Soft Dorsal Fin Research Articles

Intra- and interspecific variability in external morphology among three Symphodus species (Labridae)

ABSTRACT Labridae (wrasses) showcases a wide range of morphological variations, including diverse shapes, as well as a spectrum of ecological and behavioural characteristics. This study compared intra- and interspecific variation in three congeneric Symphodus species based on 19 morphometric characters associated with external morphology. Morphometric characters were commonly summed as the percentage of total length (TL%). The principal component analysis showed a clear separation of S. roissali from the other two Labridae species. The morphological distinction between species was statistically significant for all variables. While post-orbital length, anal fin length, caudal fin length and soft dorsal fin length are the hallmarks for Labridae species examined in this study, care should be taken when using other characters. Especially S. cinereus and S. ocellatus show similarities in many characters. S. roissali is distinguished from the other two species by its larger head and fin lengths (dorsal, anal, and pectoral). Intraspecific sexual dimorphism was significant for eight variables in the S. cinereus. No significant intraspecies morphological differences by sexes were observed for S. roissali and S. ocellatus species. Sex determination for these two species should be based on macroscopic examination of their gonads rather than external morphology.

Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factors of Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Nguru-Gashua Wetlands, Northeast Nigeria.

This study examined the length-weight relation and condition factor of Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Nguru-Gashua wetlands, Northeast, Nigeria. A total of 375 specimens were purchased from local fishermen at the designated landing sites for six months. Results of morphometric characteristics showed that the body weight of male S. galilaeus ranged from 127-770 g (601.7±28.01) and females ranged from 272 – 704 g (711.3±38.12). Meristic features show that spinous anal fin rays were constant in both sexes while soft dorsal fin rays, pectoral fin rays, soft anal fin rays and spinous dorsal fin rays had the same range for both sexes. The sex ratio (1:2.18) observed in this study tends to favour male species but contrasts with the general assumption of a sex ratio of 1:1. Mean coefficient of determination was 0.89±0.07 and 0.87±0.07 for male and female S. galilaeus respectively indicating that length-weight relationship model is very reliable. This implies that the change in weight of the sampled fish was caused by 88.52% and 86.68% change in length of male and female S. galilaeus respectively. It was further revealed that both sexes (b = 2.86±0.18 and 2.88±0.35) had negative allometric growth patterns. The wetland's environmental conditions were within a tolerable range for cichlids.

Soft dorsal/anal fins pairs for roll and yaw motion in robotic fish

Fish has primarily served as a model for many bio-inspired underwater robots. However, most of the work on fish-inspired robots is focused on propulsion and turning in the horizontal plane. In this paper, we present our work on the 3D motion of bio-inspired underwater robots. A pair of actuated soft fins, mimicking the soft dorsal and anal fins of a live fish, have been designed and tested to generate lateral thrusts that aim to produce both roll and yaw motions. Furthermore, they can be used to provide vertical stabilization of the forward motion in the robot. These fins comprise shape memory alloy wires embedded in silicone. We demonstrate that these fins can provide a means for 3D maneuvering. In this work, we focus on roll and yaw motions. A key feature of the proposed design is that it is lightweight, compact, and waterproof.

Hyporthodus griseofasciatus (Perciformes: Epinephelidae), a new species of deep-water grouper from the west coast of Australia.

A new species of deep-water epinephelid fish is described from the west coast of Australia based on 14 specimens, 99-595 mm standard length. Hyporthodus griseofasciatus sp. nov. is endemic to Western Australia from Barrow Island to Two Peoples Bay in depths of 76-470 m. It has a series of eight grey bands alternating with eight brown bands along the body and the soft dorsal, soft anal and caudal fin margins are pale cream to white. It is distinguished from its nearest congener, H. ergastularius, by the presence of a star-like pattern of radiating lines on the head versus an overall brownish colour in the latter as well as significant differences in the quantitative analyses of 25 morphological characters. The two species have allopatric distributions on either side of the Australian continent. H. griseofasciatus is distinguished from H. octofasciatus by several grey bands being distinctly narrower than other grey bands (vs. all grey bands subequal in the latter) and the presence of broad white margins on the dorsal, caudal and anal fins (vs. narrow or absent in the latter). Some scale counts appear to also differ. Analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequences revealed reciprocally monophyletic clades with fixed differences and genetic distances typical of recently diverged species of fishes.

BIOLOGYOF BADIS BADIS (HAM., 1822) FROM NORTH EASTERN HILL REGION

Badis badis or dwarf chameleon fish, also known as the blue perch or badis belongs to family Badidae of the order Perciformes. Hamilton (1822) described Labrus badis and L. dario from Gangetic provinces. Bleeker (1854) established genus Badis for L. badis under family Nandidae. Barlow et al. (1968) coined the new family, Badidae, in which Badis has been incorporated based on osteological characters. The genus is separated from the Nandid genus Nandus in having a smooth opercular margin and endentuloustoungue. As per Kullander and Britz (2002) the genus Badis is characterized by combination of the following features: Operculum with a single sharp spine at it posterior corner; spinous and soft dorsal fins continuous, the base of the soft part of the fin is longer than that of the spinous part; anal fin with three spines; lateral line pores tubed and interrupted; jaws, vomer and palatines with villiform teeth; scales both ctenoid and cycloid, 2-4 dentary formula; hypobranchial 3-toothed; males with short pelvic fin, not reaching the 1st dorsal spine; short dorsal fin lappets; rounded caudal fin (Geetakumari and Kudu, 2011). When Hamilton described this species he did so without preserving any specimens, therefore to avoid confusion with similar-looking congeners, Kullander and Britz (2002) designated a neotype, which was collected from the Tumapao River, a tributary of the Ganges located 65km north of Calcutta. B. badis commonly inhabits paddy fields, ponds and small streams and are found to be distributed in all the North Eastern States of India (Mahapatra et al., 2004).

Description of a New Species of Rariphotic Parapercis (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae) from the Solomon Islands

A new species belonging to the pinguipedid genus Parapercis is described herein from a single specimen collected via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from rariphotic depths in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Parapercis rota, new species, is readily distinguished from all other congeners by a unique pigmentation pattern comprising four large, rounded, orangish-olive saddles dorsally on the flank, each with a distinct, large, dorsomedial white spot completely enclosed within the saddles, plus a fifth saddle on the caudal peduncle with only a small white dorsomedial dot; 10 discrete broad, dark orangish-olive oval vertical bars below the lateral midline; a single row of dark spots on the soft dorsal fin; caudal fin lined dorsally and ventrally with stripes of yellowish-olive pigmentation extending the length of the fin; and two prominent dark brown to black spots at the caudal-fin base. ROV-based collecting systems are a promising and relatively affordable technology for studying ichthyological diversity on deeper reef habitats, particularly those beyond the reach of technical SCUBA. The discovery and description of P. rota adds to the growing number of Parapercis species that are known to occur in mesophotic and deeper waters.

Measurement of Fish Morphological Features through Image Processing and Deep Learning Techniques

Noninvasive morphological feature monitoring is essential in fish culture, since these features are currently measured manually with a high cost. These morphological parameters can concern the size or mass of the fish, or its health as indicated, for example, by the color of the eyes or the gills. Several approaches have been proposed, based either on image processing or machine learning techniques. In this paper, both of these approaches have been combined in a unified environment with novel techniques (e.g., edge or corner detection and pattern stretching) to estimate the fish’s relative length, height and the area it occupies in the image. The method can be extended to estimate the absolute dimensions if a pair of cameras is used for obscured or slanted fish. Moreover, important fish parts such as the caudal, spiny and soft dorsal, pelvic and anal fins are located. Four species popular in fish cultures have been studied: Dicentrarchus labrax (sea bass), Diplodus puntazzo, Merluccius merluccius (cod fish) and Sparus aurata (sea bream). Taking into consideration that there are no large public datasets for the specific species, the training and testing of the developed methods has been performed using 25 photographs per species. The fish length estimation error ranges between 1.9% and 13.2%, which is comparable to the referenced approaches that are trained with much larger datasets and do not offer the full functionality of the proposed method.

First record of two squirrelfishes, Sargocentron spinosissimum and Sargocentron tiereoides (Actinopterygii, Beryciformes, Holocentridae) from the Egyptian Mediterranean coast

Holocentrinae and Myripristinae (Holocentridae) are among the most apparent species in the nocturnal reef fish community. However, there is no clear assent regarding their phylogenetic relations, which is reported in their complicated taxonomic history. In this study, Sargocentron spinosissimum (Temminck et Schlegel, 1843) and Sargocentron tiereoides (Bleeker, 1853) were reported from the Mediterranean coast of Egypt (Damietta coast). This is the first record of these species which is greatly distributed across Indo-Pacific regions and eastern Africa showed the success of these species to migrate to the Mediterranean water with a good adaptation to the new habitats. In the presently reported study, 26 morphometric measurements were recorded and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcodes were recovered for a total of 20 specimens (8 from S. spinosissimum and 12 from S. tiereoides). The specimens from the Damietta coast, Egypt show character states diagnostic of S. spinosissimum: Head is curved. Spinous dorsal fin base straight. Soft dorsal fin base slightly raised. Spinous dorsal fin membranes red. Anterior margin of pelvic and anal fins white. Other fin rays are red. While character states diagnostic of S. tiereoides: Head is straight and pointed. Spinous dorsal fin base almost straight. Soft dorsal fin base not raised and spinous dorsal fin membranes vaguely red. Sequences of both species were submitted to the GenBank and Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) publication database which displayed 99%–100% similarity value S. tiereoides from GenBank and BOLD databases but, S. spinosissimum has not any deposited sequences from GenBank or BOLD. DNA barcoding based on COI gene was demonstrated as a powerful and useful molecular marker in the identification and differentiation of S. spinosissimum and S. tiereoides fish species.

A new deep-bodied species of Antigonia (Teleostei, Antigoniidae) from the Andaman Sea (northeastern Indian Ocean).

A new species of boarfish, Antigonia emanuela, is described from two specimens collected in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar during bottom trawl surveys conducted by the R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen in 2015 and 2018. It is unique within the genus in the combination of the deeply rhomboid body (1.1-1.2 times deeper than long), nine dorsal-fin spines, premaxilla strongly bent in middle, scales with deep apical crest armed with numerous spinules, soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins bright-yellow in life. Two other Antigonia species captured during these surveys are A. indica and A. ovalis, the latter species being a first report for the Andaman Sea.

Cichla cataractae (Cichliformes: Cichlidae), new species of peacock bass from the Essequibo Basin, Guyana and Venezuela

A new species of peacock bass, Cichla cataractae, is distinguished from all congeners by molecular evidence and unique patterns of adult and juvenile pigmentation. Juveniles (<150 mm SL) have sides of body dominated by a series of three conspicuous dark blotches with the one below soft dorsal fin largest, attenuated posteriorly (long teardrop shape) but distinctly separated from elliptical caudal blotch; same blotches eventually with pale border (ocellated) in largest juveniles. Adult pattern on sides dominated by two distinct dark blotches, each one ocellated; anterior blotch rounded, located below anterior base of spinous dorsal fin and not extending above anterior lateral line; posterior blotch highly irregular in shape, located below soft dorsal fin and often displaced dorsally; additional dark blotch below posterior base of spinous dorsal fin generally absent or small, ocellated or not, and level with anterior blotch; vertical bars on sides generally absent or faint; postorbital stripe always present, highly broken into irregular series of dark spots, each one usually ocellated. Cichla cataractae is endemic to the Essequibo Basin where it typically inhabits rocky shoals in river channels with swift current. new species is sympatric with the more widely distributed C. ocellaris, a species that prefers lentic habitats. Molecular analysis supports C. cataractae as a distinct lineage in a clade of Cichla containing C. temensis, C. melaniae, C. mirianae, C. piquiti and C. pinima. oldest extant specimens of the new species were collected by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1908 and documented in his seminal The Freshwater Fishes of British Guiana (Eigenmann, 1912).

Epinephelus fuscomarginatus (Perciformes: Epinephelidae), a new species of grouper from off the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

A new species of epinephelid fish from northeastern Australia is described based on five specimens 408-564 mm SL collected by deep water demersal dropline fishing. Epinephelus fuscomarginatus sp. nov. is known from the Capricorn Channel, off the southern end of the Swain Reefs, Qld, Australia, in depths of 220-230 m. It is distinguished by a combination of dorsal-fin rays XI, 14, pectoral-fin rays 17, anal-fin rays III, 8, caudal-fin rounded, lateral-line scales 60-67, gill rakers 9-10 + 16-19 = 25-28, body depth 3.0-3.4 in SL, angle of preopercle broadly rounded, bearing 4-9 small non-prominent serrae, midlateral part of lower jaw with 2 rows of teeth, tooth patches on vomer and palatines narrow, in 2-3 and 2-4 rows, respectively, and coloration including broad dark brown margins to the soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins. There are no dark spots on the head, body, or fins at any known size and in subadults there are two faint pale brown bars radiating from the eye to the posterior margin of the opercle, and diffuse irregular brown wavy bars and blotches on the sides of the body. Comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO 1) genetic marker utilised in DNA barcoding produced modest but consistent genetic divergences of 1.10% and 2.70 % between E. fuscomarginatus sp. nov. and its closest sampled congeners, E. magniscuttis and E. epistictus, respectively. Further evidence is presented to indicate that populations of E. epistictus currently recognised from the Indian Ocean east to the Indo-Australian Archipelago may be distinct from those from the Sea of Japan to the East China Sea.

Redescription of Mugil setosus Gilbert 1892 with comments on the occurrence of Mugil curema Valenciennes 1836 in the Pacific Ocean (Teleostei: Perciformes: Mugilidae).

Mugil setosus Gilbert 1892 was originally described by Gilbert based on specimens from Clarion Island, in the western and most remote of the Revillagigedo Islands, about 1,000 km off the western Pacific coast of Mexico. Examination of the type of material and recently collected specimens from Ecuador and Peru, resulted in the redescription provided herein. Diagnostic characters of the species were mainly: tip of the pelvic fin reaching beyond the vertical through the base of the third dorsal-fin spine, the pectoral-fin rays with ii+13-14 rays, the anterodorsal tip of second (soft) dorsal fin uniformly dark, and an external row of larger teeth, and more internally a patch of scattered smaller teeth, visible mainly in adults 150 mm SL. The expansion of geographic distribution of Mugil setosus and occurrence of Mugil curema Valenciennes 1836 in the Pacific Ocean are discussed.

&lt;em&gt;Scorpaena decemradiata&lt;/em&gt; new species (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) from the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, a species distinct from &lt;em&gt;Scorpaena porcus&lt;/em&gt;

The scorpionfish Scorpaena decemradiata n. sp. is described from off the coast of Israel in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea. The new species is similar to S. porcus Linnaeus, 1758, but is characterized by dorsal fin spines XII, soft dorsal fin rays 10 (the last divided at base); pectoral fin rays 16, uppermost branched pectoral fin ray is the second; lacrimal with 2 spines over maxilla that point at nearly right angle from each other, the posterior pointing ventrally and slightly anteriorly; occipital pit well developed; anteriormost mandibular lateral-line pores small, separated; scales ctenoid; 59-62 scale rows in longitudinal series; scales absent on chest and pectoral fin base; and cirri developed over entire head and body, but no cirri on lower jaw. An updated checklist of the species of the genus Scorpaena Linnaeus, 1758 and a key to the species of the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea are presented.

Tosanoidesaphrodite, a new species from mesophotic coral ecosystems of St. Paul's Rocks, Mid Atlantic Ridge (Perciformes, Serranidae, Anthiadinae).

During a recent expedition to St. Paul’s Rocks, Atlantic Ocean, a distinctive and previously unknown species of Anthiadinae was collected at a depth of 120 m. A genetic analysis indicated the undescribed species is a member of the genus Tosanoides, which was only known to occur in the Pacific Ocean. This new taxon is distinguishable from all other Tosanoides species by the following combination of characters: soft dorsal fin rays 15–16; anal fin rays 9; ventral scale rows 9–10; last dorsal spine the longest (instead first through fourth). Here Tosanoidesaphroditesp. n. is described and illustrated, only known from St. Paul’s Rocks.

Cirrhilabrus cyanogularis, a new species of fairy wrasse from the Philippines and Indonesia (Teleostei: Labridae).

Cirrhilabrus cyanogularis, sp. nov., is described on the basis of the holotype and three paratypes from Banguingui Island, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines, and a paratype from Sulawesi, Indonesia. The new species belongs to a complex consisting of C. filamentosus (Klausewitz), C. rubripinnis Randall Carpenter, and C. tonozukai Allen Kuiter. Aside from similar nuptial male coloration, the four species share the following character combination: a single row of cheek scales; dorsal-fin spines taller than dorsal-fin rays (slightly incised between spinuous and soft dorsal fin in C. rubripinnis and C. cyanogularis; last three dorsal-fin spines converging to form a single filament in C. tonozukai and C. filamentosus); relatively long pelvic fins (reaching past anal-fin origin); and isthmus and breast blue. The new species differs from the other members of the complex in lacking a dorsal filament, as well as possessing six predorsal scales, more extensive blue coloration on the isthmus, lower head and breast, and a soft dorsal fin with narrow black, medial stripe. The status of Klausewitz's Cirrhilabrichthys is briefly discussed.

Understanding Fish Linear Acceleration Using an Undulatory Biorobotic Model with Soft Fluidic Elastomer Actuated Morphing Median Fins.

Although linear accelerations are an important common component of the diversity of fish locomotor behaviors, acceleration is one of the least-understood aspects of propulsion. Analysis of acceleration behavior in fishes with both spiny and soft-rayed median fins demonstrates that fin area is actively modulated when fish accelerate. We implemented an undulatory biomimetic robotic fish model with median fins manufactured using multimaterial three-dimensional printing-a spiny-rayed dorsal fin, soft-rayed dorsal/anal fins, and a caudal fin-whose stiffnesses span three orders of magnitude. We used an array of fluidic elastomeric soft actuators to mimic the dorsal/anal inclinator and erector/depressor muscles of fish, which allowed the soft fins to be erected or folded within 0.3 s. We experimentally show that the biomimetic soft dorsal/anal fin can withstand external loading. We found that erecting the soft dorsal/anal fins significantly enhanced the linear acceleration rate, up to 32.5% over the folded fin state. Surprisingly, even though the projected area of the body (in the lateral plane) increased 16.9% when the median fins were erected, the magnitude of the side force oscillation decreased by 24.8%, which may have led to significantly less side-to-side sway in the robotic swimmer. Visualization of fluid flow in the wake of median fins reveals that during linear acceleration, the soft dorsal fin generates a wake flow opposite in direction to that of the caudal fin, which creates propulsive jets with time-variant circulations and jet angles. Erectable/foldable fins provide a new design space for bioinspired underwater robots with structures that morph to adapt to different locomotor behaviors. This biorobotic fish model is also a potentially promising system for studying the dynamics of complex multifin fish swimming behaviors, including linear acceleration, steady swimming, and burst and coast, which are difficult to analyze in freely swimming fishes.

Three new species of Parapercis (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae) and first records of P. muronis (Tanaka, 1918) and P. rubromaculata Ho, Chang Shao, 2012 from Australia.

Three new species of pinguipedid fishes from northern Australia are described based on specimens collected by deep water demersal trawling. Parapercis algrahami sp. nov. is recorded from off Dunk Island, Qld, south to Newcastle, NSW, in 67-333 m. It is distinct in having five narrow transverse dark bars across the upper body and a dark spot dorsally on the caudal-fin base, 6 canine teeth in outer row at front of lower jaw, palatines with 1-2 rows of teeth, and predorsal scales extending far forward on the nape to the posterior portion of the interorbital region. Parapercis imamurai sp. nov. is recorded from off Saumarez Reef, Qld, south to off Coffs Harbour, NSW, in 256-405 m. It is unique in having colouration that includes a broad dusky bar from lower margin of eye across the suborbital region and three broad dusky bands crossing the body between the middle of the soft dorsal-fin and the caudal-fin base, 10 canine teeth in outer row at front of lower jaw, and the fifth dorsal-fin spine longest. Parapercis pogonoskii sp. nov. is unique in having a combination of three reddish-brown vertical bars on the upper body between the anterior and posterior portions of the soft dorsal fin, the soft dorsal fin with two large dusky blotches and caudal-fin base with a dusky blotch in the upper corner, 8-10 canine teeth in outer row at front of lower jaw, fifth dorsal-fin spine longest, angle of subopercle with a single broad spine, and angle of preopercle with 4-5 large widely-separated spines. Comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO 1) genetic marker utilised in DNA barcoding produced significant genetic divergences of at least 8.1% and 14.1% between P. algrahami sp. nov. and P. pogonoskii sp. nov. respectively and their closest sampled congeners. The geographic range of Parapercis rubromaculata Ho, Chang Shao, 2012 is extended from Taiwan to the southern hemisphere waters off Western Australia, based on specimens collected from Shark Bay, north to Ashmore Terrace, in depths of 56-107 m. A revised diagnosis for the species is presented, meristic, morphometric and DNA barcoding data for the two populations are compared, and a detailed description of the colouration of fresh and preserved specimens from Australia is provided. Previous records of Parapercis macrophthalma (Pietschmann, 1911) from Western Australia are established as misidentifications of Parapercis muronis (Tanaka, 1918) and the latter is thereby confirmed from the southern hemisphere and Australian waters for the first time. Comparative meristic, morphometric and DNA barcoding data is provided for populations of P. muronis from Japan, Philippines and Western Australia.

A new species of the sandperch genus Parapercis from the Philippines Perciformes: Pinguipedidae).

A new species sandperch, Parapercis altipinnis, is described based on the holotype collected from Cebu, the Philippines at 55-65 m by SCUBA. The new species belongs to the P. cylindrica complex and can be distinguished by an extremely high first dorsal fin, the first spine slightly longer than the head; 3 predorsal scales; 42 or 43 lateral-line scales; teeth present on vomer and palatines. The body is reddish dorsally and blackish ventrally, with 5 large brownish saddles alternating with white bands on dorsal surface; scattered dots on top of head, first dorsal fin and dorsal surface; first dorsal fin milky white with 5 black marks on anterior margin; a black broad band below eye; cheek and throat blackish red surrounding by white color; row of 10 short white bars along the lateral side of body axis; row of 9 deep red to blackish bars on lower half of lateral side of body; base of pelvic fin and lower margin of caudal fin blackish; rows of black spots on soft dorsal fin. A key to the species of the complex is provided.

Structure of supporting elements in the dorsal fin of percid fishes

The dorsal fin is one of the most varied swimming structures in Acanthomorpha, the spiny-finned fishes. This fin can be present as a single contiguous structure supported by bony spines and soft lepidotrichia, or it may be divided into an anterior, spiny dorsal fin and a posterior, soft dorsal fin. The freshwater fish family Percidae exhibits especially great variation in dorsal fin spacing, including fishes with separated fins of varying gap length and fishes with contiguous fins. We hypothesized that fishes with separated dorsal fins, especially those with large gaps between fins, would have stiffened fin elements at the leading edge of the soft dorsal fin to resist hydrodynamic loading during locomotion. For 10 percid species, we measured the spacing between dorsal fins and calculated the second moment of area of selected spines and lepidotrichia from museum specimens. There was no significant relationship between the spacing between dorsal fins and the second moment of area of the leading edge of the soft dorsal fin.

Five new species of Parapercis (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae) from southeast Asia and northwest Australia

Five new species of sandperch (Pinguipedidae: Parapercis) from southeast Asia and northwest Australia are described. Parapercis soliorta sp. nov., known from a single specimen acquired from the Iloilo Central Market, taken off Iloilo, Panay Island, Philippines, is readily distinguished by a unique colour pattern including a series of nine brilliant yellow-ringed red spots along the body and caudal fin. Parapercis rubricaudalis sp. nov. is described from 15 specimens trawled between Dampier and Cape Leveque, Western Australia in 70–119 m and a single specimen taken by aquarium fish collectors off Zambales, Luzon, Philippines. It has the posterior end of the opercular ridge armed with two or three strong spines, the margin of the preopercle, subopercle and interopercle strongly serrated, and colouration including six broad irregular orange to reddish bands across the body, and the pelvic fins and lower third of the caudal fin crimson-red. A complex of three closely related species, Parapercis flavipinna sp. nov. from the Philippines, Parapercis caudopellucida sp. nov. from Myanmar and Parapercis hoi sp. nov. from northwest Australia and the Philippines, share a series of six or seven irregular dusky double blotches along the sides, a series of small black spots along the base of the soft dorsal-fin, a pair of dusky blotches on the caudal-fin base, and mostly similar meristic values. Parapercis hoi sp. nov. is known from four specimens trawled off Broome, Western Australia, in 97–109 m and one specimen trawled in the Sibuyan Sea, Philippines, in 73–84 m. It may be distinguished from its two closest congeners by cycloid cheek scales, a distinctive anal-fin colouration, and lower pectoral-fin ray, gill raker and lateral-line scale counts. Parapercis caudopellucida sp. nov., trawled in 125–129 m in the Andaman Sea off southern Myanmar, is described from two specimens. It differs from its two closest congeners most obviously by cycloid cheek scales, caudal-fin colouration, and the presence of a dusky bar extending posteroventrally from the tip of the maxilla to the anteroventral edge of the preopercle. Parapercis flavipinna sp. nov. is described from two specimens acquired from the Iloilo Central Market, taken off Iloilo, Panay Island, in the Philippines. It is distinguished most readily by the presence of ctenoid cheek scales and colouration including rows of bright yellow spots on the anal and caudal fins, a yellow upper lip, a series of yellow streaks and spots on the head, and fleshy pectoral-fin base with a large dark purplish grey blotch followed by a distinct white-edged black bar.