Bairdiella ronchus (Cuvier, 1830)

Marceniuk, Alexandre Pires, Molina, Eduardo Garcia, Caires, Rodrigo Antunes, Rotundo, Matheus Marcos, Wosiacki, Wolmar Benjamin & Oliveira, Claudio, 2019, Revision of Bairdiella (Sciaenidae: Perciformes) from the western South Atlantic, with insights into its diversity and biogeography, Neotropical Ichthyology 17 (1), pp. 1-18 : 12-14

Bairdiella ronchus (Cuvier, 1830)

( Fig. 4b, c , Tables 4 , 5 )

Corvina ronchus Cuvier, 1830:107 (Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela; Dominican Republic; Cuba; Suriname MNHN 0095 (1) Dominican Republic, MNHN 5345 (2) Suriname, MNHN 7634 (1, dry) Maracaibo, MNHN 7637 (1), MNHN A–5543 (1) Martinique.–Günther, 1860: 299 (Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum).

Sciaena bedoti Regan, 1905:391 , Pl. 6 (fig. 1) ( Cuba. Syntypes: BMNH 1905.3.18.2 [ex MHNG] (1), MHNG 678.01 (1)).

Bairdiella ronchus Poey, 1868: 324 (fishes of Cuba; synopsis).– Jordan, Eigenmann, 1889: 388 (review of sciaenids from America and Europe).– Jordan, Evermann, 1898: 1436 (in part; description and synonymy).– Meek, Hildebrand, 1925: 634– 635 (fishes of Panama; description; in part).– Mago-Leccia, 1965: 309 (rio Unare, Venezuela; listed).– Chao, 1978:39 (in part, redescription).– Cervigón, 1992: 398 (in part, fishes of Venezuela; listed).– Cervigón, 1993:242 (in part, fishes of Venezuela; listed).– Greenfield, Thomerson, 1997:182 (fishes of Belize; listed).– González Bencomo et al., 1997:159 (fishes of Maracaibo, Venezuela; listed).– Aguilera, 1998:50 (fishes of Occidental Venezuela; listed).– Marín, 2000:75 (fishes of Unare Lagoon, Venezuela; short description).– Smith et al., 2003:37 (fishes of Pelican Cays, Belize; listed).– Matamoros et al., 2009:19 (fishes of Honduras; listed).– Angulo et al., 2013:1002 (checklist of fishes from Costa Rica).

Diagnosis. Bairdiella ronchus is distinct from B. armata (EP), which occurs between the Gulf of California and Co- lombia (EP), by the presence of 50-53 scales with pores on the lateral line, rarely 49 (vs. 46-49, Tab. 5a ); from B. chrysoura (WA), which is found between Cape Cod ( US) and the western Gulf of Mexico, by the presence of five pores on the chin (vs. six), and a very robust second anal-fin spine, as long as the first anal-fin ray (vs. thin second anal-fin spine, shorter than first anal-fin ray, Fig. 4b,c ); from B. goeldi sp. nov., which is found on the Brazilian coast, by having an orbital diameter less than 8% SL (vs. more than 8% SL, Fig. 5a ), and orbital diameter 2.4-3.8 times the caudal peduncle length (vs. 1.6-2.3, rarely more than 2.3, Fig. 5b ); from B. ensifera (EP), which is found between Mexico and Peru (EP), by having wavy stripes or dark spots on the body (vs. body silvery without stripes or spots, Fig. 4b,c ); from B. icistia (EP), which is found between the Gulf of California and Guatemala (EP), by the presence of 22-24 rays in the dorsal fin (vs. 25-29, Tab. 5d ), 22-24 gill rakers on the first bran- chial arch, rarely more than 24 (vs. 25-27, Tab. 5f ), and the lack of a dark spot at the base of the pectoral fins (vs. with dark spot at the base of the pectoral fins, Fig. 4b,c ); from B. veraecrucis (WA), which occurs between Florida ( US) and the northern Gulf of Mexico, by having a relatively larger head and dorsal fin relatively shorter ( Tab. 4 ), with dorsal fin length 1.6-2.5 times in the head length (vs. 1.2-1.5, Fig. 5c ), and dorsal fin length 1.7-2.7 times in the head depth (vs. 1.2-1.5, Fig. 5d ).

Molecular diagnosis. The haplotypes of B. ronchus differed by three bases from of all the other Atlantic species analyzed, by nine bases from B. goeldi sp. nov., by 17 bases from B. veraecrucis , and by 97 bases from B. chrysoura ( Tab. 3 ), with genetic distances of 0.018±0.005 from B. goeldi sp. nov., 0.030±0.007 from B. veraecrucis , and 0.183±0.019 from B. chrysoura ( Tab. 2 ).

Description. Morphometric and meristic data are presen- ted in Tabs. 4 , 5. D. X +I. 22-24; A.II.8; P. 16-18; gill rakers 22-26; pored lateral line scales to caudal fin base 49-53±; scale rows above lateral line 8-9 (rarely 10), below 9-11. Body moderately long and compressed, maximum depth at origin of dorsal fin. Dorsal profile straight, ascending un- til dorsal fin origin, posteriorly convex until caudal pedun- cle, especially in larger specimens. Ventral profile flattened from pelvic fin to anal fin origin. Head relatively long, high. Snout blunt in lateral view, dorsal profile naked. Mouth ter- minal, barely inclined; posteriorrmost tip of premaxillary bone passing vertical through middle of orbit. Teeth conical, premaxilla with three or four rows, external row with enlar- ged teeth; dentary with one row. Orbit lateral, eyes round, moderately large, orbital diameter approximately equal to snout length. Interorbital space larger than orbital diameter, slightly convex, covered with ctenoid scales (cycloid ante- riorly). Nostrils visible with naked eye, anterior nostril oval, posterior nostril larger and teardrop like, close to anterior eye margin, over or nearly above horizontal line through middle of orbit. Lateral sensory canals on head visible on infraorbital, dentary and preopercle; five ventral pores on dentary, one central, triangular and subequal in size, and two pores on each side. Preopercle margin serrated, with about 12-15 spines, two or three at angle largest. Opercle tip an- gled, slightly anterior to vertical through pectoral fin base. Gill rakers well developed. Scales ctenoid on trunk, belly, pectoral fin base, opercle, preopercle, infraorbital (ventral most two rows) and interorbital region, especially in spe- cimens larger than 150 mm SL; cycloid on infraorbital (an- teriorly), preorbital region below nostrils, opercle and inte- robital in specimens smaller than 150 mm SL. Lateral line simple, arched above the pectoral fin to middle of second dorsal fin, straight elsewhere. First dorsal fin without sca- les, membranes of second dorsal fin and anal fin with one or two rows of 5-7 small cycloid scales. Base of pectoral fin covered with cycloid scales, extending to proximal third in largest specimens. Caudal fin base covered with a cluster of small cycloid scales, rows of cycloid scales on caudal-fin rays, nearly three quarters of their length. Spinous dorsal fin short, first spine shortest, spines IV-V longest, with small notch between first and second dorsal fin. Origin of second dorsal fin posterior to vertical through pectoral fin tip, with second dorsal soft rays shorter than the longest first dorsal- -fin spines. Pectoral fin falcate and relatively short, its length approximately equal to the second anal spine length. Pelvic fin origin behind vertical though pectoral fin base. Anal fin emarginated, second anal-fin spine very stout and longer than remaining spines. Caudal peduncle depth slightly lar- ger than eye diameter, 10.4-11.9% SL, length 18.2-22.2% SL; caudal fin truncated to slightly rhomboidal, central rays longest.

Color in alcohol. Dusky blue in the dorsal portion above lateral line and on the top of the head, silver below lateral line, with bands of pigments on the flanks, oblique at the top and more or less parallel below lateral line. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are dusky, pelvic fins are yellowish, and the pectoral fins are yellowish only at their bases.

Distribution and habitat. Greater Caribbean Central Province, Central America, West Indies, Bermuda, and Vene- zuela ( Fig. 3 ).

Remarks. In a comprehensive review of the genus Bairdiella, Chao (1978) , following previous authors, synony- mized Bairdiella armata Gill, 1863 , Corvina subaequalis Poey, 1875 , Corvina fulgens Vaillant & Bocourt, 1883 , Bairdiella veraecrucis , and Sciaena (Bairdiella) bedoti Regan, 1905 without examining the type specimens or listing the material examined. As result, B. ronchus was considered to be widely distributed in the western Atlantic, from North Carolina to southern Brazil ( Cervigón, 1992; McEachran, Fechhelm, 2003, see comments on B. goeldi sp. nov., above). Here, Bairdiella ronchus is redefined based on morphologi- cal ( Fig. 1 ) and molecular evidence ( Fig. 2 , Tabs. 2 , 3 ), and its distribution is restricted to the Greater Caribbean Central Province, between Cuba and Venezuela. As Venezuela is one of the type localities of the species, MHNH 7634, collected from Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, is recognized as the lecto- type of the present designation.

The recognition of Corvina fulgens Vaillant & Bocourt, 1883 as a junior synonym of B. ronchus by Chao (1978) is erroneous, given that Vaillant, Bocourt (1883) described C. fulgens based on two specimens collected at La Union, El Salvador, in the eastern Pacific, during a scientific expedition to Mexico and Central America. Furthermore, the original description of C. fulgens includes an error in the scale count (115/8/5 scales above, on and below the lateral line, respec- tively; Vaillant, Bocourt, 1883: p. 164). The authors provide the correct count (11/58/15) when subsequently comparing the new species to Corvina macrops Steindachner, 1876 , commenting that “This species appears to be approaching the Corvina macrops , […] But the latter fish is higher […] Of the scales, in particular for the transverse line, also differs, 7/60/11 instead of 11/58/15” (p. 165). Further examination of the syntypes of C. fulgens (MNHH A-0975) revealed that they have 23 soft rays in the second dorsal fin, and less than 55 sca- les in the lateral line to the caudal fin base. C. fulgens is therefore regarded as a junior synonym of B. armata Gill, 1863 .

Corvina subaequalis Poey, 1875 was described from a 245 mm TL specimen collected in Cuba. The author in- dicated that this specimen was sent to the Berlin Museum (ZMB), but it was not cataloged and is presumably lost. The holotype of C. subaequalis was not illustrated, and the des- cription of this species is not accurate enough to differentiate it from several western Atlantic sciaenids. Despite those situations, Chao (1978) considered C. subaequalis to be a junior synonym of B. ronchus , without providing arguments for that decision. Some of the information in Poey’s des- cription is discrepant from the characteristics observed in specimens of B. ronchus , such as the presence of fine den- ticulations in the preopercle (p. 59) vs. moderately largely serrated in all specimens of Bairdiella we examined, and the presence of 25 soft rays in the dorsal fin (vs. 21-24 soft rays), which may be attributable to individual variation, ontogeny or differences in counting the last two conjoined dorsal and anal fin rays as one element or not. However, as images of the holotype of C. subaequalis are not available and the type specimen is probably lost, the exact affiliation of this taxon with B. ronchus cannot be ascertained. Therefore, C. subaequalis should be regarded as nomen dubium.

Material examined. LBP 6080, 2, 135- 136 mm SL, Venezuela, Ilsa de Margarita, mouth of Rio Nova Esparta , Isla de Margarita; LBP 6436 , 2 , 92-94 mm SL, Venezuela, Isla de Margarita, mouth of Rio Nova Esparta ; USNM 4704 , 1, 106 mm SL, Cuba ; USNM 32090 , 1, 209 mm SL, Cuba ; USNM 44185 , 1, 119 mm SL, Nicaragua, Greytown; USNM 81164 , 1, 114 mm SL, Panama, Mindi Cut; USNM 80710 , 1, 185 mm SL, Panama, Mindi Reef; USNM 80711 , 1, 130 mm SL, Panama, Mindi Cut; USNM 81165 , 1, 109 mm SL, Panama, Mindi Cut; USNM 80708 , 1, 151 mm SL, Panama, Colon market; USNM 81166 , 1 , 79 mm SL, Panama, Portobelo; USNM 81168 , 2 , 87-97 mm SL, Panama, Cristobal; USNM 114303 , 1, 203 mm SL, Guatemala, Laguna Grande; USNM 121746, 2, 90-98 mm SL, Venezuela, Cano de Agua ; USNM 133714 , 2 , 192- 241 mm SL, Haiti; USNM 178227 , 2 , 138- 168 mm SL, Haiti ; USNM 300471 , 3 , 136- 160 mm SL, Belize, east of Dangriga ; USNM 343624 , 1, 100 mm SL, Cuba, Cayo Mendoza, Cuba .

Figures

Fig. 4. A. Holotype of Bairdiella goeldi sp. nov. from Bragança, Pará, Brazil, 190 mm SL, MPEG 33641. B. Syntype of Corvina ronchus from the Dominican Republic, MNHN 0095. C. Syntype of Sciaena bedoti from Cuba, BMNH 1905.3.18.2. D. Holotype of Bairdiella veraecrucis from Veracruz, Mexico, USNM 61676.

Fig. 5. Plots of the standard length versus orbital diameter (A), head length versus dorsal fin length (B), and head depth versus dorsal fin length (C) in Bairdiella goeldi sp. nov. (circles), B. ronchus (triangles), and B. veraecrucis (squares).

Fig. 3. The Atlantic coast of North, Central, and South America showing the geographic distribution of Bairdiella goeldi sp. nov. (yellow = molecular north–northeastern lineage, light blue = molecular southeastern lineage, white = no molecular data), B. ronchus (red), and B. veraecrucis (green). Some symbols represent more than one locality or a large number of specimens.

Fig. 1. Scatterplots of the principal components (PC1 and PC2) obtained from the analysis of nine morphometric variables in Bairdiella goeldi sp. nov. (yellow = north–northeastern Brazilian lineage. light blue = southeastern lineage), B. ronchus (red), and B. veraecrucis (green).Abl. = Anal-fin base length; Bd. = Body depth; CPh. = Caudal-peduncle height; Hd. = Head depth; Hl. = Head length; Od. = Orbital diameter; Ph. = Pectoral-fin height.

Fig. 2. Time-calibrated phylogeny obtained using BEAST (100 million generations) indicating the divergence over time in Bairdiella. The molecular clock was calibrated based on the data of Lo et al. (2015), which indicated that Bairdiella. Corvula, and Odontoscion belong to a monophyletic clade that originated 10.2 million years ago. Scale = millions of years before present. Numbers at nodes = estimated age ± 95% HPD.