Trichonotus marleyi (Smith, 1936)

Pinault, Mathieu, Wickel, Julien, Mulochau, Thierry, Nicet, Jean-Benoît & Fricke, Ronald, 2018, First record of five fish species from Réunion Island observed during the inventory of the Marine Natural Zones of Interest for Ecology, Flora and Fauna (ZNIEFF), Cybium 42 (4), pp. 386-390 : 388

Trichonotus marleyi (Smith, 1936)

ZNIEFF station: La Possession, Latitude: 20°55’30.54”S, Longitude: 55°17’55.32”E, Depth: 35 m, Date: 6 April 2017, Time: 10:00.

The specimen of Marley’s sand diver presented in this study ( Fig. 5 ) was photographed on a volcanic sand slope in the northwest of the island (La Possession). It was part of a relatively large, but sparse population (a few individuals per 100 m 2), observed from 30 m depth, up to 40 m. The individuals were extremely fearful, burying themselves into the sediment at the slightest alert occurring within a radius of 10 m, making their photography particularly difficult.

In spite of the poor quality of the photograph presented in this study, the morphological characters determining the Trichonotus marleyi species are visible (Tab. IV). Thus, the dorsal surface of the specimen, of copper-brown colour, was covered with small turquoise-blue spots, interspersed with smaller, sparser brown-red spots. Small turquoise-blue spots formed a very regular dotted line on the lateral side of the body, extending from the head to the base of the caudal fin. The latter presented a kind of very dark-brown and white checkerboard. The ventral surface was pale pink.

Figures

Figure 5. – Specimen of Trichonotus marleyi photographed on 6 April 2017 at 20°55’30.54”S and 55°17’55.32”E.