aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology A new species of cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus: Apogonidae) from the Solomon Islands Gerald R. Allen1 and Mark V. Erdmann2, 3 1) Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Perth, Western Australia 6986. E-mail: [email protected] 2) Conservation International Indonesia Marine Program, Jl. Dr. Muwardi No. 17, Renon, Denpasar 80235 Indonesia. E-mail: [email protected] 3) California Academy of Sciences, 55 Museum Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA. Received: 24 December 2016 – Accepted: 30 December 2016 Keywords Reihe schwacher, schmaler dunkler Streifen in der unteren Taxonomy, cardinalfish, new species, reef fish, Solomon Hälfte, sowie ein schwarzer Außenrand der ersten Rücken- Islands. flosse. Das neue Taxon ähnelt O. lineomaculatus von den Kleinen Sundainseln Indonesiens, unterscheidet sich aber Abstract durch das Farbmuster, einen breiteren Interorbitalraum, A new species of apogonid, Ostorhinchus pallidus, is de- einen tieferen Schwanzstiel und einen längeren ersten After- scribed from 13 specimens, 41.2-51.8 mm SL, collected in flossenstrahl. 18-30 m at Guadalcanal and Makira in the Solomon Is- lands. Diagnostic features include dorsal rays VII-I,9; anal Résumé rays II,8; pectoral rays 14-15; lateral-line scales 24; predorsal Une nouvelle espèce d’Apogonidé, Ostorinchus pallidus est scales 3-4; developed gill rakers 4-5 + 18-19; preopercular décrite sur base de 13 spécimens, 41,2-51,8 mm LS, collec- margin and ridge serrate; body depth 2.9-3.4 in SL; third tés à une profondeur de 18-30 m à Guadalcanal et Makira and fourth dorsal spines longest; colour in life pale pinkish, dans les îles Salomon. Les caractéristiques diagnostiques grading to pale yellow ventrally with faint grey stripe on comprennent les rayons de la dorsale VII-I,9, les rayons de head at eye level, large black spot at base of caudal fin, series l’anale II,8, les rayons de la pectorale 14-15, les écailles de la of faint narrow dark bars on the lower side, and black outer ligne latérale 24, les écailles prédorsales 3-4, les branchio - edge on first dorsal fin. The new taxon is similar to O. lineo- spines développées 4-5 + 18-19, la marge préoperculaire et maculatus from the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia but l’excroissance en dents de scie, la hauteur du corps 2,9-3,4 differs with regards to colour pattern, a wider interorbital, LS, les troisième et quatrième rayons durs de la dorsale les deeper caudal peduncle, and longer first anal spine. plus longues, la couleur in vivo rose pâle, passant au jaune pâle ventralement avec une ligne grise peu marquée sur la Zusammenfassung tête au niveau de l’oeil, une grande tache noire à la base de Auf der Grundlage von 13 Exemplaren, 41,2-51,8 mm SL, la caudale, des séries de légères barres sombres et étroites sur die in 18 bis 30 m Tiefe bei Guadalcanal und Makira an den la partie inférieure, et un bord externe noir sur la première Salomoninseln gesammelt worden waren, wird eine neue dorsale. Le nouveau taxon est proche de O. lineomaculatus Art der Apogoniden, Ostorhinchus pallidus, beschrieben. Zu des Petites Iles de la Sonde en Indonésie, mais se distingue den Bestimmungsmerkmalen gehören: Rückenflossen- par le patron de coloration,, un espace interorbital plus strahlen VII-1,9; Afterflossenstrahlen II,8; Brustflossen- large, un pédoncule caudal plus large et un premier rayon strahlen 14-15; Seitenlinienschuppen 24; prädorsale Schup- dur anal plus long. pen 3-4; voll entwickelte Kiemenreusen 4-5 +18-19; Rand und Grat vor dem Kiemendeckel (präopercular) gesägt; Sommario Rumpftiefe 2,9-3,4 in SL; dritter und vierter Rückenstachel Una nuova specie di apogonide, Ostorhinchus pallidus, è am längsten; Farbgebung bei lebenden Tieren: blasser descritta sulla base di 13 esemplari, di 41,2-51,8 mm SL, Rosaton, der bauchwärts in ein blasses Gelb übergeht, mit raccolti in 18-30 metri di profondità a Guadalcanal e einem schwachen grauen Streifen am Kopf auf Augenhöhe, Makira nelle Isole Salomone. Le caratteristiche diagno- großer schwarzer Fleck an der Basis der Schwanzflosse, eine stiche includono: VII-I, 9 raggi dorsali; II, 8 raggi anali; 33 aqua vol. 23 no. 1 - 18 January 2017 A new species of cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus: Apogonidae) from the Solomon Islands 14-15 raggi pettorali; 24 scaglie della linea laterale; 3-4 sured to their extreme bases; caudal concavity is the scaglie predorsali; 4-5 + 18-19 rastrelli branchiali svilup- horizontal distance between verticals at the tips of pati; margine preopercolare e cresta seghettati; altezza del the shortest and longest caudal-fin rays. corpo 2,9-3,4 in SL; terza e quarta spina dorsale più lunga; Pectoral-ray counts include the upper rudimentary colorazione vitale rosa pallido, tendente al giallo pallido ventralmente con una debole striscia grigia sulla testa all'al- ray; lateral-line scale counts are made to the base of tezza degli occhi, una grande macchia nera alla base della the caudal fin (not including the pored scales poste- pinna caudale, una serie di sottili e tenui barre scure sul lato rior to the hypural plate); gill-raker counts are made inferiore e la prima pinna dorsale con bordo esterno nero. on the first gill arch and include developed rakers Il nuovo taxon è simile a O. lineomaculatus presente nelle only (those which are higher than the width of their Piccole Isole della Sonda in Indonesia, ma si differenzia per base); the count of the upper-limb rakers is given la colorazione, un interorbitale più ampio, un peduncolo first, followed by the lower-limb count; the raker at caudale più alto e una prima spina anale più lunga. the angle is contained in the lower-limb count. Proportional measurements of type specimens are INTRODUCTION given in Table I as percentages of the standard Cardinalfishes, family Apogonidae, are an impor- length. Data in parentheses in the description refer tant component of the global coral-reef fish com- to paratypes. Type specimens have been deposited munity. Although not entirely confined to this at the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, habitat, the majority of the estimated 358 species Washington, D.C. (USNM) and the Western Aus- (Mabuchi et al. 2014) inhabit Indo-Pacific reefs or tralian Museum, Perth (WAM). Other museum adjacent soft-bottom areas where they are among abbreviations as follows: Bishop Museum, Hon- the most abundant nocturnally active fishes. Simi- olulu (BPBM) and Muséum National d’Histoire lar to numerous other reef-fish families, the highest Naturelle, Paris (MNHN). number of genera and species occur in the East In- Comparative material examined: Ostorhinchus li- dian Archipelago, extending from the Andaman neomaculatus (all paratypes from Indonesia): Sea to the Solomon Islands. Allen & Erdmann BPBM 32233, 2 specimens, 44.3-48.5 mm SL, (2012) included coverage of the 149 reef species in Maumere, Flores; BPBM 34081, 43.2 mm SL, 24 genera from this region. The present paper de- Japanese shipwreck east of Maumere, Flores; scribes a new species of Ostorhinchus Lacépède BPBM 34159, 2 specimens, 38.7-46.4 mm SL, 1802 collected by the authors at the Solomon Is- Maumere Bay, Flores; MNHN 1998–1380, 2 lands. It was initially identified as O. lineomacula- specimens, 37.6-42.6 mm SL, Maumere Bay, Flo- tus Allen & Randall (2002), originally described res; USNM 351559, 2 specimens, 37.7-38.7 mm from Indonesia. However, closer examination SL, Maumere Bay, Flores; WAM30514-002, 2 prompted by the collection of additional speci- specimens, 45.0-47.2 mm SL, Tulamben, Bali. mens in 2016, revealed the two species are distinct, but obvious close relatives. Ostorhinchus pallidus, n. sp. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pale Cardinalfish Lengths given for specimens are standard length (Figs 1-3 & 5A; Table I) (SL), measured from the front of the upper lip to the base of the caudal fin (posterior end of hypural Holotype: WAM P.32546-001, 49.0 mm SL, Star plate); body depth is the maximum depth from the Harbour, 10°47.308’S, 162°16.112’E, southeast- base of the dorsal spines; body width is measured ern end of Makira Island, Solomon Islands, 30 m, just posterior to the gill opening; head length (HL) rotenone, G. R. Allen, 7 June 2004. is taken from the front of the upper lip to the end Paratypes: USNM 432538, 4 specimens, 45.1- of the opercular membrane, and snout length from 51.8 mm SL, collected with holotype; WAM the same anterior point to the fleshy edge of the or- P.32546-002, 6 specimens, 45.9–50.9 mm SL, col- bit; orbit diameter is the greatest fleshy diameter, lected with holotype; WAM P.34617-009, 2 speci- and interorbital width the least bony width; caudal mens, 41.2-44.7 mm SL, Aruhilo, 09°17.222’S, peduncle depth is the least depth, and caudal pe- 159°46.078’E, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 18 duncle length the horizontal distance between ver- m, clove oil, M. Erdmann, 12 October 2016. ticals at the rear base of the anal fin and the caudal- Diagnosis: Dorsal rays VII-I,9; anal rays II,8; fin base; lengths of fin spines and soft rays are mea- pectoral rays 15 (occasionally 14); lateral-line scales aqua vol. 23 no. 1 - 18 January 2017 34 Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdmann 24; predorsal scales 3-4; developed gill rakers 4-5 + dorsal fin (more pronounced in male); peritoneum 18-19; preopercular margin serrate; preopercular pale with scattered melanophores; outer surface of ridge finely serrate; body depth 2.9–3.4 in SL; intestinal tract black. third and fourth dorsal spines longest; colour in life Description: Dorsal rays VII-I,9; anal rays II,8; pinkish, grading to pale yellow ventrally with faint all dorsal and anal soft rays branched, the last to grey stripe on head at eye level, large black spot at base; pectoral rays 15 (except 2 paratypes with 14), base of caudal fin, series of faint narrow dark bars the lowermost and uppermost pair unbranched; on the lower side, and black outer edge on first pelvic rays I,5, all rays branched; principal caudal Fig.