Acanthistius brasilianus (Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1828)

(Figures 1, 2 A, 3, 4 A)

Plectropoma brasilianum Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1828: 397 –398; Günther, 1859: 164.

Acanthistius brasilianus: Jordan & Eigenman, 1888: 348; Berg, 1899: 46–48; Miranda Ribeiro, 1917: 8–39; Devicenzi, 1924: 91 –923; Fowler, 1951: 19; Ringuelet & Arámburu, 1960: 62; Figueiredo & Menezes, 1980: 28 –29; Carvalho- Filho, 1999: 320.

Not A. brasilianus: De Mahieu & Capezzani, 1974: 209 –227, fig. 1; Ciechomski & Casia, 1976: 27 –36; San Roman, 1980: 1 –50; Dell´ Arciprete et. al., 1987: 67 –84; Cosseau, 2000: 94 –95; Rubinich, 2001: 1 –44; Irigoyen, 2006: 1 –47; Irigoyen & Venerus, 2008: 349 –353.

Type locality: Cuvier & Valenciennes (1828, p. 397) mention only ‘Bresil’, and Delalande as collector. The catalogue of the MNHN indicates, more specifically, that the type material was collected by Delalande at 15° S, 35°, East of Ilheus, Bahia State (Fig. 1). The longitude is most likely wrong. The information available from the MNHN’s catalogue does not indicate the date of collection. Pierre Antoine Delalande (1787 – 1823), a French naturalist working for the MNHN, traveled to Brazil in 1816 to collect for the Museum. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro on June 1st, and returned after a short collecting trip. So the time of collection is most likely the winter of 1816.

Type repository: MNHN Paris 0000-6407, two syntypes, SL: 12.5 cm and 13.4cm; TL: 15.4 cm and 16.3 cm, respectively; preserved in ETOH.

Material examined: MZUSP 2388 São Paulo, Brazil (three specimens, TL: 12.1 cm, 10.1 cm, 14.9 cm); MZUSP 14890 São Paulo, Brazil (four specimens, TL: 22.2 cm, 28.7 cm, 22.4 cm, 28 cm); MZUSP 70738 São Paulo, Brazil (one specimen, TL: 10.4 cm); MZUSP 70743 São Paulo, Brazil (one specimen, TL: 11.1 cm).

Diagnosis: Anal fin with 3 spines and 8 soft rays; caudal fin truncated or slightly rounded; pectoral fins with 15–16 soft rays. Three large spines on the inferior margin of the preopercle, the anterior two pointing anteriorly. Lateral line with 56–61 pored scales. Pectoral fins at least 35% longer than pelvic fins. Light or dark brownish color; 5 silvery-grey to dark brown vertical bars on sides and caudal peduncle, well defined at all ages; belly light, whitish to yellowish; no vermiculated pattern in the body; fins with similar body color pattern. Up to 40 cm TL.

Field observations: Observed and photographed in its natural habitat during diving surveys conducted at Cabo Frio (Brazil) in March 2008 (Fig. 3).

Remarks: Cuvier & Valenciennes (1828), Berg (1899), Fowler (1951), Figueiredo & Menezes (1980) and Carvalho-Filho (1999) reported a uniform brownish color with 5 or 6 vertical bands varying from bluish-grey to dark brown. Our observation of live and preserved specimens (Fig. 3) confirm that pattern. Figueiredo & Menezes (1980) reported a ratio between the lengths of the pectoral and pelvic fins in the range 1.43–1.56; among the specimens examined by us (n=9) the range was somewhat wider: 1.35 to 1.63. Fowler (1956) counted 112 scales on the lateral line, while Figueiredo & Menezes (1980) counted 60; clearly, Fowler (op. cit.) was referring to the total number of scales (lateral scale series), and Figueiredo & Menezes (op. cit.) to pored scales. In the specimens examined by us the number of pored lateral line scales ranged between 58 and 61. There are three spines on the preopercle and opercle (Fig. 4 A), as noticed by Berg (1899).