Unique Color Pattern Research Articles

Taxonomy of the seasonal killifish genus Neofundulus in the Brazilian Pantanal (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae)

On the basis of fish collections made between 1991 and 2014, four species of the seasonal killifish genus Neofundulus are reported to occur in the Brazilian Pantanal, Paraguay river basin: N. parvipinnis, endemic to the Cuiabá and São Lourenço river drainages, in the northern portion of the Pantanal; N. rubrofasciatus, new species, from the Miranda river drainage, N. aureomaculatus, new species, from the Aquidauana river drainage, both in the south-eastern portion of the Pantanal; and N. paraguayensis, occurring in the Paraguay and Nabileque river floodplains, in the southern part of the Pantanal. The new species are diagnosed by unique colour patterns, and a combination of morphological characters states indicating that they are more closely related to N. parvipinnis and N. splendidus than to N. paraguayensis

A new species of crinoid-associated Periclimenes from Honduras (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae).

A new species of crinoid associated Periclimenes, P. rincewindi sp. nov. is described from the Bay Islands (Honduras) in the Caribbean. The species associates with the swimming crinoid, Analcidometra armata and displays a unique colour pattern. Morphologically, the new species is closely related to the other known crinoid associates in the Caribbean, specifically Periclimenes crinoidalis, from which it can be distinguished by a suite of relatively minor morphological features.

Athanas manticolus sp. nov., a new stomatopod-associated alpheid shrimp from Vietnam (Crustacea, Decapoda).

A new species of the alpheid shrimp genus Athanas Leach, 1814 is described based on a single specimen, an ovigerous female from Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam. Athanas manticolus sp. nov. differs from all other species of Athanas by the presence of a small post-rostral tubercle, combined with a minutely toothed rostrum, reduced extra-corneal teeth, and the absence of infra-corneal and supra-corneal teeth. In addition, the new species is characterised by its unique colour pattern, particularly by the red chromatophores disposed in randomly oriented, short, narrow streaks. As its name suggests, A. manticolus sp. nov. is commensally associated with the burrows of the nannosquillid mantis shrimp Bigelowina phalangium (Fabricius, 1798).

A new species of Microglanis(Siluriformes: Pseudopimelodidae) from the upper rio Tocantins basin, Goiás State, Central Brazil

A new species of Microglanis is described from the upper rio Tocantins basin, Barro Alto, Goiás State, Brazil. This species is distinguished from the others by presenting a unique color pattern, consisting of round spots in the flank between the larger dark brown blotches. Moreover, it can be distinguished by the combination of the following features: caudal fin emarginate, the upper lobe slightly larger than the lower, lateral line relatively long, reaching vertical through posterior margin of the pelvic fin, and light stripe on supra-occipital region absent or very narrow and with irregular shape.

A new species of the Hypostomus cochliodongroup (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the rio Aripuanã basin in Brazil

A new species of Hypostomus, H. dardanelos, is described from the rio Aripuanã basin, a southern tributary to the rio Madeira, in northern Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The new species is assigned to the Hypostomus cochliodon group by the possession of few teeth, spoon-shaped teeth, angle between dentaries usually less than 80°, and by the absence of a notch between hyomandibular and the metapterygoid. The new species can be diagnosed from its congeners by its unique color pattern of yellowish-brown ground color covered by well-defined dark spots of relatively equal size, evenly spaced and moderately set along the dorsal region of the body and fins, except on the ventrolateral region of the caudal peduncle and proximal region of anal and caudal fins, which are devoid of spots. The new species is further diagnosed by having teeth with very small lateral cusp, fused to the mesial one and almost imperceptible; by the absence of medial buccal papillae, and by nuptial odontodes all along the body (odontodes more pronounced in some few larger specimens).

Trimma helenae (Pisces; Gobioidei), a new species of gobiid fish from Indonesia.

A new species of Trimma, T. helenae, is described from the southeastern lagoon at Penemu Island off the southwest coast of Waigeo, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The new species has a unique colour pattern when alive, consisting of a yellow anterior half and red posterior half, with four small white spots along the midline of the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the caudal peduncle. It is also the only species of the genus to have a nasal sac that is flush with the snout surface (not raised above the level of the snout or only represented by a nasal pit), and which lacks a raised rim to the posterior nasal pore. Trimma helenae belongs to a group of 12 valid nominal species defined by having a broad bony interorbital region (width 80-100% of pupil diameter), but differs from all of but three of these in having only cycloid scales in the midline and on the sides of the nape. The other members of the group have mostly ctenoid scales in this region.

A new species of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Thailand

A new species of gekkonid, Hemiphyllodactylus chiangmaiensis sp. nov., from northwestern Thailand is separated from all other species of Hemiphyllodactylus by a set of features including: a maximum SVL of 41.2 mm; 8-12 chin scales extending transversely from unions of second and third infralabials and posterior margin of mental; lamellar formula on hand 3-3-3-3 or 3-4-3-3; lamellar formula on foot 3-3-3-3 or 3-4-4-4; continuous precloacal and femoral pores; a unique dorsal color pattern; and caecum and oviducts pigmented. These characters place this species in the speciose H. typus group. Hemiphyllodactylus chiangmaiensis sp. nov. fills a biogeographical hiatus in the distribution of this genus across northern Indochina.

Theridion zonulatum Thorell 1890, a senior synonym of Theridion zebrinusum Zhu 1998

Abstract — Examination of the type material and description of Theridion zonulatum Thorell 1890 shows that this name is a senior synonym of Theridion zebrinusum Zhu 1998.Key words — Araneae, spiders, Theridion , nomenclature Introduction During a visit to Khao Sok National Park, Thailand (8° 55fa, 98°35,E), on 12 November 2013 one of us [RE] ob­served a couple of strikingly colored theridiid spiders, with a strong sexual size dimorphism. The specimens, which were found in their web on a leaf in low shrubbery along a rainforest trail, were photographed (Fig. 1), but not col­lected. Nonetheless, the unique color pattern on the female abdomen, consisting of a series of 7 narrow black stripes on a white background, allowed initial identification as Theridion zebrinusum. This was confirmed by examining the epigyne of a second female collected on 22 March the following year at the same location (Fig. 2). T. zebrinusum was first described by Zhu (1998:165) based on a single fe­male collected on 11 November 1979 in Menglun, Mangla County, Yunnan, Southern China, close to the border to Myanmar and Laos (21°55fa, 101°15,E [21°25fa, 100°36' E, according to the original publication]), but is widely dis­tributed in Southeast Asia, with records from Brunei, Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and Thailand (Koh & Ming 2014).Another specimen was photographed by one of us [GA] in riverine forest in the Mulu National Park, below 250 m a.s.l., Sarawak, Borneo, East Malaysia (4°8fa, 114°55,E; Fig. 3) on 14 February 2008.The fact that the species is widespread, apparently quite common and visually striking caused the suspicion that it might have been reported earlier from the region. A search of the classical literature describing spiders from Southeast Asia, in particular the works of Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell, quickly revealed a strong candidate:

Description of the ‘stargazer mysid’ Mysidopsis zsilaveczi sp. nov. (Mysida, Mysidae, Leptomysinae) from the Cape Peninsula, South Africa

Mysidopsis zsilaveczi sp. nov. shows colour patterns on the eye that mislead the observer in thinking that the eyes are facing upwards, largely irrespective of their actual orientation, and have resulted in local divers naming these animals ‘stargazer mysids’. To date, only males of the new species could be sampled. Within the species-rich genus Mysidopsis G. O. Sars, 1864 the males of M. zsilaveczi are characterized, besides their unique colour patterns, by a subdivided antennal scale; by a small, mid-dorsal protuberance on the carapace; by endopods of all pleopods having a large, expanded, plate-like exite on the basal segment; by the comparatively large, two-segmented endopod of pleopod 1; by uropodal endopods that extend well beyond the telson; and by having a linguiform telson with spines all along its lateral margins. The new species also shows diverse, very small, lobe-like structures on basis and dactylus of thoracic endopods 3-8. Closely similar structures were for the first time also found in Mediterranean material of M. angusta G. O. Sars, 1864 and M. gibbosa G. O. Sars, 1864. This new species raises the number of southern African Mysidopsis species to nine, confirming the coastal waters of this subcontinent as being one of the major hotspots of diversity in this genus. An updated key to the Mysidopsis species from southern Africa (Namibia plus South Africa) is provided.

Explosive colorimetric discrimination using a smartphone, paper device and chemometrical approach

In this report we introduce a novel approach for an inexpensive and disposable colorimetric paper sensor array for the detection and discrimination of five explosives – triacetone triperoxide (TATP), hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), 4-amino-2-nitrophenol (4A2NP), nitrobenzene (NB), and picric acid (PA). The colorimetric sensor comprised a disposable paper array fabricated using a wax printer and three reagents (KI, creatinine, and aniline) that produced a unique color pattern for each explosive based on chemical interactions between the explosive species and the chemical reagents. The analytes were discriminated from one another as per the color change profiles, which were readily distinguishable after 15 min, using hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA); there were no misclassifications in any of the trials conducted. The colorimetric pattern values were extracted using a smartphone, custom-made software and a closed chamber to circumvent the illumination problems commonly found in other paper approach devices. A semi-quantitative analysis was performed and it was possible to use as low as 0.2 μg of explosives.

Acrossocheilus multistriatus, a new species of barbine fish (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from the Zhujiang River basin, South China

A new barbine cyprinid fish, Acrossocheilus multistriatus sp. nov., is described from the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) basin in South China. It is separated from all other barred congeners except A. monticola by its unique coloration pattern of 8-12 vs. 5-7 vertical dark bars on the dorsum and flank. Although 8 vertical black bars are also present in specimens of A. monticola, the new species is distinct from it by having a well-developed (vs. poor-developed) lower lip, with or without a median interruption (vs. with a median interruption which wider than 1/2 mouth width) on lower jaw, the lower jaw entirely covered (vs. uncoverd) by the lower lip, body depth 22.57%-25.22% SL (vs. 25.64%-32.26% SL). Additional characteristices as follows: last simple dorsal-fin ray soft without serration; dark stripes on membranes between dorsal-fin rays; dark stripes absent on membranes between anal fin rays; maxillary barbels longer than eye diameter, extending to posterior edge of eyes.

Anablepsoides lineasoppilatae, a new killifish (Teleostei: Rivulidae) from south-eastern Peru

Anablepsoides lineasoppilatae, spec. nov. from south-eastern Peru (Departamento Puno and Madre de Dios) is here described. It is a member of the A. limoncochae group and differs from all the other species of this assemblage in its unique colour pattern. In A. lineasoppilatae, the red striped pattern on the flank reaches only to the posterior area of the pectoral fin (versus stripes reaching to the humeral region). Further it distinguished by a grey anal fin (versus yellow), by an inferior lip without any distinctive coloration (versus red inferior lip), by a dorsal fin with a low number of dots (versus transverse stripes on the middle of the dorsal fin) and by an absence of a dark margin on the dorsal fin (rather than a presence).

A new killifish of the genus Melanorivulus from the upper Paraná river basin, Brazil (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae)

Melanorivulus leali, new species, from the Grande river drainage, south-eastern Brazil, is described. It differs from all other congeners by possessing a unique colour pattern, comprising red dots on body side arranged in chevron shaped rows, a broad dark grey stripe along the whole flank, flank light blue in males, dorsal and ventral portions of the caudal fin light orangish red in males, conspicuous orangish red bars on the middle of the caudal fin in males, and dorsal portion of the caudal-fin base with a small vertically elongated black spot. The presence of a black bar on the anterior and another on the posterior portion of the iris almost in contact with the pupil and the shape of the chevron-like rows of red spots on the flank, in which the angle is placed on the midline of the flank indicate that M. leali is more closely related to congeners endemic to the Paraná-Paraguay river system than to congeners endemic to the Amazonas river basin. This first record of the genus Melanorivulus from the Grande river drainage suggests that it may have formerly occupied a larger region of this basin, presently under severe process of deforestation and aquatic habitat decline.

Archeterokrohnia docrickettsae (Chaetognatha: Phragmophora: Heterokrohniidae), a new species of deep-sea arrow worm from the Gulf of California

A new species of deep-sea chaetognath, Archeterokrohnia docrickettsae n. sp. is described from a single specimen captured by the ROV Doc Ricketts ~2 m above the sea floor at 3245 m depth in the Pescadero Basin of the Gulf of California, Mexico. This is the first record of a living specimen of Archeterokrohnia and the second known occurrence of Archeterokrohnia in the Pacific Ocean. In life, the head and trunk sections were orange, while the tail section was translucent, a unique colour pattern not before seen in chaetognaths. Observations of its swimming behaviour in situ are given. Comparisons are made with the three other species of Archeterokrohnia. At 28.5 mm in length, this is the largest known species of the genus. An artificial key to the four species of Archeterokrohnia is presented.

Aphyosemion grelli (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae), a new species from the Massif du Chaillu, southern Gabon

A new species of Aphyosemion is described from Gabon, based on ten specimens collected in a small stream belonging to the hydrographic system of the Ikoy River on the northwestern edge of the Massif du Chaillu. Aphyosemion grelli is distinguished from all congeners by possessing a unique colour pattern of the unpaired and pelvic fins in the female consisting of the combination of a yellow basal portion and greyish to dark grey broad margin. Males of the new species share the black margins of the unpaired fins with A. congicum, A. labarrei, A. ocellatum, A. passaroi, and A. teugelsi, but differ from these by the combination of colouration characters and morphology. Phylogenetic relationships of the new species are still unclear; a possible close relationship with the A. coeleste group is tentatively excluded because, although geographically close, there are differences on flank colour pattern, head length and number of anal-fin rays.

Pethia aurea (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), a new species of barb from West Bengal, India, with redescription of P. gelius and P. canius.

Fishes currently assigned to Pethia gelius Hamilton from West Bengal are shown to belong to a closely-related group of three species: P gelius, its erstwhile synonym P canius Hamilton and a new species, P aurea. The three species are distinguished from all other species of Pethia by having the lateral line incomplete, with 3-4 pored scales; 20-26 scales in lateral series on body; ½4-5/l/2-3½ scales in transverse line on body; 8-9 predorsal scales; barbels absent and by a unique colour pattern consisting of two or three black blotches on the body (which, however, fade on preservation), the first behind the opercle, the second beneath the origin of the dorsal fin, extending to the mid-lateral region, and the third above the origin of the anal fin. A black spot is also present at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. Additionally, P gelius is distinguished by having the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray thick, straight, serrated, with 20-25 serrae on its posterior margin; a snout length of 6.1-8.4% standard length (SL); a body depth of 32.6-37.7% SL; and a dorsal-fin height of 19.4-22.8% SL. Pethia canius is additionally distinguished by having a snout length of 8.9-11.8% SL; a body depth of 28.1-32.2% SL; and dorsal-fin height of 26.9-32.8% SL. Pethia aurea, new species, is additionally distinguished from all its congeners by having ½5/1/3-3½ scales in transverse line on body; 9 pre-dorsal scales; and last unbranched dorsal-fin ray slender, serrated, with 19-22 serrae on posterior margin.

Krobia petitella, a new species of cichlid fish from the Berbice River in Guyana (Teleostei: Cichlidae).

Krobia petitella, new species, is described from the Berbice River drainage of northeastern Guyana. It is distinguished from all other described species of Krobia (K. guianensis Regan, K. itanyi Puyo and K. xinguensis Kullander) as well as the closely related 'Aequidens' potaroensis and 'A'. paloemeuensis by tubed scales of the upper lateral line extending caudally into a line bisecting the lateral band blotches posterior to the mid-lateral spot. Krobia petitella n. sp. can be further diagnosed by the anterior lateral band spots lying immediately ventral to the upper lateral line, instead of being separated from the upper lateral line by a complete row of scales in all other species. Additionally, K. petitella n. sp. possesses a unique lateral coloration pattern formed by the combination of six vertical bars and four lateral band spots (vs. K. itanyi 5 bars/3 or 4 spots, K. guianensis 5/5, K. xinguensis 7/6, 'Aequidens' potaroensis 6/6, 'A'. paloemeuensis 5/5). The presence of Krobia petitella n. sp. in reaches of the Berbice River drainage in the Upper Demerara-Berbice region provides a novel locality for the genus in the Guianas and suggests the Berbice River has been isolated from the rest of nearby Guianese basins, particularly the Essequibo and the Corantijn.

Uma nova espécie de perereca-marsupial (Anura: Hemiphractidae: Gastrotheca ) dos Andes do norte de Perú

A new species of marsupial frog, genus Gastrotheca, is described from high-elevation grasslands in the Andes in Región Amazonas in northern Peru, where even calling males are well hidden in deep moss. The new species is distinguished from all congeners by its unique color pattern that includes a narrow, black-bordered, yellow middorsal stripe. The species apparently belongs to the Gastrotheca plumbea Group, which ranges in the Andes from northern Colombia to northern Peru.

Description of a new species of the genus Xenophrys Günther, 1864 (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from Mount Jinggang, China, based on molecular and morphological data

A new species, Xenophrys jinggangensis sp. nov., is described based on a series of specimens collected from Mount Jing-gang, Jiangxi Province, Eastern China. The new species can be easily distinguished from other known congeners by mor-phology, morphometrics and molecular data of the mitochondrial 16SrRNA gene. The new species is characterized by itssmall size with adult females measuring 38.4–41.6 mm in snout-vent length and males measuring 35.1–36.7 mm; headlength approximately equal to head width; tympanum large and distinct, about 0.8 times of eye diameter; vomerine teethon two weak ridges; tongue not notched behind; relative finger length II < I < IV < III; slight lateral fringes present ondigits; toes bases with thick, fleshy web; dorsum with tubercles and swollen dorsolateral folds; large pustules scattered on flanks; and unique color patterns. The new species represents the thirty-first known Xenophrys in China.

Opistognathus pardus, a new species of jawfish (Teleostei: Opistognathidae) from the Western Indian Ocean

A new species of jawfish, Opistognathus pardus, is described based on a single specimen, 98.8 mm SL, recently collectedfrom the Western Indian Ocean off Quilon (Kerala), India. The combination of a rigid maxilla without flexible lamina pos-teriorly, a unique color pattern in which most of the head is covered with small, irregular-shaped, dark spots, dorsal-finrays XI, 11, and the outermost segmented pelvic-fin ray tightly bound to adjacent ray, with the interradial membrane notincised distally distinguishes the new species from other congeners. This is the fourth species of Opistognathus known from the coast of India or Sri Lanka. A range extension for O. macrolepis is also reported.