Table Of ContentMemoirsofMuseumVictoria67: 15-18(2010)
ISSN 1447-2546(Print) 1447-2554(On-line)
http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/Books-and-Journals/Journals/Memoirs-of-Museum-Victoria
A new species ofParaulopus (Aulopiformes: Paraulopidae) from seamounts ofthe
Tasman Sea
MartinF. Gomon
SciencesDepartment,MuseumVictoria,GPOBox666,Melbourne,Victoria3001,Australia([email protected])
Abstract Gomon, M.F. 2010.A new species ofParaulopus (Aulopiformes: Paraulopidae) from seamounts ofthe Tasman Sea.
MemoirsofMuseumVictoria67: 15-18.
AnewspeciesoftheParaulopusnigripinnisspeciescomplexofthefamilyParaulopidaeis describedfromfour
specimenstakenonseamountsandrisesinthewestern,centralandeasternpartsoftheTasmanSeabetween30°and35°S.
Itisdistinguishablefromothermembersofthecomplexinhaving8-9anal finrays; 19pectoralfinrays;48vertebrae;
19-24predorsalscales;5.5scalesabovethelateralline;alargepelvicfin(length22.8-28.4%SL),distalmarginofpelvic
findeeplyconcave,separatingthefinintoinnerandouterlobes,withtheinnerlobemuchshorterthantheouter(theratio
ofthelengthsoftheoutertotheinneris 1.7-2.1);twoprominent,broadbrownbandsonthesideofthebodyposteriorto
thedorsalfin;abroadblackmarginalstripecoveringthedistalthirdofthedorsalfin,withadistinctbroadwhitesubmarginal
stripe;awhitemarginalbandandablacksubmarginalbandonthedistalthirdoftheupperlobeofthecaudalfin;ablack
marginalbandontheventrallobeofthecaudalfin;andthebuccalcavityalmostentirelyblack.
Keywords Paraulopidae,Paraulopus,sp.nov.,TasmanSea
Introduction InstitutionalcodesarethoseofLevitonetal.(1985).
Scrutiny of museum specimens referrable to the recently Paraulopusbalteatussp.nov.Bandedcucumberfish
described genus Paraulopus (Sato and Nakabo, 2002a) has
revealed a surprising diversity inAustralian and New Zealand Figure 1;table 1
waters(SatoandNakabo,2002b;GomonandSato,2004;Satoet Materialexamined.Holotype:AMS1.44606-001 (320),TasmanSea,
al.,2010).MembersofthisIndo-WestPacificgenusareseparable Australia,NewSouthWales,BrownsMountoffBotanyBay34°02'S,
into two complexes: the Northern Hemisphere and tropical 151°39'E(estimated),430 m, 17June 2008, drop line, FVBlueEye,
Paraulopus oblongus complex, and a Paraulopus nigripinnis collected by Jurgen Konrad and retained by Pascal Geraghty,
complex — sofarknownonlyfromcooltropicalandtemperate DepartmentofPrimaryIndustries,NSWFisheries.
Australasian localities. Species ofthe latterwere distinguished Paratypes:NMNZP.10455(246),ThreeKingsRidge,30°45.00'S,
by Sato et al. (2010). Species in the Tasman Sea separating 173°57.00'E,537-677m,6July 1962,RVTui,beamtrawl;NMNZP.
AustraliaandNewZealandusuallyoccur,atleastinpart,atdeep- 31566S8e6pt(e2m78b)e,rL1o9r9d8,HFoVweArRrioswe;,N34M°0V9.A202'2S0,71162(3°0551).,80L'oEr,d3H6o5w-7e9R3isme,,
shelforupper-slopedepths ofoneofthetwo countries.Several 33°38'S-33°38'S, 162°2rE-162028'E, 300-750 m, 22 March 2001,
specimens of a previously undescribed species in the P. demersaltrawl,KenSmith,MAFRI.
nigripinnis complex, firstcollectednearLordHowe Island, are
known from seamounts and rises in the Tasman Sea, but Diagnosis.Analfinrays8-9;pectoralfinrays 19;vertebrae48;
apparentlydonotoccurinAustraliancontinentalwaters,andso predorsal scales 19-24; scalesabovelateralline 5.5; pelvicfin
far have not been taken within New Zealand’s Exclusive large, length 22.8-28.4% SL, larger in males than females,
EconomicZone.Adescriptionofthatspeciesispresentedhere. inner lobe much shorter than outer lobe, ratio of lengths of
outer lobe to inner 1.7-2.1; sides with two prominent broad
Materialsandmethods brown bands posterior to dorsal fin; broad black marginal
stripe covering distal third of dorsal fin with distinct broad
Terminology and methodology mostly follow Sato et al. white submarginal stripe; distal third ofupperlobe ofcaudal
(2010).The pelvic fin in species with adeeply concave distal finwithwhitemarginalbandandblacksubmarginalbandand
margin are separated into distinct inner and outer lobes; the ventrallobewithblackmarginalband;buccalcavitypigmented
lengths ofthe lobes are measured from the base of the first black forward to jaws; males with black anal fin margin
pelvic fin ray to the tip of the longest ray of each lobe. anteriorlyanddistally,analfinoffemaleslackingdarkmargins.
16 M.F. Gomon
Figure 1.Paraulopus balteatus sp.nov., holotype,AMS 1.44606-001,320 mm SL, male,Tasman Sea,Australia, New SouthWales, Browns
MountoffBotanyBay34°02'S, 151°39'E(est.),430m,photobyS.Humphreys(AMS).
Description.Dorsal finrays 11; anal finrays 9; caudal finrays decreasing in length; first two rays unbranched, subsequent
1+8+1-I-9-I-8-I-1-I-8-I-1; pectoral fin rays 19; pelvic fin rays 9; raysbranched;verticalthroughoriginoffinclosertooriginof
vertebrae 19+29;laterallinescales48-49; scalesabovelateral pelvic fin than origin of pectoral fin; adipose fin small but
line 5.5; scales below lateral line 3.5; predorsal scales 19-24; obvious, positioned just in advance of vertical through
gillrakers8-9+18-20=27-28.(Seetable 1 formorphometric posteriorendofanalfinbase.Analfinshortbased,ofmoderate
values). height, first ray shortest, length of subsequent rays subequal,
Cigar-shaped body, tapering evenly to narrow caudal firsttwounbranched,othersbranched;analfinorigincloserto
peduncle;anusaboutmidwaybetweenpelvic-finbaseandanal- base oftail than to origin ofpelvic fin. Caudal fin distinctly
finorigin.Headbluntlypointed,rathercylindrical,notdepressed; forked, upperlobe slightly longerthan lower. Posteriortip of
dorsal outlineofheadandnapenearly straightinlateralprofile; pectoral fin reaching beyond origin of pelvic fin but not to
snoutshort.Nostrilsovoid,positionedmidwaybetweeneyeand verticalthrough centre oflongestray;fourthraylongest; first
tip ofsnout, subdividedbytransverse flap ofskin. Superocular ray simple, others branched.Posteriortip ofdepressed pelvic
ridge on either side above central half of eye. Eye large, finreaching abouthalfwaybetweenpelvicfinoriginandanal
positioned dorsolaterally, on dorsal profile of head. Posterior fin origin; posterior margin distinctly concave; inner ray
edge of preopercle smooth, curved at angle. Mouth terminal; distinctly shorterthan fin length; firstray unbranched, others
dorsoposteriorcornerofmaxillabelow centre ofeye.Teeth on branched;tipofouterlobeofpelvicfinexpandedintoafleshy,
jawsfine,inbroadstripextendinganteriorlyontolateralsurfaces pad-likestructure.
ofpremaxilla and dentary, tapering to narrow strip posteriorly. Alarge species,largestspecimenexamined320mmSL.
Vomerineteethfine,innarrowtransverseband,continuouswith
posteriorlytapering band ofteeth on exposed edge ofpalatine; Pigmentationinalcohol.Bodyduskydorsally,undersidepale,
hyoid teeth fine, in ovoid patch on each side, axis angled withtwo broadbrownbands encircling body exceptventrally,
anteromesiallyatanterolateral comeroftongue;teethonlateral first posterior to dorsal fin, second posterior to anal fin, and
peripheryslightlyenlarged.Gillrakersonupperarmoffirstarch several broad brown blotches dorsally on side, one below
short;thoseonlowerlimbmoderatelylongandslender,withone posterior half of dorsal fin, second between bands (thirdjust
ortworudimentaryrakersatbothdorsalandventralendsofarch. priortocaudalfininparatypes).Snout,dorsalpartofcheekand
Scales large, cycloid. Predorsal scales extending forward operculum very dark. Buccal lining of mouth black; tongue
toverticalthroughposteriorextentofeye.Cheekscaleslarge, blackwithwhitetipandlateralmargins.Dorsalfindarkbrown
covering cheek and preopercle, in aboutthree poorly defined basallywithbroadblackmarginal stripeoccupying distalhalf
rows.Laterallinepositionedmidlaterallyonside,anteriorend (tothird) offinanteriorly, andbroadwhite submarginal stripe.
slightlyelevated. Adipose fin dusky. Anal fin white with narrow black margin
Dorsal fin moderately tall with short base, second ray anteriorly and distally in males; entirely white in females.
longest but only slightly longer than first, subsequent rays Caudal fin dark basally with broad pale vertical intermediate
n 82
NewTasmanSeaParaulopus 17
Table 1.SelectedproportionalmeasurementsandcountsfortypesofParaulopusbalteatussp.nov.
Holotype Paratypes( =3)
Range Mean±SD
Standardlength(mm) 320 246-305
% SL
Bodydepth 21.6 17.8-19.7 18.7+1.0
Bodywidth 18.3 15.8-21.5 17.9+3.2
Headlength 30.0 30.6-32.6 31.5+1.0
Caudalpeduncledepth 8.1 5.8-7.6 6.9+0.9
Caudalpedunclelength 19.6 20.2-21.8 20.8+0.8
Predorsallength 37.8 39.2-40.0 39.7+0.4
Preanallength 75.0 71.6-74.4 73.3+1.5
Prepectorallength 30.4 31.3-32.9 31.9+0.9
Prepelviclength 42.5 40.7-43.6 41.8+1.6
Preanuslength 55.0 56.1-59.3 58.0+1.7
Pelvicfinorigintoanus 15.2 16.4-19.1 17.6+1.4
Anustoanal finorigin 18.5 15.6-16.2 16.0+0.3
Dorsal finbase 15.1 12.8-15.0 14.1+1.1
Dorsal finheight 24.9 21.7-28.3 25.7+3.6
Dorsal finlastray 8.0-17.0 12.5+6.4
Anal finbase 7.6 6.7-8.3 7.4+0.
Anal finheight 7.5 5.9-9.7 8.4+2.
Pectoralfinlength 22.0 20.8-21.6 21.2+0.4
Pelvicfinlength 26.5 22.8-28.4 26.2+3.0
Pelvicfininnerlobelength 15.1 12.6-14.9 13.8+1.2
Interpelvicwidth 15.0 13.3-16.1 14.2+1.6
% HL
Headdepth 57.8 49.7-53.1 51.8+1.8
Orbitdiameter 34.9 36.1-38.8 37.7+1.4
Postorbitallength 43.2 38.0-40.5 39.3+1.3
Headwidth 55.9 55.8-57.0 56.5+0.6
Interorbitalwidth 10.9 9.5-11.0 10.2+0.8
Upperjawlength 44.5 43.1-43.8 43.5+0.4
Snoutlength 26.0 23.2-26.6 24.7+1.8
Adiposefinlength 5.7 6.2-7.4 6.6+0.7
%
pelvicfinlength
Pelvicfininnerlobelength 57.0 48.7-55.4 52.7+3.6
Meristicvalues Holotype Range
Dorsal-finrays 11 11
Anal-finrays 9 8-9
Pectoral-finrays 19 19
Pelvic-finrays 9 9
Gillrakers 8+19-27 8-9+ 18-20-27-28
Poredlateral-linescales 47 48-49
Scalesabovelateralline 5.5 5.5
Scalesbelowlateralline 3.5 3.5
Predorsal scales 24 19-21
Vertebrae 19+29 19+29
HL=headlength; SD=standarddeviation;SL=standardlength
18 M.F.Gomon
bandandnarrowwhitemarginalbandwithblacksubmarginal black margin distally. Males also have a fine black margin
bandonupperlobeandnarrowblackmarginalbandondorsal anteriorlyanddistallyontheanalfinthatismissinginfemales,
two-thirds oflower lobe. Pectoral fin dusky. Pelvic fin rather while the dorsal fin has a fine, starkwhite distal margin that
dark with white margin on distal edge and distally along doesnotappeartofeatureinfemales.
anterioredge;fineblackdistaledge(inmalesonly). Despitetherecentincreaseofcollectingincentrallatitudes
Fresh colour. Body bluish-grey above with pearlescent white oftheTasmanSea,this speciesisknownonlyfromfourlarge
underside and iridescent blue sheen; bands and blotches specimens, one of which was taken on hook and line. Its
brownish.Blackmarkingsonfinsintenselyso;otherdarkareas absence fromtrawl collections may infer apreference by the
(described above) greyish. Pectoral and outer parts of pelvic speciesforahard-bottomhabitat,whichisusuallyavoidedby
fins shadedyellow. trawl fishers.ThefactthatP.nigripinnis,P. novaeseelandiae
Etymology.The name balteatus, fromthe Latinfor ‘belted or and P. okamurai have also been taken with hook and line
banded’, in reference to the distinctive broad brown bands on (Roberts, 1997, 2004; Stewart, 2006; Struthers, National
thesidesofthebodyinthis species. MuseumofNewZealand,pers.comm.,March2010) suggests
thatspeciesofthisgenusarecarnivorous.Individualsprobably
Distribution. Known only from the Tasman Sea at 30-35°S, restontheirsubstantialpelvicfinswaitingforpotentialpreyto
from Browns Mount southeast of Botany Bay, New South come to them — a behaviour common to a number of other
Wales, to the Three Kings Ridge just north of the northern membersoftheorder.
boundary ofNewZealand’s EEZ,indepthsno shallowerthan
300mandnogreaterthan800m.
Acknowledgments
Comments.ThisspecieswasinitiallyconfusedwithParaulopus ThankstoK.Graham,whorecognisedthe significanceofthe
thohakasatmoeucqrcuauairlls(ySiandtitoshteainnsdcatmNiaveekaarbbeloaa.,ckI2t-0aa0tn2tdba-)iwn,hsiaatcesl-iopmsaieltlatyrerlreynleladatredgdoecrsosianzlgeeaannneddr csoplelcecitmieonn;deasnidgnKa.tedSmaisthh,olMotAyFpReIa,ndViscecuDrPeId,itwhfoortshiemiAlaMrlSy
caudal fins.Thepatternofthe fins in P.okamuraiisthebasis conveyed a paratypic specimen to NMV. Assistance in
forits New Zealand vernacularname, ‘magpie cucumberfish’. examining specimens camefromM.McGroutherandA.Hay
Thetwo are separableby details ofthe finpatterns, aswell as (AMS), C. Struthers (NMNZ) and D. Bray (NMV). The
the presence in the new species of prominent broad brown photograph of the holotype was taken by S. Humphreys
bands onthe side ofthe body ofadults (versus, atmost, much (AMS). Helpful comments on the manuscript were provided
smaller brown blotches midlaterally and a smaller brownish byC.Roberts.TraveltoNewZealandwhereNMNZspecimens
saddle behind the adipose fin), 8-9 anal fin rays (versus were examinedwasfunded, inpart, by Biosystematics ofNZ
9-11 rays,rarely9), 19pectoral finrays(versus 16-17),andan EEZFishesproject(NZFoundationforResearchScienceand
entirely black interior of the mouth, except for the tongue, TechnologycontractC01X0502/I02-BBCF).
which has white atthe tip and along the lateral edges (versus
entirely pale). The same characteristics also separate References
P.balteatusfrommostotherspeciesinthecomplex.Itspectoral
fin count overlaps only with P. novaeseelandiae (Sato and Gomon,M.F.andSato,T.2004.Anewcucumberfish(Paraulopidae)
Nakabo,2002b),whichrarelyhas19rays;onlyP.melanostomus of the Paraulopus nigripinnis complex from Central Eastern
(Sato etal., 2010) has the buccal cavity completely linedwith Australia.RecordsoftheAustralianMuseum56:195-199.
black, although the throat of some of the others is darkly Leviton, A.E., Gibbs, R.H., Jr, Heal, E. and Dawson, C.E. 1985.
pigmented.Manyofthespecies,especiallyatasmallsize,have Standards in herpetology and ichthyology, part 1. Standard
brownish spots or small blotches along the side, often symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in
herpetologyandichthyology.Copeia1985:802-832.
horizontally alignedmidlaterally, andlikeP.novaeseelandiae
have abrownish saddleunderorbehindthe adipose fin.None Roberts,C.D. 1997.Cucumberfish.NewZealandFishingNews,Dec.
ofthose blotches, however, are expanded to broad bands that Rober2t0(s1,2)C:.D48.,2100fi4g.. New cucumberfishes described. New Zealand
nearlyencirclethesideasinP.balteatus.Thenewspeciesalso
has among the largest pelvic fins ofthe genus, the length of Sato,FiTs.hianngdNNeawksa,boM,arT..2270(03)2:a.44P,ar1afuilg.opidaeandParaulopus,anew
whichisonlymatchedbyP.longianalis(Satoetal.,2010),and family andgenusofaulopiformfisheswithrevisedrelationships
to some extent P. novaeseelandiae, but the inner lobe ofthe withintheorder.IchthyologicalResearch49:25-46.
pelvic fin in P. balteatus is much shorterrelative to the outer Sato, T. and Nakabo, T. 2002b. Two new species of Paraulopus
lobe than in the others (length of outer lobe relative to inner (Osteichthys: Aulopiformes) from New Zealand and Eastern
lobe 1.7-2.1 versus 1.3-1.7). Australia,andcomparisonswithP.nigripinnis.SpeciesDiversity
As in most othermembers ofthe P. nigripinnis complex, 7:393-404.
sexual dimorphismisquiteapparentinthis species,involving Sato, T., Gomon, M.F. and Nakabo, T. 2010. Two new Australian
thesizeandcolourationofthepelvicfinsandpigmentationof species of the Paraulopus nigripinnis complex (Aulopiformes:
thedorsal andanal fins.Maleshavealargerpelvicfin(length Paraulopidae).IchthyologicalResearch57:254-262.
26.5-28.4% SL, versus 22.8% SL in females), and the Stewart A.L. 2006. Duskyfin cucumberfish. New Zealand Fishing
pigmentationofthesefinsismuchdarkerinmaleswithafine News,Nov.29(11):36,1 fig.
