Volume 16, Issue 3 – 15 July 2010

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Erwin Schraml and Herbert Tichy: A new species of Haplochromis, Haplochromis katonga n. sp. (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from the Katonga River, Uganda, pp. 81-92

Abstract

A new species of the genus Haplochromis, H. katonga, is described from nine specimen, ranging from 37.1 to 68.7 mm SL, collected from the Katonga River, Uganda. It differs from other species of the genus by its relatively small size, the combination of morphological characters (such as the relatively large eye, a low number of scales in the midlateral line (<31 vs. >30), a smaller body depth than in other fluviatile species (32.7 vs. 35-40 % SL in Astatotilapia), and its coloration (in males: bluish to dark grey-brown on dorsum, flanks greenish, ventral parts yellowish, with reddish areas in unpaired fins). It is the only known Haplochromis species from the Katonga River, which connects the Lake Victoria and Lake George basins. It shows affinities to the genera Astatotilapia and Enterochromis (as defined by Greenwood 1979, 1980).

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Haplochromis katonga n. sp., male, holotype ZSM 30362, photographed shortly after capture. Photo by E. Schraml.

Thomas H. Fraser: A new deepwater species of the genus Apogonichthyoides (Apogonidae) from the Timor Sea, north-western Australia, pp. 93-100

Abstract

A new species, Apogonichthyoides miniatus, is described from 27 specimens collected from the Timor Sea, north-western Australia in 95 m. A diminutive deepwater species, smaller as adults than other species in the A. nigripinnis group (11 species), differs in color from all other known species (19) of Apogonichthyoides by having an overall reddish head, body and fins, a rounded non-ocellate darkish body spot above the pectoral fin followed by three faint midline darkish marks. This species also has low gill raker counts, high pectoral fin-ray counts and a rounded caudal fin. Selected osteological characters are figured for the caudal skeleton, a portion of the dorsal fin with a small visible eighth spine and a lateral-line scale. Representatives of at least four other genera share a visible eighth dorsal spine.

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Post-mortem colors of the holotype, Apogonichthyoides miniatus, NMV A29729-003, 35.0 mm SL, a male from 95m in the Timor Sea, north-western Australia. Digital photograph by D. Bray

Maribel Carrera- Fernández, Felipe Galván-Magaña and B. Patricia Ceballos- Vázquez: Reproductive biology of the blue shark Prionace glauca (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) off Baja California Sur, México, pp. 101-110

Abstract

The blue shark Prionace glauca (Linnaeus) is the most abundant species in the artisanal shark fishery off the western coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. However, there is no biological information on the reproduction of blue sharks in this area. A total of 1033 sharks (631 males and 402 females) were sampled from August 2000 to March 2003. The sex ratio was 0.63F:1M. The size at maturity (L₅₀) for males was 184 cm total length (TL) and 196 cm TL for females. The litter size ranged from 9 to 64, with a mode of 33 embryos. Ovulation, fertilization, presence of uterine eggs and the smallest embryos were observed in August and September; whereas complete embryos were recorded in May and July, with a gestation period of 9 to 11 months. We found compound spermatozeugmata in the seminal vesicle of mature males and sperm in the oviducal glands of females in different maturity stages, which indicate long-term sperm storage. We confirm that the main portion of the shark fishery in Baja California Sur is supported by juvenile sharks.

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Blue shark, Prionace glauca, Punta Lobos, in Baja California Sur, México. Photo by S. Espinoza-García.

Aaron P. Jenkins and Kinikoto Mailautoka: Hippichthys albomaculosus, a new species of freshwater pipefish (Pisces: Syngnathidae) from Fiji, pp. 111-116

Abstract

A new species of freshwater pipefish, Hippichthys albomaculosus, is described on the basis of 22 specimens, collected from Vanua Levu Island, Republic of Fiji. This species is distinguished from its closest relatives by a combination of characters that include: 13 trunk rings, total rings usually 48; dorsal fin origin on first tail ring; scutella not keeled; pectoral fin rays modally 14, trunk depth about 1.7 in head length, anal ring depth about 2.8 in head length; series of 10-11 white ocelli with dark margins bilateral to median longitudinal ventral keel and below inferior trunk ridge.

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Hippichthys albomaculosus, USPS 5941, female paratype, 86.0 mm SL, lower Dreketi River, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji,aquarium photo. Photo by K. Mailautoka

Sergey Bogorodsky, Marcelo Kova I and Helen K. Larson: The first records of four gobies (Pisces: Gobiidae) in the Red Sea, pp. 117-128

Abstract

Four coral and coral-rock associated gobiid species (Feia nympha, Gobiodon prolixus, Pleurosicya plicata and Trimmatom nanus) were collected recently in southern Egypt, Sudan and Yemen; the last three species were also photographed underwater. These findings represent the first records of these species in the Red Sea. Data on morphology, including diagnostic features in comparison with similar species of the Red Sea and descriptions of live coloration based on underwater photographs, are provided. Some notes on the ecology of each species are included and the first data on associated corals for P. plicata is given. In addition, a Gobiodon species was identified as the undescribed Gobiodon sp.1 previously reported from the Gulf of Aqaba. Trimmatom nanus is now the smallest fish presently recorded from the Red Sea.

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Gobiodon sp.1, freshly collected specimen, female, 31.6 mm, NMW 95236, Shams Alam, southern Egypt, 9 June2008. Photo by S. Bogorodsky.

Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Douglas Fenner: Amphiprion pacificus, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Wallis Island, pp. 129-138

Abstract

Amphiprion pacificus n. sp. is described on the basis of four specimens, 30.9-48.3 mm SL, from Wallis Island and Tonga in the western Pacific. Underwater photographs also reveal its presence on coral reefs of Fiji and Samoa. The new taxon is nearly identical in appearance to A. akallopisos from the Indian Ocean. Both species are generally pinkish brown, grading to orange or yellowish on the lower half of the head and side and possess a white stripe on the dorsal midline of the head extending from just anterior to the eye to the dorsal fin origin, continuing along the base of the dorsal fin to the caudal fin base. However, genetic results indicate that A. pacificus is more closely related to A. sandaracinos from Western Australia and the Indo-Malayan region, forming a moderately supported clade that is well differentiated from A. akallopisos. Aside from genetic differences A. sandaracinos differs from A. pacificus in having a uniform orange colouration and the white forehead stripe extends onto the upper lip. There also appears to be modal differences in the number of soft dorsal and anal rays (usually 19 vs. 18 and 13 vs. 12 respectively for A. pacificus and A. sandaracinos).

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Underwater photos of Amphiprion pacificus, adult, approximately 60 mm SL, Fiji. Photo by J. Jensen