Halicampus Zavorensis and H. Marquesensis, New Species of Pipefishes (Syngnathidae) from Mozambique and the Marquesas Islands

ISSN 0075-2088

J.L.B. SMITH INSTITUTE OF ICHTHYOLOGY

SPECIAL PUBLICATION

No. 34

Halicampus zavorensis and H. marquesensis, new species of pipefishes (Syngnathidae) from Mozambique and the Marquesas Islands

C.E. Dawson

GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

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The publication of this paper has been assisted by a grant from the South African Department of National Education. Halicampus zavorensis and H. marquesensis, new species of pipefishes (Syngnathidae) from Mozambique and the Marquesas Islands

C.E. Dawson Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Museum, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT Two new species of syngnathine (tail-pouch) pipefishes sharing a continuous median dorsal snout ridge, a short snout (its length more than 2 in HL), presence of lateral spines or ridges on the snout, dermal flaps on the eye, 14 trunk rings and ca. 21—23 dorsal-fin rays are described and illustrated. Halicampus zavorensis is distinguished by a linear and distally spinulose dorsal snout ridge, two lateral spines on the snout and 36-37 tail rings. In H. marquesensis, the arcuate and partly denticulate dorsal snout ridge is paralleled distally by a bilateral pair of ridges which originate on the interorbital, there is a vestigial lateral ridge on the snout, and there are 39-40 tail rings. These pipefishes are compared to other species presently referred to the genus Halicampus Kaup.

INTRODUCTION In recent reports (Dawson, 1982, 1983), I have provisionally referred several species of syngnathine (tail-pouch) pipefishes, formerly included in Micrognathus Duncker and Trachyrhamphus Kaup, to the genus Halicampus Kaup. Nominal species included in Halicampus (Table 1) apparently represent more than one phyletic lineage, but I cannot yet distinguish these adequately, material is limited for several taxa, and review of the genus would now be premature. The two new species of pipefishes treated here are best referred to the Halicampus species group, they are clearly distinguished from other taxa included in the genus, and their description seems appropriate at this time. Both have discontinuous superior trunk and tail ridges, and have the lateral trunk ridge confluent with the inferior tail ridge (Fig. 1). In addition, they share the presence of dermal flaps on the eye, lateral spines or ridge(s) on the snout, an anal fin, and a 10-rayed caudal fin.

METHODS Measurements are in millimetres (mm) and some are referred to standard length (SL) or head length (HL); colour descriptions are mainly from specimens preserved in alcohol, and meristic values of the holotypes are indicated by asterisks. As employed here, the term “ venter” refers to the ventral surface of the head or body; depths are in metres (m); other methods are those of Dawson (1977).

1 Specimens are deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) , Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu (BPBM), California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (CAS), Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Museum, Ocean Springs (GCRL), Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (ROM), and the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (RUSI). Halicampus zavorensis, sp. n. Figs. 1, 2 HOLOTYPE: RUSI 12243 (93.5 mm SL, presumably adult female), Mozambique, Zavora (24°31 'S, 35°13'E), collection data uncertain, probably from tidepool, Oct. 1953, J.L.B. & M.M. Smith, collectors. PARATYPES: GCRL 20888 (40 mm SL, juvenile) and ROM 40326 (58 mm SL, juvenile). Gulf of Oman, Oman, Sur, 22°35'30"N, 59°32'00"E, 4 m, sandy rock reef over rocky sand with some coral, 1 June 1981, B.N.G. Simm collector. DIAGNOSIS: Trunk rings 14; total rings 50-51; snout length more than 2.0 in HL; median dorsal snout ridge continuous, essentially linear, not strongly elevated or arcuate, not paralleled distally by a pair of low bilateral ridges; superior ridges without a subterminal distal notch on body rings. DESCRIPTION: Rings 14 + 36-37*, dorsal-fin rays 22-23*, subdorsal rings 1.0-0.75* + 4.0-4.25* = 5.0*-5.25, pectoral-fin rays 13*, anal-fin rays 3-4*. Measurements (mm) of holotype and larger paratype (in parentheses) follow: SL 99.5 (58.0), HL 9.1 (6.6), snout length 3.5 (2.3), snout depth 1.1 (1.0), length of dorsal-fin base 9.1 (5.6), anal ring depth 3.3 (2.0), trunk depth 3.5 (2.3), pectoral-fin length 1.8 (damaged). Median dorsal snout ridge continuous, originates near rear of upper jaw, ends near vertical through nares, little elevated, entire and slightly emarginate in front, the posterior half edged with minute spinules; side of snout with two blunt spines, the larger near middle of snout length; dorsal rim of orbit protruding dorsolaterad; posterior supraorbital, frontal, nuchal, prenuchal and supraopercular ridges distinct and somewhat elevated, their margins minutely denticulate; opercular ridge complete or incomplete, angled upward toward gill opening; pectoral-fin base protruding laterad, somewhat conical, the apex crossed by a prominent ridge. Principal body ridges distinct, the superior ridges elevated, not arched dorsal on subdorsal rings; margins of superior ridges essentially entire on anterior part of rings, progressively denticulate to serrate behind, the distal serrations usually the largest; dermal flaps usually present on eye, sometimes present elsewhere on head and body. The holotype (Fig. 2) is largely faded in preservative, the ground color is tan, and there are persistent indications of about 12 brownish bars crossing the dorsum and side of the body. The paratypes have about four brown bars on the side of snout and suborbital, the opercle is irregularly spotted and blotched with pale and brown, and the side and dorsum of the body are crossed by about 15 diffuse brown bars (0.5 - 1.0 ring wide). These dark bars (spaced 2 -3 rings apart) are supplemented by light brownish bars crossing the lower part of the side and venter of each trunk ring. COMPARISONS: Among pipefishes now referred to the genus Halicampus (Table 1), the H. zavorensis combination of a short snout with a continuous and essentially linear median dorsal snout ridge is shared only with H. crinitus from the western Atlantic Ocean. From this species, H. zavorensis differs in having 14 trunk rings (versus 17 - 18), 36 - 37 tail rings (versus 32 - 35), and in having 22 - 23 dorsal- fin rays (versus 18-22 in H. crinitus).

2 In addition to H. zavorensis, there are 4 other short-snouted pipefishes of the Halicampus group that are known from the western Indian Ocean: H. grayi, H. mataafae and 6 specimens provisionally identified as H. dunckeri (4 fish) and H. boothae (2 fish). Compared to these, H. zavorensis lacks the elevated and essentially arcuate snout ridge that is characteristic of both H. dunckeri and H. boothae, has 14 trunk rings, versus 17 or 18 (H. grayi) or 15 (H. mataafae) and lacks the spiny, discontinuous, snout ridge present in both of the latter species.

REMARKS: The opercular ridge is complete in the smaller paratype, and crosses about half of the opercle in the holotype and larger paratype. Dermal flaps have evidently been lost from the holotype but simple flaps persist on the eyes of both paratypes, and the smaller fish has simple flaps on the opercular ridge and on the lateral ridge of some trunk rings.

Figure 1. Halicampus zavorensis, female, 93.5 mm SL, holotype (RUSI 12243). Lateral and dorsal aspects of head and anterior trunk rings, together with section of body illustrating configuration of principal ridges and dorsal and anal fins.

3 Halicampus marquesensis, sp. n. Figs. 2, 3

Micrognathus edmonsoni (sic). Herald and Randall, 1972: 139 (misident.); Dawson and Randall, 1975: 266 (in part, CAS 13977 only). HOLOTYPE: BPBM 11936 (70.5 mm SL, adult male), Marquesas Is., Tahuata, south end of Vaitahu Bay, 35.1 m, 23 Apr. 1971, J.E. Randall, collector. PARATYPES: BPBM 10857 (1, 70.5), CAS 13977 (1, 66) and GCRL 20902 (1, 70), all presumptive females; Marquesas Is., Nuku Hiva, NW side of Sentinelle de l ’Est, 21.3 m, 14 May 1971, J.E. Randall and D. Bryant, collector.

DIAGNOSIS: Trunk rings 13 - 14; total rings 52-54; snout length more than 2.0 in HL; median dorsal snout ridge continuous, somewhat elevated and arcuate, paralleled distally by a pair of low bilateral ridges; superior ridges without a subterminal distal notch on body rings. DESCRIPTION: Rings 13-14*, dorsal-fin rays 21*-22, total subdorsal rings 5.25* — 5.5, pectoral-fin rays 11*-12, anal-fin rays 3*. Measurements (mm) of holotype are: SL 70.5, HL 5.4, snout length 2.1, snout depth 0.5, length of dorsal- fin base 5.9, anal ring depth 1.1, trunk depth 1.3, pectoral-fin length 1.1. Proportional data of 4 specimens 66-70.5 mm SL: HL in SL 11.9-13.1 (12.5), snout length in HL 2.4-2.7 (2.6), length of dorsal-fin base in HL 0.9-1.0 (1.0), anal ring depth in HL 4.3-5.1 (4.8), trunk depth in HL 3.7-4.7 (4.2). Median dorsal snout ridge continuous, originates between middle and anterior third of snout length, ends near vertical through nares, somewhat elevated and arcuate in lateral aspect, the margin entire to minutely denticulate, the posterior end of ridge paralleled bilaterally by a low ridge which originates on interorbital. Side of snout with a short, vestigial, ridge; dorsal rim of orbit a little elevated, flared laterad, the margin entire; frontal, nuchal, prenuchal, posterior supraorbital and supraopercular ridges distinct, not strongly elevated, the margins essentially entire; opercular ridge complete, angled upward toward gill opening; pectoral-fin base protruding a little laterad, somewhat conical, with one ridge; principal body ridges prominent; superior ridges clearly elevated, arched somewhat dorsal on subdorsal rings, the margins mostly entire on anterior half of each ring but serrate distally; dermal flaps present on eye, sometimes present elsewhere on head and body.

Figure 2. Top — Halicampus zavorensis, holotype, 93.5 mm SL (RUSI 12243). Bottom — H. marquesensis, holotype, 70.5 mm SL (BPBM 11936).

4 The holotype and paratypes are largely faded in preservative but patches of brown persist on the head, traces remain of 20 or so dark bars crossing the dorsum of the body, and there are indications of diffuse dark bars crossing the lower part of the side and venter of each trunk ring. A colour photograph by J.E. Randall of a recently collected paratype (BPBM 10857) shows the upper half of the side of the trunk to be mottled greenish brown, and the lower half is pale with a narrow brown bar on the anterior part of each trunk ring. Most of the side of the tail is pale with a narrow brown bar on each ring, but the distal third of the tail is mottled brown. COMPARISONS: This species is distinguished from other short-snouted pipefishes (snout length >2.0 in HL) in the genus Halicampus by the presence of ridges paralleling the distal part of the median dorsal snout ridge. The somewhat arcuate snout ridge (Fig. 1) is similar to that found in H. boothae, H. dunckeri and H. edmondsoni. However, it is lower than that found in most specimens of H. dunckeri, the ridge does not end on the interorbital as in H. edmondsoni, and the complete opercular ridge and serrate superior body ridges are not present in subadult-adult specimens of either H. boothae or H. edmondsoni that I have examined.

Figure 3. Halicampus marquesensis, male, 70.5 mm SL, holotype (BPBM 11936). Lateral and dorsal aspects of head and anterior trunk rings, together with section of body illustrating configuration of principal ridges and dorsal and anal tins.

5 REMARKS: The dorsal fin originates just behind the anterior margin of the 1st tail ring of the holotype, and between the middle and posterior margin of the last trunk ring of each of the paratypes. Dermal flaps are present on the eye in all specimens, and one paratype (BPBM 10857) retains a long, simple, flap at the anterior end of the nuchal ridge and a few short flaps on the lateral and superior trunk ridges. The brood pouch of the holotype reaches the anterior third of the 13th tail ring, the pouch folds are voluminous, and the pouch plates are angled somewhat laterad. The brood-pouch eggs are lost, but the dorsum of the pouch retains two parallel rows of about 25 membranous egg-compartments. The holotype and paratypes were taken in SCUBA assisted collections over rubble and sand bottom; clumps of the alga Halimeda sp. were noted on the collection record of the holotype. An additional specimen (61 mm SL) from Fiji (ANSP 128417), identified as Micrognathus edmondsoni by Dawson in Dawson and Randall (1975), is provisionally referred to Halicampus marquesensis but it may represent an undescribed taxon. This apparently late juvenile or subadult fish differs from the endemic Hawaiian H. edmondsoni in having vestigial ridges paralleling the distal extremity of the dorsal snout ridge, in having 4.0 total subdorsal rings (versus 5.0 - 5.75), and the clearly serrate superior ridges are not replicated in juvenile-adult specimens (49-94 mm SL) of H. edmondsoni. This fish differs from the type material of H. marquesensis in having vestigial rather than distinct ridges paralleling the distal end of the dorsal snout ridge, in generally having somewhat larger and more numerous serrations on the superior ridges, as well as in having 19 dorsal-fin rays and 4.0 total subdorsal rings (versus 21 - 22 and 5.25 - 5.5 in the tvpe material).

Table 1. Original name, author(s) and year of publication of species presently referred to the genus Halicampus Kaup. Micrognathus boothae Whitley, 1964. Micrognathus brocki Herald, 1953. Syngnathus crinitus Jenyns, 1842. Micrognathus dunckeri Chabanaud, 1929. Ichthyocampus edmondsoni Pietschmann, 1930. Halicampus grayi Kaup, 1856* Halicampus macrorhynchus Bamber, 1915. Halicampus marquesensis sp.n. Corythroichthys mataafae Jordan & Seale, 1906. Syngnathus nitidus Gunther, 1873. Yozia punctata Kamohara, 1952. Micrognathus spinirostris Dawson & Allen, 1981. Halicampus zavorensis sp.n. *Type-species of Halicampus by Opinion 53, Int’l. Comm. Zool. Nomenclature.

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank W.N. Eschmeyer (CAS), P.C. Heemstra and M.M. Smith (RUSI), J.E. Randall (BPBM), W.F. Smith-Vaniz and the late J.E. Bohlke (ANSP), and R. Winterbottom (ROM) for permitting study of material in their care. Specimens were donated to the GCRL collection by J.E. Randall and R. Winterbottom. Drawings are by Mrs Yasue Matthews.

REFERENCES BAMBER, R.C. 1915. Reports on the marine biology of the Sudanese Red Sea, from collections made by Cyril Crossland, M.A., D.Sc., F.L.S. — XXII. The fishes. Journal o f the Linnean Society, Zoology 31: 38-485. CHABANAUD, P. 1929. Remarques sur divers Poissons de la famille des Syngnathidae et description de deux especes nouvelles de I’lnde Archipelagique. Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France 54: 165- 173. DAWSON, C.E. 1977. Synopsis of the syngnathine pipefishes usually referred to the genus Ichthyocampus Kaup, with description of new genera and species. Bulletin of Marine Science 27(4): 595-650. DAWSON, C.E. 1982. Review of the genus Micrognathus Duncker (Pisces: Syngnathidae), with description of M. natans, n. sp. Proceedings o f the Biological Society of Washington 95(4): 657-687. DAWSON, C.E. 1983. Review of the Indo-Pacific pipefish genus Trachyrhamphus (Syngnathidae). Micronesica 18(2): DAWSON, C.E. and G.R. ALLEN. 1981. Micrognathus spinirostris, a new Indo- Pacific pipefish (Syngnathidae). Journal o f the Royal Society o f Western Australia 64(2): 65-68. DAWSON, C.E. and J.E. RANDALL. 1975. Notes on Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Pisces: Syngnathidae) with description of two new species. Proceeding of the Biological Society o f Washington 88(25): 263-280. GUNTHER, A. 1873. Erster ichthyologischer Beitrag nach Exemplaren aus dem Museum Godeffroy. Journal des Museum Godeffroy 1(2): 97- 103. HERALD, E.S. 1953. Family Syngnathidae: Pipefishes. (In) L.P. Schultz et al. Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 202(1): 231 -278. HERALD, E.S. and J.E. RANDALL. 1972. Five new Indo-Pacific pipefishes. Proceedings o f the California Academy of Sciences (fourth series) 39(11): 121-140. JENYNS, L. 1842. Fish. (In) The zoology of H.M.S. BEAGLE, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Smith, Elder & Co., London. 4: 1 - 172. JORDAN, D.S. and A. SEALE. 1906. The fishes of Samoa. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Fisheries 25: 173-455. KAMOHARA, T. 1952. Additions to the offshore bottom-fishes of Prov. Tosa, Japan, with descriptions of two new species. Research Reports o f the Kochi University 1(6): 1-3. KAUP, J.J. 1856. Catalogue o f lophobranchiate fish in the collection of the British Museum. Taylor and Francis, London. 80 pp. PIETSCHMANN, V. 1930. Remarks on Pacific fishes. Bulletin of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum 73: 1 -24. WHITLEY, G.P. 1964. Fishes from the Coral Sea and the Swain Reefs. Records of the Australian Museum 26(5): 145- 195.

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