Pseudocaranx georgianus Cuvier, 1833

Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Jelks, Howard L., 2006, Australian trevallies of the genus Pseudocaranx (Teleostei: Carangidae), with description of a new species from Western Australia, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 63 (1), pp. 97-106 : 101-102

Pseudocaranx georgianus Cuvier, 1833

Figures 1B , 3B , 4 , 5 ; Tables 1–3

Caranx georgianus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833: 85 (orig.descr.KingGeorgeSound,WA;syntypesMNHN 5854); Ogilby, 1893: 80, pl. 24 (descr.; biology; fisheries; edibility); James and Stephenson, 1974: 402, fig. 2 (taxonomic status; synonymy; descr. based, in part, on Pseudocaranx wrighti ); Hutchins, 1979: 38, color pl. 21 (Rottnest I.; behaviour; distrib.); Smith-Vaniz et al., 1979: 12 (syntypes listed).

Caranx platessa Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833: 84 (orig. descr. “La mer des Indes;” holotype MNHN 5856); Günther, 1860: 440 (as first reviser, listed in synonymy of C. georgianus ); James and Stephenson, 1974: 402, fig. 3 (discussion of type locality, probably Geographe Bay, WA; considered to be a synonym of C. georgianus ); Smith-Vaniz et al., 1979: 17 (holotype listed).

Caranx nobilis Macleay, 1881: 532 (orig. descr. Port Jackson , NSW, Australia; holotype MAMU, apparently lost).

Usacaranx archeyi Griffin, 1932: 130 , pl. 22 (orig. descr. North side of Motuihi I., Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand; Holotype AIM 262 ).

Usacaranx georgianus . Roughley, 1951: 57, color pl. 22 (biology and fisheries); Scott et al., 1974: 201, unnumb. fig. (desc.; distrib.).

Pseudocaranx dentex (non Bloch and Schneider). May and Maxwell, 1986: 300, unnumb. color photo. (descr.; common name; distrib.); Okiyama, 1988: 474, unnumb. pl. (descr.; early stage); Paxton et al., 1989: 582 (partial synonymy; distrib. in part, includes range of P. dinjerra ); Kuiter, 1993: 176, unnumb. color photos (descr.; distrib.; in part, includes ranges of other spp.); Gomon et al., 1994: 584, unnumb. color photos (descr.; distrib.; partial synonymy); Smith-Vaniz, 1999: 2730 (descr.; synonymy; distrib. in part, includes ranges of other spp.); Hutchins, 2001b: 33 (listed).

Material examined. 111 specimens, 45–495 mm FL. WAM P.14755 (170), 0.8 km E. Lancelin I., 31˚33'S, 115˚19'E. WAM P.14054 (187) and WAM P.14762-3 (2, 122–132), Rottnest I. ANSP 148694 (234) and ANSP 178913 (3, 170–186) Perth vicinity. AMNH 55688 (2, 187–200) and ANSP 135419 (2, 145–139), Fremantle, Cockburn Sound. MNHN 5856 (217), holotype of Caranx platessa , “mer des Indies,” probably Geographe Bay. WAM P.25064-004 (4, 45–90), Hardy Inlet. WAM P.20253 (193), Broke Inlet. WAM P.21824-25 (2, 160–162), Cherryup, 34˚58'S, 117˚26'E. WAM P.20026 (219), Wilson Inlet. MNHN 5854 (2, 142–166), syntypes of Caranx georgianus, King George Sound. AMS IA. 653 (210), Albany, King George Sound. WAM P.21673 (193), Brewer Bay, 34˚24'S, 119˚26'E. WAM P.21681 (153), Stokes Inlet. ANSP 148693 (2, 102–174) and ANSP 148697 (7, 72–132), Duke of Orleans Bay. ANSP 138196 (2, 193–200), Cape Arid. ANSP 138194 (189) and ANSP 138195 (2, 114–170), Isralite Bay. ANSP 138197 (192), Coffin Bay. ANSP 49316-18 (3, 181–185), Melbourne. ANSP 135420 (82 C&S), TMH D.197 (132), TMH D.530 (4, 90–108), TMH D.531 (189), TMH D.774 (272), TMH D.830 (187), TMH D.1029 (67), USNM 222104 (15, 140–227), Tasmania. BMNH 1896.6.17.49-52 (4, 135–495), Flinders I., 33˚43'S, 134˚31'E. AMS I.19890-002 (3, 201– 263), Nadgee Nature Reserve, 37˚26'S, 149˚54'E. AMS I.28734-002 (4, 191–210), Green Cape, Bittangabee Bay. ANSP 153525 (8, 156–180) Jervis Bay. USNM 177016 (2, 255–294), New South Wales, no specific locality. ANSP 138198 (2, 220–246), ANSP 147861 (2, 265–276), ANSP 153773 (6, 315–378), USNM 385513 (275), Sydney Fish Market. ANSP 135421 (2, 94–95 C&S), CAS-SU 7433 (2, 149–150), CAS-SU 8321 (163) Sydney. ANSP 147826 (2, 144–162) 24 km E. Sydney Harbour. AIM 262 (88), holotype of Usacaranx archeyi , N side of Motuihi I., Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand.

Diagnosis. A species of Pseudocaranx with posterior margin of upper jaw nearly vertical (fig. 1B); lachrymal naked and expanded part of maxilla naked or with a few partially embedded scales; caudal vertebra 15; gill rakers 8–13 upper, 19–23 lower, 28–35 total; scales in curved part of lateral line 55–78.

Distribution. Known from New Zealand and the southern half of Australia from NSW to just north of Perth, WA, including Rottnest I.

Remarks. Pseudocaranx dentex , described from Brazil, is the oldest available name for any species of Pseudocaranx while P. georgianus is the oldest name for a nominal species with an Indo-Pacific type locality. The type specimens of both species have 15 caudal vertebrae, as do all specimens from the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans and some from Japan. Australian specimens with the same vertebral count have fewer total gill rakers (except those from Queensland and Lord Howe Island, see Table 2) than do specimens from the latter localities, which have 35–42 gill rakers. Unlike similarly sized specimens of P. dentex from widely separate Atlantic localities, large adults (> 350 mm FL) from southern Australia and New Zealand usually have a pronounced hump on their foreheads that is correlated with hyperostosis of the supraoccipital bone, do not have blunt snouts (see following remarks), and the dark opercular spot, although variable in size and shape, is also usually diffuse and noticeably larger than the pupil diameter. Because of these differences, P. georgianus is here recognized as a valid species.

Figures

Figure 1. Head profiles and upper jaw shapes of Pseudocaranx: A, P. wrighti, ANSP 135418, 169 mm FL, Cockburn Sound, WA; B, P. georgianus, ANSP 138196, 200 mm FL, Cape Arid, WA.

Figure 3. Heads of Pseudocaranx species: A, P. dinjerra, ANSP 148695, 230 mm FL, Cape Farquhar, WA; B, P. georgianus, USNM 385513, 275 mm FL, Sydney Fish Market; C, P. “dentex”, CAS 16472, 404 mm FL, One Tree I.; D, P. wrighti, WAM P.14007-18, 124 mm FL, Rottnest I.

Figure 4. Australian distributions of Pseudocaranx species based on material examined.

Figure 5. Sheared principal component analysis of 22 measurements for 3 Pseudocaranx taxa. PC2 loadings were associated with snout and upper jaw lengths, while PC3 was associated with straight lateral line and anal-fin base lengths; see Material and methods section for discussion of measurements used.