Eyythyocles taeniatus, a New Emmelichthyid 4.0 3 Fish from New Caledonia JOHN E. RANDALLAND JACQUES RIVATON Erythrocles taeniatus, a new species of emmelichthyid fish, is described from 36 specimens, 77-159 mm SL, taken by trawl southeast of New Caledonia in 300 m. It is distinguished from its closest known relative, E. scintillans, in having modally 12 dorsal soft rays, a slightly more elongate body (depth 3.45-4.1 in SL), shorter head (head length 3.25-3.45 in SL), and different life color (deep pink with a distinct red midlateral stripe). EEMSTRA and Randall (1977) revised the of the specimens has revealed that they repre- H Emmelichthyidae which they restricted sent a new species of the genus Erythrocles Jor- to three genera: Emmelichthys Richardson (four dan (1919). The purpose of the present paper species), Erythrocles Jordan (four species), and is to describe this species. Plagiogeneion Forbes (two species). They noted that the fishes of this family are found in all MATERIALSAND METHODS oceans at latitudes usually less than 40” (distri- bution map of the family given by Springer, Type specimens have been deposited at the 1982, fig. 19) and usually in the depth range of following institutions: Australian Museum, Syd- 100-400 m. Emmelichthyids are bottom ori- ney (AMS); Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Ho- ented and feed on zooplankton. They have the nolulu (BPBM); California Academy of Sci- usual characteristics for this mode of life: fusi- ences, San Francisco (CAS); Muséum National form body, forked caudal fin, short snout, pro- d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN); National trusible oblique mouth, reduced dentition, and Science Museum, Tokyo (NSMT);J. L. B. Smith numerous long gill rakers. Heemstra and Ran- Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown (RUSI); dall noted that these fishes are distinguished by and United States National Museum of Natural their unique upper-jaw morphyology with a History, Washington, D.C. (USNM). Nontype broadly expanded, scaly, exposed maxilla, long material is retained at the laboratory of the In- slender supramaxilla, and premaxilla with a stitut Francais de Recherche Scientifique pour prominent midlateral process. Johnson (1 98 1) le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM) characterized the family further and concluded in Nouméa, New Caledonia. that is has no close relationship to lutjanoids, Measurements and counts were made as de- sparoids, or haemuloids. fined by Heemstra and Randall (1977), except The common name for the Emmelichthyidae for the following: orbit diameter is the greatest was Bonnetmouths, but when the Inermiidae fleshy diameter of the orbit, and interorbital were removed from the family, this name went width is the least fleshy width of the interorbital with it. The common name Rovers is now ap- space. Preanal length is the distance from the plied to the Emme1,ichthyidae (Robins et al., origin of the anal fin to the front of the upper 1991). lip. Caudal concavity for fishes with emarginate Kotlyar (1982) described a new Eininelichthys or forked caudal fins is the horizontal distance from the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. between verticals at the tips of the longest and Parin (1991) added three new species of Plugi- shortest caudal-fin rays. ogeneion from the southern Pacific and Indian Lengths of specimens are standard length oceans, thus increasing the number of species (SL). Proportional measurements are given as in the family to 14. percentages of the standard length in Table 1 In early 1990, a trawl haul from 300 m from and in the Diagnosis. Proportions in the text of the ORSTOM research vessel Alis at Jumeaux the Description are ratios rounded to the near- Bank (about 150 km southeast of New Cale- est 0.05. Meristic data for the three Pacific spe- donia) resulted in the capture of a large series cies of Erythrocles are presented in Tables 2 and of an emmelichthyid fish unusual in having a 3. Data in the Description in parentheses refer dark red stripe on the side of the body. Study to paratypes. Q 1994 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Plate I A. Holotype of ErJJfhrockstaeniatus, BPBM 34618, 155.2 mm SL, Jumeaux Bank, New Caledonia (Philippe Ribère). B. Erythrocles scirztillans, BPBM 8509, 263 mm SL, Hilo, Hawaii (John E. Randall). C. Erythrocles schlegeli, BPBM 19165, 350 mm SL, Okinawa (John E. Randall). RANDALL AND RIVATON-NEW EMMELICHTHYID FISH 1029 TABLE1. PROPORTIONALMEASUREMENTS OF TYPE SPECIMENS OF Erytlirocles taenialus EXPRESSEDAs PERCENTAGESOF THE STANDARDLENGTH Holot ' e Parat pes BPBM 3%18 BPBM i4616 Standard length (mm) 155.2 77 85 94 127 132 138 140 155 159 Body depth 27.8 26.8 24.8 24.5 29.0 26.5 27.6 27.0 27.7 27.9 Body width 16.9 13.1 13.2 13.9 16.3 15.4 16.8 16.4 16.5 15.1 Head length 29.8 29.0 29.8 29.6 30.4 30.5 29.7 30.5 30.8 29.0 Snout length 7.6 6.6 6.7 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.3 7.6 7.4 6.9 Upper-jaw length 12.7 11.8 12.1 12.6 12.5 12.6 12.5 12.8 12.6 11.8 Orbit diameter 10.0 11.4 11.2 10.7 10.2 10.1 10.6 10.0 10.5 9.8 Interorbital width 9.0 8.5 8.8 8.9 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.7 8.9 Caudal peduncle depth 8.9 10.9 10.2 9.8 10.1 9.6 9.3 9.0 9.0 8.9 Caudal peduncle length 20.4 21.8 22.1 21.2 20.4 20.8 22.3 22.1 20.7 20.6 Caudal peduncle width 4.6 4.0 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 5.0 4.3 4.5 4.8 Predorsal length 37.5 36.1 35.6 36.0 37.4 37.9 36.1 36.4 37.2 36.4 Preanal length 66.8 65.6 65.9 65.7 67.6 67.1 67.6 68.0 68.0 66.5 Prepelvic length 36.7 33.4 35.7 34.8 37.5 36.6 36.3 35.8 37.7 33.8 Dorsal-fin base 44.3 42.6 41.8 43.7 45.5 44.9 44.2 44.4 43.6 42.3 First dorsal spine 5.8 6.1 5.6 broken 5.1 4.7 6.8 4.8 5.1 5.6 Longest dorsal spine 16.9 15.1 15.3 16.9 broken 16.6 17.0 17.0 broken broken l Penultimate spine 4.5 4.5 4.4 3.9 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.2 broken 3.8 Last dorsal spine 5.7 5.6 6.5 6.7 5.9 5.9 6.2 5.3 5.2 broken Longest dorsal ray broken 10.4 10.8 10.4 10.8 10.4 10.4 10.7 10.6 10.6 Anal-fin base 15.3 15.5 15.3 15.1 15.7 15.2 15.5 14.8 14.3 15.1 First anal spine 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.4 2.6 Third anal spine 8.4 8.7 7.2 7.7 8.6 8.4 8.7 7.9 7.5 7.6 Longest anal ray 10.4 10.3 10.7 9.5 11.7 11.0 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.7 Caudal-fin length 27.3 broken 26.1 27.0 26.8 27.2 27.1 29.3 28.0 27.0 Caudal concavity 15.3 - 12.7 14.7 14.7 15.2 15.8 16.5 16.5 14.8 Pectoral-fin length 22.4 19.7 20.7 20.7 21.4 21.6 21.6 22.2 23.0 21.9 Pelvic-spine length 13.2 12.9 13.4 13.6 13.6 13.0 12.7 12.6 12.4 12.3 Pelvic-fin length 17.3 18.3 18.8 18.1 18.3 17.8 17.4 17.8 17.3 17.1 Erythrocles taeniatus n. sp. (rarely 18); lateral-line scales 68-7 1;body depth PI. IA 24.5-29.0% SL; caudal peduncle depth 8.9- 10.9%SL; head length 29.0-30.876 SL; no pro- Holotype.-BPBM 346 18, ripe female, 155.2 tuberances at edge of gill opening; no keel on mm, Jumeaux Bank, southeast of New Cale- side of caudal peduncle; pectoral-fin length donia at 23"38'9"S, 168"0'O"E, 300 m, bottom 19.7-23.0% SL; deep pink, suffused with yellow trawl, Aztec Sta. 5., R/V "Alis," René Grand- dorsally, with a broad midlateral red stripe (per- Perrin, 2 Feb. 1990. sists as a dusky band in preservative). ParatI9es (all taken with holotype).-AMS 1.31267- Description-Dorsal rays XI, 12 (1 1-12, usually 001,4: 79-139 mm; BPBM 34616, 10: 77-159 12-see Table 2), the first soft ray usually sim- mm; CAS 761 11,4: 77-148 mm; MNHN 1975- ple (first two segmented rays simple in some 755, 5: 87-137 mm; NSMT-P 34741, 4: 81- small specimens), the remaining rays branched; 134 mm; RUS1 36401,4: 81-128 mm; USNM anal rays II1,IO (9-10, usually IO), all seg- 317285,4: 80-135 mm. mented rays branched; principal caudal rays 17, the median 15 branched; upper and lower pro- Diagnosis.-Dorsal rays, XI, 11-12 (usually 12), current caudal rays 7, the first two segmented; the fin continuous but with a broad deep in- pectoral rays 20 (18-20, rarely 18-see Table dentation in the posterior spinous portion; anal 2), the upper two and lower two or three rays IO); rays III, 9-10 (usually pectoral rays 18-20 simple; pelvic rays I, 5; lateral-line scales 7 1 (68- 1030 COPEIA, 1992, NO.