal fin soft rays and 18–19 upper+lower gill rakers, a deep body and a long second anal fin spine.

Esselenia, a New Genus of Pricklebacks (Teleostei: Stichaeidae), with Two New Species from California and Baja California Norte

Esselenia, a new genus of the family Stichaeidae, contains relatively small, elongate, benthic fishes that resemble Cebidichthys in having the dorsal fin softrayed posteriorly, but differ in meristics of the vertical fins and axial skeleton, and in having two or three lateral lines. The two known species inhabit shallow waters from central California to northern Baja California. Esselenia carli is described from 49 specimens collected from Monterey Bay, California, to near the mouth of Rio Santo Tomas, Baja California Norte, to a depth of 26 m. It is distinguished by its lack of pelvic fins, first dorsal spine associated with the second pterygiophore, first anal pterygiophore not enlarged, 19-23 soft dorsalfin rays, 65-70 vertebrae, and ventrolateral lateral lines connected across the breast in an arc that is bisected by a medioventral lateral line that extends from the isthmus to fork about the anus. Esselenia laurae is described from 15 specimens collected near Southeast Farallon Island, California, to Punta Banda, Baja California Norte, to a depth of 46 m. It is distinguished by its minute pelvic fins, first dorsal spine associated with the first pterygiophore, enlarged first anal pterygiophore, 14-18 soft dorsal-fin rays, 60-62 vertebrae, ventrolateral lateral lines not connected across the breast, and no medioventral lateral line. A stichaeid fish collected off the mouth of Rio

Larvae and Juveniles of Temperate Bass, Lateolabrax latus, Occurring in the Surf Zones of Tosa Bay, Japan

A total of 343 larval and juvenile Lateolabrax latus (9.2–27.0 mm TL) was collected with a small seine in surf zones of Tosa Bay. They are very similar in general morphology to those of the closely related L. japonicus, but can be distinguished from them by the distribution pattern of melanophores on the tail, head spination, proportion of head length to standard length and the 15 or 16 dorsal fin soft-rays. They occurred in surf zones of Tosa Bay from early January to middle May, being most abundant in middle April. Temperatures and salinities of waters where any number of them were collected ranged from 12.2 to 24.0°C and from 23.7 to 34.5%, respectively. Larval and juvenile L. latus have not been reported so far in coastal and shallow waters, and eelgrass beds of southern Japan. It may be possible that they have been confounded with those of L. japonicus. Their occurrence seems to be limited in extremely shallow waters such as surf zones.

Melanotaenia iris, a new freshwater rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from Papua New Guinea with notes on the fish fauna in Head Waters

A new melanotaeniid rainbowfish,Melanotaenia iris, is described from mountain tributaries of the Strickland River in west-central Papua New Guinea. It is most closely related toM. goldiei of southern New Guinea, but differs in colour pattern, a distinctive high number of scales on the suborbital-preopercle bones, and a greater number of soft dorsal fin rays. Notes are also included on the poorly developed fish fauna of head waters in the Fly-Strickland and Sepik river systems. Most streams thus far investigated have less than 4 species. The plotosid catfishTandanus equinus appears to be the most successful colonizer of fast-flowing highland streams in the Fly-Strickland system and is sometimes the only species present.

Larval and Early Juvenile Development of the Frillfin Goby, Bathygobius soporator (Perciformes: Gobiidae)

Larval and early juvenile development of laboratory-reared frillfin gobies, Bathygobius soporator (Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1837), is described and figured. One-day-old preserved specimens averaged 2.0 mm SL, had 11-12 preanal myomeres, and 25-26 total myomeres. Caudal fin rays appeared at 3.1 mm SL (10 days), followed by soft dorsal and anal fin rays at 3.4 mm SL (11 days). Dominant larval pigmentation consisted of dense rows of stellate melanophores along the dorsal and anal midlines and later along the lateral midline. The change to juvenile pigmentation and a benthic habit occurred at 4.7-5.4 mm SL (26-31 days). Early juvenile growth was characterized by migration of the eyes to the adult position, rounding of the caudal fin margin, beginning of scale formation, and separation of the upper pectoral fin rays.

Eggs and Larvae of the Logperch, Percina caprodes (Rafinesque)

Eggs and larvae of the logperch, Percina caprodes (Rafi- nesque) , were reared in the laboratory to recently hatched larvae. More advanced stages were collected by plankton net from Lake Erie. Develop- mental stages were sampled ; changes in morphology and gross character- istics are described and illustrated. Manually stripped eggs were extruded as a mass but did not remain physically attached to each other. The eggs were adhesive, demersal and amber in color with a granular yolk. Average egg diam after water hardening was 1.12 mm. Eggs hatched 200 hr after fertilization at an average water temperature of 16.5 C. Average hatching length was 4.47 mm. The yolk sac was completely absorbed at 6.28 mm in most individu- als. Fin ray development began at 7.80 to 10.00 mm with the caudal fin. The soft dorsal fin rays and anal fin rays began to develop at 12.00 mm and all fin rays were nearly complete at 22.5 mm. Staining techniques for meristic analysis used in the present study may account for the higher number of myomeres found, compared with a previous report where staining was not used to make these counts.