Upeneus randalli Uiblein & Heemstra, 2011

Uiblein, Franz, Gledhill, Daniel C., Pavlov, Dimitri A., Hoang, Tuan Anh & Shaheen, Shaker, 2019, Three new goatfishes of the genus Upeneus (Mullidae) from the Indo-Pacific, with a redescription of colour patterns in U. margarethae, Zootaxa 4683 (2), pp. 151-196 : 188-190

Upeneus randalli Uiblein & Heemstra, 2011

Randall’s goatfish

( Figures 1 , 2 , 5 ; Tables 2, 5, 6, 9)

Upeneus randalli Uiblein & Heemstra, 2011 . Type locality off S Kuwait, Arabian/Persian Gulf, Kuwait.

Holotype. Arabian / Persian Gulf : BPBM 33180 , HT, adult, 101 mm SL, Arabian / Persian Gulf, Kuwait, off S Kuwait, 29˚00’ N, 48˚25’ E, RV Bahith, trawl, 15–20 m depth (fresh-colour photo)

Paratypes (7 adults: 66–106 mm SL; 1 fresh colour photo, 1 fresh-colour drawing): Arabian / Persian Gulf: BPBM 21201 , 6 : 66-88 mm SL, Bahrain, fish market (fresh-colour photo of 80 mm SL fish); Gulf of Oman: ZMUC P 49161, 106 mm SL, S Iran, Chahabar (fresh-colour drawing in Blegvad & Løppenthin (1944))

Non-type: Arabian/Persian Gulf: BPBM 29498, subadult, 60 mm SL, Bahrain (fresh-colour photo)

Diagnosis. Dorsal fins VIII + 9, the first spine minute; pectoral fins 13–14; gill rakers 6–7 + 17–19 = 23–25; lateral-line scales 28–30; measurements in % SL, adults: body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 23–24; body depth at anus 19–22; caudal-peduncle depth 9.9–11; caudal-peduncle width 2.9–3.8; maximum head depth 19–21; head depth through eye 15–16; suborbital depth 8.0–10; interorbital length 7.2–8.8; head length 27–30; snout length 11–12; postorbital length 10–12; orbit length 6.2–7.4; upper-jaw length 10–11; barbel length 16–20; interdorsal distance 13–15; caudal-peduncle length 23–25; caudal-fin length 27–30; anal-fin height 15–19; pelvic-fin length 20–22; pectoral-fin length 20–22; pectoral-fin width 3.8–4.4; first dorsal-fin height 19–22; second dorsal-fin height 16–20; measurements in % SL, subadults (based on single specimen): body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 22; body depth at anus 19; caudal-peduncle depth 9.0; caudal-peduncle width 3.5; maximum head depth 18; head depth through eye 16; suborbital depth 7.0; interorbital length 7.7; head length 28; snout length 12; postorbital length 10; orbit length 8.2; upper-jaw length 11; barbel length 19; interdorsal distance 14; caudal-peduncle length 23; caudalfin length 29; anal-fin height 16; pelvic-fin length 21; pectoral-fin length 20; pectoral-fin width 3.7; first dorsal-fin height 21; second dorsal-fin height 19; fresh colour: head and body dorsally red-brown red or grey mottled, ventrally white or rose, in some fish with tiny red or brown dots; caudal fin with 11–13 (9 in subadult) brown or darkgrey oblique bars crossing both lobes; on upper caudal-fin lobe 4 or 5 bars, on lower lobe 5–8 bars; lower caudal lobe may be longitudinally crossed by a dark grey stripe (only observed in single subadult); caudal-fin bars and hyaline interspaces of about pupil width in adults; in subadult hyaline interspaces on upper lobe and bars on lower lobe wider (based on single subadults); lower caudal-fin lobe tip sometimes black; barbels white; a single yellow, pale beige or pale red mid-lateral body stripe of less than pupil width from behind head to caudal peduncle, the stripe covered by 3 sections with horizontal series of 2–4 dark brown or black dots, the posteriormost series of 2 dots behind second dorsal-fin base connecting to a dark saddle placed behind second dorsal fin; first dorsal fin with closely fused pale-red brown or pale-grey stripes; the tip region of first dorsal fin without dark pigmentation; second dorsal fin with 2–3 well-separated, brown or black stripes with hyaline interspaces, the dorsal-most stripe the largest and darkest; preserved fish brown or pale brown, mid-lateral body stripe completely lost, often with remains of dark saddle and—more rarely—other dark pigmentation patterns.

Distribution, habitat and size. Arabian/Persian Gulf and inner Gulf of Oman: depth 15–20 m; maximum size 11 cm SL.

Intraspecific comparison. The single subadult differs from adults in shallower maximum body and head depth, shallower caudal peduncle, shallower suborbital depth, larger eyes, longer anal-fin base, slightly narrower pectoral fins and wider bars on caudal fin, especially on lower fin lobe which is crossed by a dark stripe at mid of lobe ( Tables 2, 9; Figure 2 G, H ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map showing the distribution of the six species of the margarethae group. Three populations of Upeneus margarethae are indicated by different symbols. Numbers indicate multiple sampling localities.

FIGURE 2. (A–F) Upeneus margarethae; (A) HT, SAIAB 82217, 82 mm SL, WIO, Mozambique, off Beira (O. Alvheim); (B) SMF 35030, 90 mm SL, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, off Jizan, (S.V. Bogorodsky); (C) 86 mm SL, Tuticorin, S India (K.K. Bineesh); (D) SAIAB 203480, 95 mm SL, EIO, Myanmar, NW od Basuhino Island (P. Psomadakis; side-reversed image); (E) CSIRO CA 3052, 98 mm SL, EIO, NW Australia, off Port Hedland (CSIRO staff); (F) subadult, 47 mm SL, EIO, Thailand, Kampuan Mangrove forest, Suksamran, Ranong (S. Ratmuangkhwang); (G, H) U. randalli: (G) HT, BPBM 33180, 101 mm SL, Arabian/ Persian Gulf, off S Kuwait, (J.E. Randall); (H) BPBM29498, 60 mm SL, Bahrain (J.E. Randall).

FIGURE 5. Four morphometric characters in adults of three Upeneus species of the margarethae group against SL and each other. For Upeneus margarethae, the three populations are indicated by different symbols.