Pterygotrigla fercula ( Whitley 1952 )

Richards, William J. & Yato, Takuji, 2014, Revision of the subgenus Parapterygotrigla (Pisces: Triglidae: Pterygotrigla), Zootaxa 3768 (1), pp. 23-42 : 39

Pterygotrigla fercula ( Whitley 1952)

( Figure 7 )

Dixiphichthys ferculum Whitley 1952: 32 , Palm Beach, N.S.W., Australia. Holotype AMS IB.2718; Whitley 1953:26 –27, illustration of holotypre, characters; Paxton et al. 1989: 457. Based on a juvenile triglid; status uncertain; Richards 1999: 2362. Synonym of Pterygotrigla macrorhynchus Kamohara 1936 .

Material examined. AMS I.B 2718, 29 mm SL, holotype of Dixiphichthys ferculum Whitley 1952 , Australia, NSW, washed up on Palm Beach, 1 Oct. 1951.

Description. Whitley’s (1952) original description is very brief noting that the AIO and nuchal spines are very long (AIO misnamed as nasal spines) and longer than the head without them, the P1 is long nearly reaching the caudal peduncle, color is yellowish white with black spots. The specimen is too desiccated for fin ray counts. Whitley (1953) provides an illustration that depicts the black spots and an approximation of the fin rays shown here as Figure 7 .

Discussion. This young specimen could not be assigned to a species at this time but probably belongs to this subgenus. Richards (1999) was premature in synonymizing it in P. macrorhynchus . Whitley (1952) gave few characters for his type specimen and detailed examination of it was difficult because it is small and very brittle. The head length is 52% SL, the rostral spine length is 55% SL, orbit diameter is 11% SL, cheek height is 11% SL, interorbital width is 9% SL, and P1 fin length is 48% SL.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Holotype of Dixiphichthys ferculum Whitley 1952 from Whitley (1953).