Cheilodipterus polystigma Bleeker, 1860

Russell, Barry C., Fraser, Thomas H. & Larson, Helen K., 2010, Castelnau’S Collection Of Singapore Fishes Described By Pieter Bleeker, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58 (1), pp. 93-102 : 94-95

Cheilodipterus polystigma Bleeker, 1860

Cheilodipterus polystigma Bleeker, 1860c , is based on a coloured painting by Castelnau, No. 137 (Fig. 3). Bleeker provided a brief description in Dutch based on this painting. In his revision of the Apogonidae , Bleeker’s (1874) redescription in Latin of this species was based on two specimens, one from Singapore (collected during a ten day stopover on his return to Europe in 1860) and the other from Ambon (RMNH 5610). Bleeker’s translated remarks (1874) are as follows: “Rem. I described this species for the first time in the year 1859 according to a drawing of Mr. the Count de Castelnau. At the time of my passage to Singapore, in the year 1860, I obtained a beautiful specimen, and I also have a smaller specimen, poorly preserved from Ambon. One easily can identify the species by the eye-like black mark offset dorsally on the side of the caudal peduncle”.

Randall et al. (1985) mention these specimens in their material list of Pseudamia amblyuroptera (Bleeker, 1856) but did not identify either of them as a possible syntype. Castelnau’s painting is the representation of the type specimen, lost or possibly yet to be located among the preserved/dried material at the ZMUL. As both the Singapore specimen and the Ambon specimen apparently were obtained after Bleeker’s original description of C. polystigma was published, neither can be regarded as types. In their remarks, Randall et al. (1985) discuss their reasons why Pseudamia polystigma should be considered a synonym of P. amblyuroptera as the result of variation associated with size.

The coloured painting can be easily identified with the species treated by Randall et al. (1985) and with Bleeker’s figure of Cheilodipterus polystigma ( Bleeker, 1875 – 1876: Pl. 70). The figure of Pseudamia amblyuroptera ( Bleeker, 1871 – 1876: Pl. 32) appears more diagrammatic. We agree that Pseudamia amblyuroptera is the senior synonym of P. polystigma .