RESEARCH ARTICLE
Review of the Indo-Pacific Flasherwrasses
of the genus Paracheilinus (Perciformes: Labridae),
with descriptions of three new species
Gerald R. Allen, Mark V.
Erdmann, & N.L. Astria Yusmalinda
Abstract
The Indo-Pacific labrid fish
genus Paracheilinus now contains 20 species.
Most of the currently known species inhabit the mega-diverse
East Indian region including Paracheilinus angulatus,
P. carpenteri, P. cyaneus, P. filamentosus,
P. flavianalis, P. lineopunctatus, P.
nursalim, P. rennyae, P. togeanensis,
P. walton, as well as three recent discoveries
described as new species herein. Five species are
known from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, including
P. attenuatus (Seychelles and Kenya), P. hemitaeniatus
(Madagascar and South Africa), P. mccoskeri
(Kenya, Comoro Islands and Arabian Gulf to Andaman
Sea), P. octotaenia (Red Sea), and P. piscilineatus
(Mauritius). The remaining two species, P. bellae
and P. rubricaudalis, are mainly confined to
Micronesia/Marshall Islands and PNG/Fiji/Vanuatu,
respectively. Members of the genus are typically distinguished
on the basis of their caudal-fin and dorsal-fin shapes,
the presence or absence of elongate filamentous dorsal-fin
rays, and, in particular, the color of terminal-phase
(TP) males, including their dramatic nuptial-display
patterns. Paracheilinus paineorum n. sp. is
described from 8 specimens, 43.1-70.0 mm SL, collected
in Indonesia (southwestern Flores, Sulawesi, Nusa
Penida, East Borneo, and Seribu Islands) in depths
of 10-65 m. It is closely related to the allopatric
P. filamentosus and P. xanthocirritus n.
sp., differing mainly in coloration (particularly
the bright red dorsal-fin markings) and larger maximum
size (to at least 70 mm SL). Paracheilinus xanthocirritus
n. sp. is described from 12 specimens, 33.9-49.3 mm
SL, collected in the South China Sea at the Anambas
Islands of Indonesia and Brunei in depths of 15-25
m. In contrast to the closely related P. paineorum
n. sp., TP males of this species have a mostly yellow
dorsal fin lacking red markings. The two new species
further differ from P. filamentosus by having
a narrower interorbital and a shorter caudal peduncle.
A third new species, Paracheilinus alfiani,
n. sp., is described on the basis of two specimens,
48.8 and 49.3 mm SL, from Lembata Island in the Lesser
Sunda Islands of Indonesia. It is characterized by
a rounded and relatively tall dorsal fin without elongate
filamentous rays, a slightly rounded caudal fin, and
distinctive TP male coloration. In addition to the
new species descriptions, a diagnosis and color illustrations
are included for all members of the genus. We also
present a key to the species and a neighbor-joining
tree of mitochondrial DNA sequences which clarifies
the genetic relationships among species, revealing
four discrete species complexes within the genus.
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CITATION:
Allen, G.R., Erdmann, M.V.
& Yusmalinda, N.L.A. (2016) Review of the Indo-Pacific
Flasherwrasses of the genus Paracheilinus (Perciformes:
Labridae), with descriptions of three new species.
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 19,
18–90.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.46267
publication date: 20 February
2016
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