Nectamia zebrinus ( Fraser, Randall and Lachner, 1999 )

Fraser, Thomas H., 2008, Cardinalfishes of the genus Nectamia (Apogonidae, Perciformes) from the Indo-Pacific region with descriptions of four new species, Zootaxa 1691 (1), pp. 1-52 : 44-45

Nectamia zebrinus ( Fraser, Randall and Lachner, 1999)

Figures 6D , 13 , 17 , 18 and Table 2–3, 11

Type material: Holotype Apogon zebrinus USNM 213422; 59.6 mm SL; N. Of Ras Burqa, N.W. coast of Aqaba, Egypt; 23 July 1969; to 10 m.; Victor G. Springer; VGS 69-7; x-rayed. Paratypes: Red Sea: Egypt: BPBM 31807 was USNM 213424 ; (4, 57–71) ; Gulf of Aqaba , Ras Muhammad; 0 to 10m.; 26 Sep. 1969; VGS 69-28. USNM 341635 ; (4, 49–73) ; data same as holotype. TAU P.9672; (1, 67); Gulf of Aqaba ; NS 4181; 8 Oct. 1968. Sudan: BPBM 19741 ; (2, 38–44) ; Suakin Harbor , 11 Oct. 1974. BPBM 27417 ; (1, 41) ; color photo; just N. of Port Sudan , 9 Jan. 1980. Eritrea: USNM 213423 (1, 47) ; N. End of Isola Delemme , off Massawa; 7 Aug. 1969; VGS 69-9. Saudi Arabia: BPBM 30388 ; (4, 58–74) ; 29 km. S. of Yanbu , 30 May 1984. Yemen: USNM 213421 (15, 55–63) ; Gold Mohur Bay ; 21 Dec. 1964; IIOE Cr. 9; F. Talbot Sta. 26 .

Additional material: Red Sea: Israel: TAU P.9671; (1, 27); Gulf of Aqaba. HUJ 12007; (3, 17–26) ; Elat; HUJ 11984; (2, 16–25) ; Elat; HUJ 12859; (1, 20) ; Dahab.

This species is not treated in detail, see Fraser et al. 1999 for more information.

Diagnosis. A Nectamia with pale vertical bars on body, basicaudal mark below lateral-line scales in adults, caudal fin with dark margins, subocular mark broad, triangular (Tab. 2, Fig. 17 ); 13 pectoral-fin rays; total gill rakers usually 25–28 ( Tab. 11); body depth 40–47%, caudal-peduncle depth 18–22%, second analspine length 19–23%, and pectoral-fin length 26–32% of standard length (Tab. 3).

Additional description. Holotype with ctenoid scales on cheek, nape and opercle, cycloid on side of isthmus, ctenoid ventrally, cycloid on base of pectoral fin, ctenoid behind pectoral fin, ctenoid on rest of body, fourth lateral-line scale with 2 pores above main pore and 2 pores below, base of pelvic fin missing pelvic scales, large scale present at side of pelvic spine with a narrow bend along ventral edge, not produced. Paratypes with two large ctenoid scales on base of pelvic fin.

Second arch with developed gill rakers, 3+ 16 and 2 rudiments on lower limb.

* = holotype

Life color. See Figure 6D . Head, body and fins without stripes; head with broad dark triangular cheek mark from eye to angle of preopercle, lachrymal and anterior infraorbital with yellowish mark, iris brownish with white inner ring; head and body bronze to brownish background with pale bars; caudal peduncle with a dark caudal-peduncle mark wider above pored lateral-line scales than below, the bar less intense below pored lateral-line scales, pale region just anterior to peduncle mark not reaching to posterior base of second dorsal and anal fins; first dorsal fin with distal darkish membranes between spines II–IV, second dorsal fin with darkish anterior edge, anal fin with whitish anterior edge, pectoral and pelvic fins pale, and caudal fin with faint whitish edges. Kuiter and Kozawa (1999) provide a three underwater photographs of this species (p. 34, A–C) identified as Apogon species 21.

Preserved color pattern. Adults: wide, triangular subocular cheek mark behind upper jaw; first dorsal fin with dark membrane between spines 1–4; edges of caudal lobes dark; caudal peduncle with a nearly complete dark wide bar, connected dorsally and almost connected ventrally; pale, slightly wavy bars present on body from below the first dorsal fin and behind the pectoral fin to just behind the ends of the second dorsal fin base and anal fin base, bars extend above the lateral-line scales starting about the second dorsal fin; no dark saddle under the first or second dorsal fin ( Fig. 17 ); stomach and intestine black. Juveniles: similar to the adults, except with a complete, dark caudal-peduncle band.

Distribution. Known only from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden ( Fig. 13 ).

Remarks. Rather bold pale bars on the body and a dark caudal-peduncle mark is not quite complete along the anterio-ventral part of the band will identify Nectamia zebrinus from N. annularis and N. savayensis (Tab. 2). Caudal-peduncle depth is slightly greater in Nectamia zebrinus than in N. annularis . Indian Ocean Nectamia savayensis may be distinguished from N. zebrinus by the lack of well developed bars on the side, an incomplete caudal mark almost always at or above the lateral line (see Winterbottom et al. 1989, fig. 164) even in juveniles and a shorter second anal spine (14–20% of SL). The gill-raker counts show, at best, slight modal or average differences, particularly the lower gill arch ( Tabs. 8 and 11) between these two species. Nectamia luxuria has more pale bars, yellow edges to the vertical fins and higher number of gill rakers.

This species has been collected at the same stations with Nectamia annularis (BPBM 20373, 30386, USMN 212431)) in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (USMN 212447) and with N. fusca (USNM 212882). The largest of 40 specimens was 74 mm SL.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Underwater photographs of eight species of Nectamia. A. N. similis, new species, Calamian Is., Philippines, G. R. Allen. B. N. luxuria, new species, Andaman Sea, Thailand, U. Satapoomin. C. N. viria, new species, Raj Ampat, Indonesia, R. F. Myers. D. N. zebrinus, Red Sea, Egypt. R. F. Myers. E. N. annularis, Red Sea, Sudan, J. E. Randall. F. N. savayensis, Solomon Sea, Bougainville I., J. E. Randall G. N. bandanensis, Ogasawara Is., Japan, J. E. Randall. H. N. fusca, Red Sea, R. H. Kuiter.

FIGURE 13. The distribution of collection sites for Nectamia zebrinus () N. savayensis with regional total gill raker averages.

FIGURE 17. Nectamia zebrinus, holotype, USNM 213422, 59.6 mm SL, N. Of Ras Burqa, N.W. coast of Aqaba, Egypt, 23 July 1969, to 10 m., VGS 69-7.

FIGURE 18. A hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships within Nectamia based characteristics in Tables 12 and 13. One of six best trees retained based on a heuristic search using parsimony was identical to the 50% majority rule consensus of 6664 trees. All 11 characters of equal weight were parsimony-informative. Holapogon maximus was used as an outgroup.