Aseraggodes cyclurus, Randall, 2005

Randall, John E., 2005, A review of soles of the genus Aseraggodes from the South Pacific, with descriptions of seven new species and a diagnosis of Synclidopus., Memoirs of Museum Victoria 62 (2), pp. 191-212 : 198-199

Aseraggodes cyclurus sp. nov.

Figure 6 , Tables 1–3, 5

Holotype. BPBM 8105 , 73.3 mm, Society Islands , Tahiti, Papara, Teavaraa Pass, SE side, sand at entrance to cave, 27.5 m, rotenone, J.E. Randall, 21 Sep 1967.

Paratypes: USNM 379462 , 70.2 mm, same data as holotype ; ROM 61359 , 61.5 mm SL, Society Islands , Moorea, W side of pass off Maharepa about middle of its length, 17°29'24''S, 149°48'0''W, 15–18 m, steep slope with coral rubble, sand, and 3-m wall, rotenone , R. Winterbottom and R. Mooi, 5 Dec 1989 .

Diagnosis. Dorsal rays 68–71; anal rays 53; most dorsal and anal rays double branched; lateral-line scales 70–73 (including 6–7 anterior to a vertical at upper end of gill opening); vertebrae 36–37; dorsal pterygiophores anterior to fourth neural spine 10–11; body depth 2.25–2.4 in SL; HL 4.65 (4.7–4.95) in SL; eye diameter 4.65–4.9 in HL; upper eye overlapping about anterior half of lower eye; interorbital space narrow, the vertical distance separating eyes about three-fourths eye diameter; no caudal peduncle; no prominent cirri on ventral edge of head; lateral line aligned with ventral edge of upper eye; longest dorsal ray 1.45–1.6 in HL; caudal fin rounded, its length 4.7–4.8 in SL; pelvic fins 2.2–2.4 in HL, the tip of longest ray reaching base of third anal ray; ocular side mottled brown, the scale edges dark brown to black; large irregular blackish blotches, the most prominent comprising 4 below base of dorsal fin, 3 on lateral line, and 2 above posterior half of anal fin.

Description. Dorsal rays 71 (68–70); anal rays 53; dorsal rays double-branched except first 19 (first 21 and 25 of paratypes); anal rays double-branched except first 5 and 9 rays of paratypes; caudal rays 18, all branched, the middle 16 double-branched; pelvic rays 5, all branched; lateral-line scales on ocular side 73 (70–72), including 6–7 anterior to a vertical at upper end of gill opening; scales above lateral line on ocular side to dorsal-fin base about 24; scales below lateral line to anal-fin base about 27; vertebrae 37 (36–37); erisma (counted as the first dorsal pterygiophore) about twice as thick as remaining pterygiophores, its inner half narrowly branched; next 2 pterygiophores before tip of second neural spine; space between second and third neural spines with 5 pterygiophores; space between third and fourth neural spines with 2 (2–3) pterygiophores; total of 10 (10–11) dorsal pterygio-phores anterior to fourth neural spine; ventroanterioir margin of urohyal forming an angle of about 80°, the corner well-rounded.

Body depth 2.25 (2.25–2.4) in SL; body width (thickness) 5.65 (4.6–6.0) in body depth; ventral profile of head posterior to mouth nearly straight; HL 4.65 (4.7–4.95) in SL; snout length 2.7 (2.6) in HL; eye diameter 4.9 (4.65–4.7) in HL; least vertical interorbital width 8.0 (7.2–7.95) in HL; a vertical at posterior edge of upper eye (edge of dark eyeball) passing approximately through middle of lower eye; upper end of gill opening on a horizontal passing about one-half eye diameter ventral to lower eye; no caudal peduncle (base of lowermost caudal ray ending above base of last anal ray); depth of body at base of caudal fin 1.55 (1.4–1.45) in HL.

Snout not overlapping lower jaw when mouth closed; maxilla extending slightly posterior to a vertical at front edge of lower eye, the upper jaw length (blind side) 3.65 (2.5–2.65) in HL; blind side of upper and lower jaws with a dense band of slender, inward-projecting, slightly curved teeth up to about 7 rows; no teeth on ocular side of jaws; anterior nostril a tapering membranous tube anterior to upper edge of lower eye, just reaching anterior edge of eyeball when laid back, its length nearly equal to eye diameter; posterior nostril an oblique slit in labial groove directly in front of ventral part of lower eye; anterior nostril of blind side a short tapering membranous tube just above anterior third of upper lip; aperture of posterior nostril of blind side dorsoposterior to anterior nostril (internarial distance about equal to eye diameter), covered anteriorly with a flattened papilla.

Scales ctenoid on both sides (except those of lateral line partially embedded); scales of ocular side of body with 10–13 cteni; 3 rows of scales in interorbital space, with about another 6 rows extending onto medial half of each eye; scales on ocular side of head progressively smaller anteriorly and ventrally, the very small scales at front of snout without cteni; scales on blind side of head replaced anteriorly by small slender stout papillae on front of snout; a dense zone of small fleshy papillae ventral and adjacent to lower jaw on blind side and another adjacent to upper jaw, the latter not much broader than jaw width; anterior edge of snout and ventral edge of head with very fine cirri, none along edge of operculum at gill opening on either side. Lateral line straight on both sides along middle of body, projecting on ocular side toward ventral edge of lower eye; lateral-line of blind side obscure on head in zone of papillae where it curves well dorsal to upper jaw to tip of snout; a supratemporal branch of lateral line on blind side of head faintly visible, beginning at front of snout, and continuing along base of dorsal fin to anterior body.

Dorsal and anal fins with a basal sheath of 2 to 3 rows of scales; small scales continuing out on rays and adjacent membrane on first 25 rays of dorsal fin of ocular side of holotype, those on rays on a thin membranous ridge basally on each ray; only a few scales basally on first 7 rays of ocular side of anal fin; scales basally on rays of blind side except for last 19 rays of dorsal fin and last 17 of anal fin; small cirri projecting from edge of membranous ridge of anterior dorsal and anal rays of ROM paratype (but not apparent on Bishop Museum specimens); about basal third of caudal fin with scales on both sides; tiny, well-spaced, isolated scales still with cteni, on each side of rays posteriorly to within outer fourth of fin.

Origin of dorsal fin anterior to lower edge of upper eye, the predorsal length 4.85 (4.6) in HL; first dorsal ray (only the tip free) 6.55 (4.9) in HL; longest dorsal ray 1.75 (1.7) in HL; origin of anal fin below base of 20th dorsal ray and in line with posterior end of opercular membrane, the preanal length 3.95 (3.9) in SL; length of first anal ray 3.9 (3.7) in HL; longest anal ray 1.7 (1.6) in HL; caudal fin rounded, 4.8 (4.7) in SL; ocular-side pelvic fin on ventral edge of body, blind-side fin adjacent, both covered anteriorly by a basal band of small scales; third pelvic ray of each fin longest, reaching to base of third anal ray, 2.65 (2.55) in HL; anus ventroanterior to first anal ray; genital papilla on ocular side of base of first anal ray.

Colour of ocular side of holotype in alcohol pale tan, fins with pale yellowish rays and transparent membranes; no dark markings apparent.

Colour of holotype when fresh light brown, edges of the scales dark brown to black, with scattered small irregular pale blotches and small- er dark brown spots; large irregular blackish blotches in 3 rows: upper row of 4 blackish blotches along dorsal contour of body, middle row of four blotches on lateral line, the first at origin of lateral line, the 2 middle blotches clearly largest on body; lower row of 4 blotches below base of anal fin, less distinct than other blotches; blind side of body whitish; opercular membrane pale; fin rays mottled brown to dark brown, the membranes pale.

Etymology. Named cyclurus from the Greek for the nearly circular caudal fin.

Remarks. This species is described from three specimens, two from sand at the entrance to a cave in Tahiti at a depth of 27.5 m, and the third on a steep rubble and sand slope in 15–18 m in a pass at Moorea.

A fourth specimen, BPBM 20864 , 56.6 mm, collected at Budd Reef , Ringgold Isles, Fiji, in 11–26 m with rotenone by B.A. Carlson and M. Gawel on 14 Apr 1973, is provisionally identified as Aseraggodes cyclurus . The head and body were preserved in a curve, so it is difficult to make accurate proportional measurements, no photograph or colour notes were taken, and the colour has largely faded. The specimen has 70 dorsal rays, those posterior to 18th ray double-branched; 52 anal rays, those posterior to third ray double-branched, 74 lateral-line scales, 36 vertebrae, and 11 dorsal pterygiophores anterior to the fourth neural spine .

Aseraggodes cyclurus seems most closely related to A. heraldi Randall and Bartsch , described from two specimens, 38.5 and 47 mm SL, from the Marshall Islands. The two species share the following characters: no caudal peduncle, same vertebral count, lack of prominent cirri along the ventral edge of the head, scales extending onto anterior dorsal and anal rays beyond the basal scaly sheath, and many double-branched rays of the dorsal and anal fins. They differ slightly in the number of dorsal rays (70–73 for A. cyclurus vs 75 for A. heraldi ) and anal rays (51 and 52 for A. cyclurus vs 57 and 58 for A. heraldi ) and the number of dorsal pterygiophores before the fourth neural spine, 10 for A. cyclurus (11 for the non-type from Fiji), compared to 12 for A. heraldi . The difference in snout length is the only difference in proportional measurements that seems great enough to be beyond individual variation, given the difference in size of the specimens under comparison. The snout length of A. heraldi is longer, 8.1–8.2 in SL, compared to 6.8–6.9 for A. cyclurus . Also significant is the more extensive area of papillae anteriorly on the blind side of the snout of A. heraldi ; the entire snout dorsal to the straight anterior part of the upper jaw is densely covered with small papillae. In A. cyclurus there is only a zone of papillae adjacent to the jaw that is not much wider than the jaw. There is also a difference in the basic colour pattern of the two species. The dark blotches in the three basic rows on the body are more numerous, and their relative size smaller in A. heraldi .

Figures

Figure 6. Holotype of Aseraggodes cyclurus, BPBM 8105, 73.3 mm SL, Tahiti, Society Islands.