identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03CC9D16CC215C8FBE30D2BB8066DA62.text	03CC9D16CC215C8FBE30D2BB8066DA62.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Synchiropus monacanthus Smith 1935	<div><p>Synchiropus monacanthus Smith, 1935</p><p>English common name: deep-water dragonet (Fig. 1 A – C; Table 1)</p><p>Synchiropus monacanthus Smith, 1935 . — Smith (1935): 187 (type locality: Port Alfred, South Africa, southwestern Indian Ocean; holotype: SAIAB 135). — Fricke (1981): 61 (revision; Socotra, Kenya, and Zanzibar). — Fricke (1982): 75 (checklist; Port Alfred, South Africa; Zanzibar, Tanzania). — Fricke (1983): 627 (revision). — Fricke (1986): 773. — Fricke (2002): 59 (checklist). — Manilo and Bogorodsky (2003): S 117 (checklist). — Anderson et al. (2005): 28 (south of Maputo, Mozambique). — Fricke et al. (2018): 316 (Madagascar). — Zajonz et al. (2019): 93 (Socotra). — Fricke and Anderson (2022): 464 [Western Indian Ocean: Socotra, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Mozambique to South Africa (Eastern Cape) and Madagascar].</p><p>Callionymus bicornis Norman, 1939 . — Norman (1939): 74, fig. 26 (type locality: off Zanzibar, Tanzania, western Indian Ocean; holotype: BMNH 1939.5.24.1426).</p><p>? Synchiropus monacanthus . — Kotthaus (1977): 41 (Socotra).</p><p>Callionymidae sp. — Kotthaus (1977): 42 (Mombasa, Kenya).</p><p>Foetorepus monacanthus . — Nakabo (1982): 79 (species list).</p><p>Foetorepus bicornis . — Nakabo (1982): 79 (species list).</p><p>Materials examined.</p><p>KUFOS.2025.MF.12.01.01 –06, 6 females, 68.2–104.5 mm SL, southeastern coast of India, off Pudukkottai, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=79.20333&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=9.980556" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 79.20333/lat 9.980556)">Kottaipattinam Fish Landing Centre</a>, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=79.20333&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=9.980556" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 79.20333/lat 9.980556)">Palk Bay</a>; 09°58'50"N, 079°12'12"E; 09 March 2025, collected by J. Pragatheesh Kumar .</p><p>Description.</p><p>Morphometric and meristic data for the six specimens are summarized in Table 1. Diagnostic morphological characters are described below.</p><p>Body elongate, dorsoventrally flattened (Fig. 1 A). Head short, slightly depressed. Snout shorter than eye diameter. Preopercular spine simple, with single inward point on its dorsal margin and smooth ventral margin and an upward curved main tip (Fig. 1 B). Eye large, positioned dorsolaterally. Interorbital space slightly broad, concave (Fig. 1 C). Occipital region with pair of low bony protuberances. Mouth small, subterminal; maxilla extending to vertical through anterior margin of eye. Gill opening reduced to small pore just in front of upper pectoral-fin base. Swim bladder absent. Scales absent. Urogenital papilla short. Lateral line extending from eye to base of caudal fin; left and right lines interconnected by transverse branch across occipital region. First dorsal fin equal in height to second dorsal; spines not elongated as filaments, first spine longest. First dorsal fin originating well posterior to pectoral-fin base, approximately above pelvic-fin insertion. Second dorsal-fin and anal-fin rays unbranched, except posteriormost ray divided at base. Second dorsal fin higher than anal fin. Anal-fin origin positioned vertically to fourth ray of second dorsal-fin. Pectoral fin broad, fan shaped. Pelvic fin large, inserted anterior to pectoral-fin base, connected by membrane to pectoral-fin base. Caudal fin elongated without elongated filaments.</p><p>Coloration (fresh specimen). Head and body dark red (Fig. 1 A), marbled and spotted with darker pigments. Second dorsal and anal fins with dark distal portions; caudal fin with three vertical white bands and dark distal margin. Pelvic fin distally dark. First dorsal fin light red; first spine black; dusky spots basally.</p><p>Coloration (preserved specimen). Head and body light brown (Fig. 1 C), with darker marbling and spots. Dorsal surface of head darker than rest of body. Anal and second dorsal fins with dark distal portions. Caudal fin with dark upper lobe. First dorsal fin mostly light; first spine black; dusky basally.</p><p>Distribution and habitat.</p><p>Synchiropus monacanthus is restricted to soft-bottom habitats in the Western Indian Ocean (Fricke 1986). Its known distribution includes the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Tanzania (Zanzibar) (Norman 1939) and Kenya (Fricke 1981), and eastward to Mozambique (Anderson et al. 2005), Madagascar (Fricke 2002; Fricke et al. 2018), and the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) (Fricke 1981; Zajonz et al. 2019). The presently reported collection of six specimens from Palk Bay, southeastern India (Fig. 2). The species occurs at depths of 100–428 m (presently reported study; Fricke 1986, 2002).</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>The presently reported specimens were first identified as belonging to the genus Synchiropus Gill, 1859 based on the following combination of characters: body depressed; eyes large and dorsally positioned; gill opening reduced to a small pore located just in front of the upper pectoral-fin base; preopercular spine with serrations or points; first dorsal fin with four spines; pelvic fin with one spine and five soft rays; and absence of scales (Fricke 1983, 2002). Within Synchiropus, the specimens are assigned to the subgenus Foetorepus Gill, 1884 (treated as Synchiropus (Foetorepus) following Fricke 2002, 2016; Fricke et al. 2022) based on the preopercular spine bearing a single antrorse serra on the dorsal margin with the main tip strongly upcurved, first dorsal fin without elongated filaments, and a relatively long caudal fin (2.22–2.53 in SL). All six specimens are females, as evidenced by the absence of elongated filamentous rays on the first dorsal fin (present in mature males), the relatively shorter caudal fin compared to males, and the short and simple urogenital papilla (Fricke 1983, 2002).</p><p>The presently reported specimens are identified as Synchiropus monacanthus Smith, 1935 based on a combination of characters that closely match the original description and subsequent taxonomic accounts (Smith 1935; Fricke 1981, 1983, 2002, 2016; Fricke and Anderson 2022; Fricke et al. 2022). These include a preopercular spine with a single antrorse serra on the dorsal margin and a strongly upcurved main tip, caudal-fin length 2.22–2.53 in SL, first dorsal fin with four spines that are not elongated as filaments (females), second dorsal fin with vii – viii, 1 elements and anal fin with vi – viii, 1 elements, pectoral fin with i, 17–19, ii rays, and coloration characterized by a dark red head and body with darker marbling and spots, a black first spine on the first dorsal fin, and dark distal portions on the second dorsal and anal fins. These features readily distinguish S. monacanthus from S. lineolatus (Valenciennes, 1837), the only other congener previously recorded from Indian waters, which possesses two serrae on the preopercular spine and a shorter caudal fin (3.0– 3.5 in SL). The species is morphologically most similar to the western Pacific Synchiropus altivelis (Temminck et Schlegel, 1845) but differs in having a strongly upcurved main tip of the preopercular spine (straight in S. altivelis) and a longer caudal fin (2.8–3.6 in SL in S. altivelis).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03CC9D16CC215C8FBE30D2BB8066DA62	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Kumar, J. Pragatheesh;Ragul, Sivakumar;Sajeevan, M. K.;Fricke, Ronald	Kumar, J. Pragatheesh, Ragul, Sivakumar, Sajeevan, M. K., Fricke, Ronald (2026): First record of the dragonet species, Synchiropus monacanthus (Callionymiformes, Callionymidae), from India: An eastward range extension in the Indian Ocean. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 56: 269-274, DOI: 10.3897/aiep.56.190543
