Memoirs of the Volume 48 Museum of Victoria Melbourne Australia 31 October 1987 A. Bartholomew, del et kih Str Frederick MCoy,dirext Steam litho Gor*Printino Of fea: Cover: Professor Frederick McCoy was Director of the National Museum of Victoria last century and between 1878 and 1885 published a “Prodro- mus of the Zoology of Victoria with Figures and Descriptions of the Living Species of all Classes of the Victorian Indigenous Animals”. This plate of a flat fish was prepared by McCoy but never published. The species is redescribed in this issue of the Memoirs by Martin Gomon Zebrias scalaris nom. nov. ISSN 0814-1827 MEMOIRS of the MUSEUM OF VICTORIA MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA Memoir 48 Number 1 October 1987 Director Robert Edwards Deputy Director (Natural History) Jim M. Bowler Editor Gary C. B. Poore PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE COUNCIL ©Museum of Victoria Council 1987 Printed by Brown Prior Anderson Pty Ltd Burwood Victoria Instructions to Authors The Museum of Victoria was formed in 1983 by the merger of the National Museum of Victoria (established in 1854) and the Science Museum of Victoria (established in 1870). Among the Museum's objectives are scholarship and educa- tion in the fields of natural history, science and technology, and history of human society. The Museum of Victoria publishes two scientific serials to further these objectives, Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria (until 1983 Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria) and Occasional Papers from the Museum of Victoria. The Memoirs publishes papers on orginal research in the natural sciences pertinent to Vic- toria and/or the Museums collections. All con- tributions are assessed by independant referees before publication. The Occasional Papers are research documents of sufficient importance to be preserved but which are not appropriate for primary scientific publication. Papers are factual rather than inter- pretative studies, may be of special local interest or may be longer than a normal scientific paper. Contributions will be refereed if appropriate. Two copies of the manuscript with accompany- ing plates and figures should be submitted to the Editor, Museum of Victoria, Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. Authors should con- sult a recent volume of the Memoirs to aquaint themselves with format. Manuscripts must be typed on A4 paper, double-spaced, on one side of the paper and with ample margins. Text on word-processor floppy disks will be accepted and are preferred. Papers should be arranged as follows: title (including higher classification of zoological taxa); authors’ names and addresses; abstract; contents (only if the paper is very long); introduction and main text; acknowledgements; references; index (only if very long); and tables. Captions to text figures and plates must be attached to the manuscript as final pages. Underlining in the text should be restricted to generic and specific names. Meas- urements must be in the metric system (SI units). References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the manuscript. Journal titles should be in full. References to books must give the year of publication, edition, name of publisher and city of publication. In taxonomic papers synonymies should be of the short form: taxon, author, year pages, figures. A period and dash must separate taxon and author except in the case of reference to the origi- nal description. Photographs must have clear definition and may be submitted as either glossy or flat prints at the actual size for reproduction. Line draw- ings for text figures should be in black ink on white card or drawing film. Maximum full-page size is 147 mm wide by 198 mm, single column width is 72 mm. Clear lettering must be inserted. Original drawings up to twice final size are acceptable. CONTENTS New Australian fishes. Part 1. Introduction. LOB TAR NSA OLI ads OAV OIG, ya EN ET a na 1 New Australian fishes. Part 2. Four new species of Apogonidae A O E A MAWON o A a, 5 New Australian fishes. Part 3. A new species of Pomacentrus (Pomacentridae) A o a a A a A e dealt EEE a re Pen 9 New Australian fishes. Part 4. A new species of Steeneichthys (Plesiopidae) EIER ALOT ee O e e een Ue I s t a lern Ahern Waren ap B. ALO 13 New Australian fishes. Part 5. A new species of Acanthurus (Acanthuridae) ER TEEN Ne hay acne RE HA re 15 New Australian fishes. Part 6. New species of Lepidotrigla (Triglidae), Choerodon (Labridae) and Zebrias (Soleidiae) C1 ELUNE RO EL ms Mee ernten ICA LC RR A A er 17 New Australian fishes. Part 7. A new species of Choerodon (Labridae) E NN ACA a tomes CHEE SA Oe bana EEE N A yur 25 New Australian fishes. Part 8. A new species of Aulotrachichthys (Trachichthyidae) A NOR AN > AAN A IND ee ee Pa ey INS A ata 27 New Australian fishes. Part 9. A new species of Kathetostoma (Uranoscopidae) VEA AAA LA [ATA LA A A SA Be AA ai eta P Wb of tore Read att a 31 New Australian fishes. Part 10. A new genus and two new species of freshwater eleotridid fishes (Gobioidei) from the Kimberley region of Western Australia IIA ASA A E A e E AS ses ee ds e bene cates pol ae EN e 35 New Australian fishes. Part 11. A new genus and species of eleotridid (Gobioidei) from southern Australia with a discussion of relationships DER ARAS E RANA O E saa E era A OS ON mI ty 43 New Australian fishes. Part 12. A new species of Eubalichthys (Monacanthidae) ERTL PSS IU A O 4 A E AA A 51 New Australian fishes. Part 13. Two new species of Platycephalidae AER en ee ee PP A A OA wigan O OA 53 New Australian fishes. Part 14. Two new species of Dasyatis (Dasyatididae) ET A An I a e T AR W e a a RA ks da a 57 New Australian fishes. Part 15. New species of Trygonoptera and Urolophus (Urolophidae) P R. Last and M. F. Gomon eea rah aaa g An S Su h S b man t nn nn 63 New Australian fishes. Part 16. A new species of Crapatalus (Leptoscopidae) PR TDEStand ET puan k la ale L a sha e A E y e Pn ee ne 7 New Australian fishes. Part 17. New species of Gadella and Physiculus (Moridae) ES pim Ann n S ts ae Helen See De A ASA 75 New Australian fishes. Part 18. A new species of Cocotropus (Aploactinidae) S. G. Poss and G R. Allen... .. cn cee unten nennen hr nen 79 New Australian fishes. Part 19. A new species of Lepidoperca (Serranidae) OD RODA a tab A AA WaT S es 83 New Australian fishes. Part 20. A new species of Aplodactylus (Aplodactylidae) A in e E a a A A O nt t 85 New Australian fishes. Part 21. A new species of Centroberyx (Berycidae) T Shimizu and J B. Hutchins Ja. sr sassa nah ee eee ee ee rs 89 Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 1-2 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 1. INTRODUCTION By M. F. Gomon! AND P. R. Last? 'Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia ¿CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Abstract Gomon, M. F. and Last, P. R., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 1. Introduction. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 1-2. Papers describing new Australian fishes are introduced and listed. Introduction During recent years, a number of new faunal studies have been published on Australian fishes (e.g., Hutchins, 1979; Edgar et al., 1982; Last et al., 1983; Hutchins and Thompson, 1983; Gloerfelt-Tarp and Kailola, 1984; Sainsbury et al., 1985) in an attempt to satisfy the need for iden- tification guides. Since many of the Australian fish families are relatively poorly known taxo- nomically, these relatively quickly prepared and published works contain references to a consider- able number of previously undescribed species for which latinized names have not been pro- posed. The purpose of this collection of papers is to formally name many of the undescribed spe- cies that have been presented in such publica- tions, together with others that will be included in forthcoming guides, so that colleagues may ac- curately refer to these species rather than having to use unstable common names or confusing references to undescribed forms. Descriptions are presented in a series of brief papers, or parts, provided by different combinations of authors to recognise efforts of those involved and author- ships as originally intended. In an attempt to make these names available as soon as possible, most species are described in less detail than is customary. Each treatment provides, where rele- vant, a synonymy, type details, a brief des- cription and/or diagnosis, distributional infor- mation, an etymology, brief comparisons with related species, and references to any published illustrations. Most species treated are currently being studied by the respective authors for inclu- sion in revisions of higher taxa. These revisions are expected to be published within the next de- cade. Authors, titles and pages of subsequent parts of this series are: Allen, G. R. New Australian fishes. Part 2. Four new species of Apogonidae. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 3-8, Allen, G. R. New Australian fishes. Part 3. A new species of Pomacentrus (Pomacentridae). Mem. Mus, Vict. 48: 9-11. Allen, G. R. New Australian fishes. Part 4. A new species of Steeneichthys (Plesiopidae). Mem. Mus, Vict. 48: 13-14. Allen, G.R. and Ayling, A.M. New Australian fishes. Part 5. A new species of Acanthurus (Acanthuridae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 15-16. Gomon, M.F. New Australian fishes. Part 6. New species of Lepidotrigla (Triglidae), Choerodon (Labridae) and Zebrias (Soleidiae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 17-23. Gomon, M.F. and Allen, G.R. New Australian fishes. Part 7. A new species of Choerodon (Labridae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 25-26. Gomon, M.F. and Kuiter, R.H. New Australian fishes. Part 8. A new species of Aulotrachichthys (Trachichthyidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 27-29, Gomon, M.F. and Last, P.R. New Australian fishes. Part 9. A new species of Kathetostoma (Uranoscopidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 31-33. Hoese, D.F. and Allen, G.R. New Australian 2 M. F. GOMON and P. R. LAST fishes. Part 10. A new genus and two new spe- cies of freshwater eleotridid fishes (Gobioidei) from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 35-42. Hoese, D.F. and Larson, H.K. New Australian fishes. Part 11. A new genus and species of eleotridid (Gobioidei) from southern Australia with a discussion of relationships. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 43-50. Hutchins, J. B. New Australian fishes. Part 12. A new species of Eubalichthys (Monacanthidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 51-52. Knapp, L. E. New Australian fishes. Part 13. Two new species of Platycephalidae. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 53-55. Last, P.R. New Australian fishes. Part 14. Two new species of Dasyatis (Dasyatididae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 57-61. Last, P.R. and Gomon, M.F. New Australian fishes. Part 15. New species of Trygonoptera and Urolophus (Urolophidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 63-72. Last, P.R. and Edgar, G.J. New Australian fishes. Part 16. A new species of Crapatalus (Leptoscopidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 73-74. Paulin, C.D. New Australian fishes. Part 17. New species of Gadella and Physiculus (Mori- dae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 75-77. Poss, S. G. and Allen, G.R. New Australian fishes. Part 18. A new species of Cocotropus (Aploactinidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 79-82. Roberts, C.D. New Australian fishes. Part 19. A new species of Lepidoperca (Serranidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 83-84. Russell, B.C. New Australian fishes. Part 20. A new species of Aplodactylus (Aplodactylidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 85-87. Shimizu, T. and Hutchins, J. B. New Aus- tralian fishes. Part 21. A new species of Centroberyx (Berycidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 89-90. Each of these parts is an independent, anony- mously refereed paper authored by the respective contributor or contributors. We are not to be con- sidered editors of the series. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Gary Poore, editor of the Memoirs, for his assistance in the publication of this series. The publication of this Memoir was assisted by a grant from the Australian Department of Science under the Marine Sciences and Technol- ogies Grants Scheme (no. 81/270 to M.F. Gomon). References Edgar, G.J., Last, P.R. and Wells, M.W. 1982. Coastal Fishes of Tasmania and Bass Strait. Cat and Fiddle Press: Hobart. 176 pp. Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Northern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia, Aus- tralian Development Assistance Bureau: Canberra. 406 pp. Hutchins, J.L.B. 1979, The Fishes of Rottnest Island. Crea- tive Research: Perth. 103 pp. Hutchins, J.L.B. and Thompson, M, 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of Southwestern Australia. Western Aus- tralian Museum: Perth. 103 pp. Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. and Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tas- mania. Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority: Hobart. 563 pp. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G. 1985. Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia, Clouston and Hall: Canberra. 375 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 3-8 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 2. FOUR NEW SPECIES OF APOGONIDAE By G. R. ALLEN Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, W.A. 6000 Abstract Allen, G.R. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 2, Four new species of Apogonidae. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 3-8, Four species of apogonid fishes are described from Australian seas: A. pallidofasciatus (northern Western Australia), Rhabdamia eremia (northern Australia and widespread in the Indo-West Pa- cific), Vincentia badia (South Australia and southern Western Australia), and V. macrocauda (South Australia and southern Western Australia). Introduction The perciform family Apogonidae or cardinal fishes contains approximately 200 species in 26 genera. Most members are found on or in the vi- cinity of coral reefs, although the Australian genus Vincentia is confined to temperate waters. The family remains poorly studied and is in need of revision at the generic level. Approximately 100 species occur in Australian seas. The present paper describes four new species belonging to the genera Apogon, Rhabdamia and Vincentia as de- fined by Fraser (1972). Placement in these groups was based on both external features and exami- nation of osteological characters facilitated by cleared and stained specimens and radiographs. Type specimens are deposited at the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS), Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu (BPBM), Museum of Vic- toria, Melbourne (NMV), South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAM), and Western Aus- tralian Museum, Perth (WAM). In the following descriptions the range of counts and proportions for paratypes are indicated in parentheses if different from the holotype. The designation “4” appearing in fin-ray counts refers to the last ray when it is joined to the base of the penultimate ray. Apogon pallidofasciatus sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype. Western Australia, Tantabiddi Figure 1. Apogon pallidofasciatus, holotype (WAM P2898 5-001), 100.3 mm SL, North West Cape, Western Australia. Creek (21°54'S, 114°00’E), North West Cape, 3-4 m, spear, G. Allen, 21 May 1976, WAM P28985-001 (100.3 mm SL), Paratypes. Western Australia, collected with holotype, AMS 1.26316-001 (71.5 mm SL); Rosemary Island (20°29'S, 116°35’E), Dampier Archipelago, 1-5 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 8 Nov 1974, WAM P25114-004 (79.0 mm SL); Lady Nora Is- land (20°27’S, 116°37’E), Dampier Archipelago, 3 m, rote- none, G. Allen and R. Steene, 16 Nov 1974, WAM P25117-009 (86.0 mm SL); Port Hedland (20°18'S, 118°35’E), A. Kalnins, 15 Jun 1965, BPBM 30940 (4: 60.5-78.5 mm SL) and 1-2 m, rotenone, N. Sarti and R. Kelly, 18 Jan 1981, WAM P27274- 046 (5: 73.7-80.0 mm SL). Description. A striped species of apogonid be- longing to the Apogon cooki “complex” and dis- tinguished by the following combination of characters: dorsal rays VII-I, 94; anal rays II, 8; pectoral rays 14 (occasionally 15); lateral-line scales 24 plus 4 additional scales on caudal fin base; gill rakers on first arch including rudiments 5 + 14 = 19(Sor6 + l4or 15 = 19-21); greatest body depth 2.5 (2.5-2.7), head length 2.7 (2.5- 2.7), both in standard length; snout length 4.5 (4.3-4.6), eye diameter 3.0 (2.6-2.9), interorbital width 4.6 (4.4-4.9), least depth of caudal pedun- cle 1.9 (1.9-2.3), length of caudal peduncle 1.4 (1.2-1.5), of pectoral fin 1.5 (1.3-1.5), of pelvic fin 1.7 (1.3-1.7), maximum height of second dorsal fin 1.4 (1.4-1.7), of anal fin 1.9 (1.8-2.0), all in head length. Colour in life: overall reddish-brown with very faint, nearly indistinguishable pattern of 4 to 6 dark stripes on sides, these stripes more evident in smaller specimens; a rounded spot, about pupil size, at base of caudal fin, more pronounced in specimens under about 60 mm SL; a silvery or whitish stripe from snout to eye and continued behind eye to rear of operculum; fins dusky brown to reddish; base and axil of pectoral fin may be dusky brown, but not significantly dar- ker than surrounding area. Colour in alcohol: overall brown including fins except pectorals only slightly dusky; darker stripes on side faintly visible; a roundish spot, about pupil size, faintly visible on caudal fin base. Gut brownish, this coloration due to dense net- work of melanophores; peritoneum pale with widely scattered black spots. Distribution. Known thus far only from Western Australia between North West Cape and Broome. Etymology. From the Latin pallidus (pale) and fasciatus (stripe), referring to the characteristic dull stripes compared to other members of the A. victoriae “complex”. Remarks. Apogon pallidofasciatus belongs to a complex of four closely related species that occur in Australian coastal habitats, exclusive of off- shore reef areas such as the Great Barrier Reef. Other members of this group include A. victor- ¡ae Günther of south-western Australia and an undescribed species from New South Wales and southern Queensland. The other member, 4. cooki Macleay is wide ranging in the Indo-West Pacific region. Diagnostic features of these spe- cies are contrasted in Table 1. A. pallidofascia- tus is sympatric only with A. cooki from which it differs by having a larger eye, a larger maxi- mum size, usually 14 rather than 15 pectoral rays, 19-21 (usually 20) rather than 16-19 gill rakers on G. R. ALLEN the first gill arch and in having the dark body stripes absent or faint in adults. Apogon pallidofasciatus occurs on shallow (about 2-8 m) reefs, usually close to shore, where there is moderate turbidity. Rhabdamia eremia sp. nov. Figure 2 Rhabdamia species Allen, 1985: 2327, Fig. 172. Material examined. Holotype. Western Australia, South Murion Island (21°42'S, 114° 20'E), 8 m, rotenone, B. Hut- chins and J. Tryndall, 7 Jun 1977, WAM P25815-020 (37.5 mm SL). Paratypes. Western Australia. Collected with holotype, AMS 1.26320-001 (22.0 mm SL). Beacon Island (28*29'S, 113°47'E), Abrolhos Group, 3-10 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 9 Apr 1978, WAM P26071-013 (26.1 mm SL) and 25-30 m, rotenone, G. Allen and N. Sinclair, 13 Apr 1982, WAM P27581-001 (39.6 mm SL). Clerke Reef (17°16'S, 119°22'E), Rowley Shoals, 35-40 m, rotenone, G. Allen and R. Steene, 6 Aug 1983, WAM P28024-009 (22.0 mm SL). Queensland, Escape Reef (15°50'S, 145°S0'E), 2-8 m, rote- none, J. Paxton et al., 27 Oct 1981, WAM P27459-006 (30.4 mm SL). Indian Ocean, Christmas Island (10%28'S, 105°24’E), 15- 20 m, rotenone, G. Allen and R. Steene, 20 May 1978, WAM P26085-015 (25.5 mm SL) and 14 m, rotenone, G. Allen and R. Steene, 25 May 1978, WAM P26092-023 (2: 20.0- 21.0 mm SL). Red Sea, near Jeddah (21°28'N, 039°08’E), Saudi Arabia, WAM P25793-003 (6: 25.0-31.0 mm SL). Description. A small, semi-transparent species of Rhabdamia distinguished by the following com- bination of characters: dorsal rays VI-I, 9% (rarely 1014); anal rays II, 13% (1212 or 13%); pectoral rays 10; gill rakers on first arch 1+12=13 (1+11 or 12=12 or 13) plus 1-2 low rudiments on upper limb; lateral-line scales missing from all specimens, but judging from “scale pockets” probably about 24; greatest body depth 4.0 (3.64.0), head length 2.7 (2.5-2.9), both in stan- dard length; snout length 4.2 (3.4-4.8), eye di- ameter 3.3 (3.0-4.1), interoribital width 4.0 (3.8-4.6), least depth of caudal peduncle 3.3 (3.3- 3.5), length of caudal peduncle 1.5 (1.3-1.5), of pectoral fin 1.5 (1.4-1.5), of pelvic fin 2.0 (1.9- 2.4),maximum height of second dorsal fin 2.0 (1.8-2.1), of anal fin 1.8 (1.8-2.6), all in head length. Colour in life: head with light brown or red- dish pigmentation on snout and cheek, opecu- lum silvery; body semi-transparent with silvery abdominal region; fins clear. FOUR NEW SPECIES OF APOGONIDAE Jussqe juasge JI9SMOLIEU yonu punsıp om Z'E-O'E hI 17-61 juasge quasqe 10 Juasaıd (Ə[qISIA JD [enbs 10 I9pIm (3unOA ut JUSPIAd inq) Jussqe 10 JuteJ 81 VEIT vl TZ-61 yuasaıd juasaıd Jenbo 10 19pIm PUNSIP STI reoe pI 07-61 p>dojsAaap Aj100d yuasaıd Jenbo 10 ISpIA jounsip OL Atlensn ‘06 05 SI 61 Ál[peuorseooo “gI-SI pxe pue aseq uly pelojo9d SuuiəƏAo2 1ods yourlq (adıns pig) repnoo3sod sa9edsıajur sed 0} uoneJal ur SIdIIS yıep JO YIPIM used adıns (ww) TS wnumxeu sjeuxoldde yı3us] peoy ur 949 sAeı uty [e1o1oəd yore 18114 SIOMB1 [IS [810] (puejsusand-M'S'N) ‘ds uogody snio19sofopi ¡pd “y 201401914 “Y (suswmads uere1sny) 1009 “Y „Xo[duwoo 14009 uo8ody,, ayı UL sər9əds 107 sainqeay INSOUBBIP JO UOSIIEAVIOS `I ARL 6 G. R. ALLEN Figure 2. Rhabdamia eremia, holotype (WAM P25815-002), 37.5 mm SL, South Murion Island, Western Australia. Colour in life: head with light brown or red- dish pigmentation on snout and cheek, opecu- lum silvery; body semi-transparent with silvery abdominal region; fins clear. Colour in alcohol: overall whitish or yellow- tan without pigmentation. Gut whitish; peri- toneum with dense network of melanophores. Distribution. Apparently widespread in the Indo- West Pacific. Thus far known from the southern Red Sea, Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Western Australia and Queensland. Etymology. From the Greek eremos (solitary), referring to its dwelling habit in contrast to Rhab- damia cypselurus and R. gracilis which occur in aggregations. Remarks. Rhabdamia eremia co-occurs with R. gracilis and R. cypselurus at many localities, but unlike these species which form large diurnal aggregations around coral formations, it is mainly solitary and cryptic. It is usually seen only if flushed from coral reef crevices with rotenone at depths between about 10 and 40 m. A diagnosis of the genus Rhabdamia Weber was provided by Fraser, 1972. The four members of this group are distinguished by the following key. N | uy Key to species of Rhabdamia Seven spines in first dorsal fin; scales ctenoid (Red Sea) A itty Sa Al ca ON y A Di R. nigrimentum (Smith) Six spines in first dorsal fin; scales cycloid Anal fin rays II, 9/4 (widespread Indo-West Pacific) ....R. cyselurus Weber e TESIS 0 A ISPA a A O E poe ot ER 3 Gill rakers on lower limb of first arch 20-22 (widespread Indo-West Pacific) AE UA PRA NE R. gracilis Weber - Gill rakers on lower limb of first arch 11-12 (widespread Indo-West Pacific) Vincentia badia sp. nov. Figure 3 Vincentia new species Allen, 1985: 2332, Fig. 183. Material examined. Holotype. Western Australia, Port Peron (32°16'S, 115°36’E), 1 m, rotenone, N. Sarti, 29 Jan 1978, WAM P25999- 006 (68.3 mm SL). Paratypes. Western Australia. Port Denison (29%16'S, 115°55’E), 7-8 m, rotenone, N. Sinclair, 13 Apr 1983, WAM P27956-009 (2: 39.1-40.0 mm SL). Rottnest Island (32°01'S, 115°27’E), 11 m, rotenone, B. Hutchins, 11 Apr 1978, WAM P26060-006 (43.0 mm SL). Garden Island (32°12’S, 115°40E), 5 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 10 Sep 1976, WAM P28967-001 (39.2 mm SL). Geographe Bay (33°32'S, 115°02’E), 15 m, rotenone, G. Allen and J. Moyer, 27 Dec 1978, WAM P26532-007 (57.7 mm SL) and 5 m, rotenone, B. Hutchins, 30 Jun 1982, WAM P27643-009 (2: 47.1-61.2 mm SL). South Australia. Near Riley Point (33°53’S, 137°37’E), rote- os ee e ais R. eremia sp. nov. none, D. Hoese, W. Ivantsoff and D. Brown, 25 Dec 1973, AMS 1.17614-004 (16: 16.3-40.1 mm SL). Cape Jervis(35°36'S,138°06'E),R. Kuiter, 9 Mar 1984, NVM A3729 (35.5 mm SL). Description. A relatively small, dusky brown apogonid distinguished by the following combi- nation of characters: dorsal rays VIII-I, 91% (rarely VII-I, 914); anal rays II, 91%; pectoral rays 15; gill rakers on first arch 1+7 (1+6 or 7) plus 3-5 low rudimentary rakers on each limb; lateral- line scales 23 (occasionally 24) plus 1-2 additional scales at base of caudal fin; greatest body depth 2.3 (2.3-2.6), head length 2.5 (2.4-2.6), both in SL; snout length 5.3 (4.4-5.9), eye diameter 3.1 (2.6-3.2), interorbital width 3.7 (3.4-4.1); least depth of caudal peduncle 2.5 (2.4-3.2),length of caudal peduncle 1.6 (1.4-1.7), of pectoral fin 1.5 FOUR NEW SPECIES OF APOGONIDAE 7 k Figure 3. Vincentia badia, paratype (WAM P27643-009), 47.1 mm SL, Geographe Bay, Western Australia (B. Hutchins photo). (1.6-1.7), of pelvic fin 1.3 (1.1-1.5), maximum height of second dorsal fin 1.7 (1.7-1.9), of anal fin 1.9 (1.8-2.1), all in head length.” Colour in life: overall reddish-brown, includ- ing fins, although pectorals somewhat lighter and translucent areas sometimes present on caudal membranes and on basal half of anal fin. Occa- sional specimens are primarily red. Colour in alcohol: variable, ranging from over- all yellow-tan with whitish or translucent fins to dusky brown, with centre of scales often light brown or tan and with all fins dusky brown ex- cept pectorals pale tan. Gut mainly whitish with scattering of melanophores; peritoneum with dense network of melanophores. Distribution. Coast of southern Australia be- tween Spencer Gulf, South Australia (33°53'S, 137°37'E) and Port Denison, Western Australia (29°16'S, 114°55’E). Etymology. From the Latin badius (red-brown), referring to the characteristic coloration. Remarks. This species is allied to Vincentia con- spersa (Klunzinger) from south-eastern Austra- lia (including Tasmania). It differs primarily by having fewer lateral-line scales (23 or 24 com- pared with 25 or 26 for V. conspersa; this count excludes 1-2 scales extending onto the caudal fin base), and a smaller size (under 70 mm SL, usually less than 55 mm SL, compared to about 115 mm SL for V. conspersa. The depth range of V. badia extends from 1 to at least 44 m. It generally occurs in rocky areas. Vincentia macrocauda sp, nov. Figure 4 Material examined, Holotype. Western Australia, Cheyne Beach (34°53'S, 118°25’E), rotenone, B. Hutchins, 19 Apr 1980, WAM P26608- 017 (70.3 mm SL). Paratypes. Western Australia. Lucky Bay (34°08'S, 122°15’E), 24 m, rotenone, B. Hutchins, 15 apr 1984, SAM F.5471 (71.2 mm AL) and WAM P28298-010 (84.0 mm SL); 5-7 m, rotenone, B. Hutchins, 12 Apr 1984, WAM P28293- 023 (52.5 mm SL); 8-10 m, B. Hutchins, 14 Apr 1984, WAM P28297-015 (2: 40.2-43.5 mm SL). Between Sandy Hook Is- land and Cape LeGrand (34%02'S, 122°03E), A. Longbottom, 23 Jan 1986, WAM P28864-005 (62.0 mm SL). South Australia, Troubridge Island (35%07'S, 137°4Y'E), J. Glover, 2 Feb 1969, SAM F.3916 (51.7 mm SL). Description. Medium-sized apogonid with ex- tremely elongate caudal peduncle and spotted fins distinguished by the following combination of characters: dorsal rays VII-I, 914; anal rays II, 8 (IL, 91%); pectoral rays 14 (14 or 15); gill rakers on first arch 5+12=17 (3-5+12-13=15-18), lateral-line scales 25 plus 2 additional scales at base of caudal fin; greatest body depth 3.1 (3.1- 3.5), head length 2.8 (2.8-2.9), both in SL; snout length 4.1 (4.2-4,8), eye diameter 2.8 (2.6-2.9), in- terorbital width 3.3 (3.4-4.0), least depth of cau- dal peduncle 2.4 (2.3- 2.6), length of caudal peduncle 1.2 (1.1-1.3), of pectoral fin 1.6 (1.51.7), of pelvic fin 1.2 (1.1-1.3), maximum height of se- cond dorsal fin 1.3 (1.2- 1.3), of anal fin 1.5 (1.5- 1.7); most of scales cycloid, but a few scales on head and side of body with weak ctenii; predor- sal scales absent. Colour in life: overall reddish with bronze hue; pectoral fins clear; first dorsal fin blackish dis- tally with basal part dusky brown, sometimes with faint whitish spots; other fins dusky brown with pupil-sized translucent to faintly yellow spots. Figure 4. Vincentia macreauda, paratype (SAM F.5471), 70,3 mm SL, Lucky Bay, Western Australia (B. Hutchins photo). Colour in alcohol: head and body mainly pale yellowish tan; outer edge of first dorsal fin black, remainder of fin pale to dusky brown; other fins dusky brown with large white spots, except pec- toral fins plain whitish. Gut darkly pigmented; peritoneum whitish with widely scattered melanophores. Distribution. Coast of south-western Australia between Troubridge Island, South Australia to Cheyne Beach near Albany, Western Australia. Etymology. From the Greek makros (long) and Latin cauda (tail), referring to the elongate cau- dal peduncle. Remarks. This is a distinctive species that does not appear to have close affinities with other apogonids. The very long caudal peduncle (1.1- 1.3 in head length) and the presence of mainly cycloid scales are distinctive features that differen- tiate it from other Vincentia. The placement of G. R. ALLEN this species in Vincentia is provisional. Prelimi- nary results of a current study of southern Aus- tralian apogonids by Allen and Paxton indicate that Vincentia may possibly merit only sub- generic distinction within the genus Apogon. Acknowledgements I thank J. Randall of the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, for reviewing the manuscript. References Allen, G.R. 1985. Fishes of Western Australia. Pp. 2205-2534 in: W.E.Burgess and H.R. Axelrod (eds.) Pacific Marine Fishes Book 9. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd.: Neptune City. Fraser, T.A. 1972. Comparative osteology of the shallow water cardinal fishes (Perciformes: Apogonidae) with reference to the systmatics and evolution of the family. Ichthyol. Bull. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. Rhodes Univ. 34: 1-105. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 9-11 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 3. A NEW SPECIES OF POMACENTRUS (POMACENTRIDAE) By G. R. ALLEN Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, Western Australia, 6000 Abstract Allen, G. R., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 3. A new species of Pomacentrus (Pomacentri- dae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 9-11. A new species of damselfish (Pomacentridae), Pomacentrus arenarius is described from Queens- land and northern Western Australia. The distributional range also extends eastward to the Fiji Islands and it is present in the eastern Indian Ocean at Sri Lanka and western Thailand. It is similar to P. philippinus, but differs by lacking scales on the suborbital, by having 15 rather than 14 soft dorsal rays, and lower gill raker counts. Moreover, the two species occupy different habitats. Introduction The family Pomacentridae contains about 310 species in 28 genera. About 130 species are known from Australian seas (Allen, 1975). This paper describes a species relatively common in many reef areas of northern Australia and adjacent regions. Type specimens of the new taxon are deposited at the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS), Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu (BPBM), and Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Pomacentrus arenarius sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: Australia, Queensland, Escape Reef, Great Barrier Reef (15°50'S, 145°50’E), 15 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 28 Oct 1981, WAM P27465-001 (68.0 mm SL). Paratypes: Australia, Queensland, type locality, AMS 1.26319-001 (68.6 mm SL); Lizard Island (14%40'S, 145°28’E), rotenone, Australian Museum party, Nov 1975, BPBM 30942 (69.0 mm SL); Escape Reef, 20-30 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 27 Oct 1981, WAM P.27461-004 (44.0 mm SL). Western Australia, Kendrew Island, Dampier Archipelago (20°29'S, 116°32'E), 3-4 m, spear, G. Allen, 21 Oct 1974, WAM P25107-008 (2 specimens, 62.0-68.3 mm SL); North West Cape, off Tantabiddi Creek (21°53'S, 114°00’E), 15-18 m, spear, G. Allen, 30 Jun 1975, WAM P25371-004 (2 speci- mens, 60.0-74.5 mm SL). Papua New Guinea, New Ireland, near Kapo Point, west side of Kieta Peninsula (6°11'S, 155°37’E), 28-33 m, rotenone, G. Allen, 2 Oct 1983, WAM P28161-002 (53.76 mm SL). Vanuatu, Bogacio Island, off south-east coast of Espiritu Santo (15°30'S, 166°28'E), 20 m, rotenone, G. Allen, W. Starck, D. Popper, 28 Jun 1973, WAM P24940-001 (88.5 mm SL). Description. (Counts and proportions in paren- theses refer to paratypes if different than holo- type). Dorsal rays XIII, 15; anal rays II, 16 (15-17, usually 15 or 16); pectoral rays 18 (17-19, usually 18); lateral-line scales with tubes 17 (17-19); gill rakers on first arch 7 +15=22 (6-7+13-16=19- 23, usually 19-21); teeth of jaws conical, biserial anteriorly; suborbital and preopercle strongly ser- rate; suborbital and preorbital scaleless; predor- sal scales extending forward to level of nostrils; greatest body depth 1.9 (1.9-2.1), head length 3.4 (3.1-3.5), both in standard length; snout length 3.8 (3.8-4.3), eye diameter 2.8 (2.7-3.1), interor- bital width 3.4 (3.0-4.1), least depth of caudal peduncle 1.9 (1.9-2.1), length of caudal pedun- cle 2.0 (2.0-2.5), of pectoral fin 0.9 (0.9-1.0), of pelvic fin 0.8 (0.8-0.9), of caudal fin (0.9-1.0), all in head length. Colour in life: Variable according to locality. Specimens from the Great Barrier Reef and Melanesia generally light to charcoal grey with narrow streak of bright blue on each scale; head covered with numerous blue spots and narrow lines; a prominent black spot covering entire pec- toral fin base and small indistinct dark grey spot at upper posterior corner of operculum; dorsal and anal fins grey with blue spots on basal sheath scales and series of light grey to tan stripes, outer edge of dorsal fin narrowly dark blue to black- 10 G. R. ALLEN Figure 1. Pomacentrus arenarius, adult, photographed underwater at Madang, New Guinea. ish; caudal fin tan to whitish with faint banding pattern that is usually broken giving overall speckled appearance; pectoral fins translucent, pelvic fins pale grey, often dusky on distal por- tion. Specimens from Western Australia are generally much lighter grey, nearly whitish over much of the side, with a very slight suffusion of yellow posteriorly; other markings on the head and fins are similar. The blackened area at the base of the pectoral fin is much reduced com- pared to Pacific specimens; it forms only a small dark wedge on the upper 1/3-1/2 of the fin base. Colour in alcohol: Queensland and Melanesian specimens overall dark purplish-brown, scale centres slightly paler, also head and breast slightly paler than remainder of body; dorsal and anal fins dark brown with light grey stripes, these fins often whitish posteriorly with broken stripes forming speckledpattern; caudal fin more or less abruptly whitish with faint grey speckling; pec- toral fins translucent with prominent black spot covering base and axil of fin. A juvenile (36 mm SL) specimen is similar but without speckling on the caudal fin. It is further characterised by an ocellated black spot at the base of the posterior dorsal-fin rays. This spot is sometimes faintly visible in adults. Specimens from Western Aus- tralia are purplish-brown anteriorly becoming tan on the posterior one-third of the body. Other aspects of the coloration are similar to Pacific specimens except the black spot at the pectoral base is reduced to a small wedge-shaped mark superiorly and the axil of this fin is pale. Distribution. Australia, Great Barrier Reef and Western Australia between North-west Cape and the Dampier Archipelago. Allen (1975) also recorded it as Pomacentrus sp. from the Indo- Malayan region, Palau Islands, New Guinea, New Britain, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Loyalty Is- lands and New Caledonia, Sri Lanka and in the Andaman Sea off Thailand. Etymology. From the Latin arenarius (of sand) referring to the general habitat of this species. Remarks. Pacific specimens are similar in general appearance to the sympatric Pomacentrus philip- A NEW SPECIES OF POMACENTRUS 11 pinus, both having a black pectoral base and pale caudal fin. However, P. philippinus differs by having scales on the posterior part of the subor- bital, 14 soft dorsal rays, and 23-24 gill rakers on the first arch. In addition, it is a reef crevice dweller compared to the open sandy habitat of P. arenarius. I provisionally identify three lots of specimens from Sri Lanka (WAM P26513-003, 60 mm SL) and western Thailand (WAM P26506-013, 4: 52- 80 mm SL and WAM P26508-006, 5: 54-82 mm SL) as P arenarius. Although very similar in colour to Pacific P arenarius, the blackened area at the pectoral base is reduced (as in specimens from Western Australia) and the juvenile ocellus persists in adult specimens. The most consistant feature found in specimens from all geographic areas is the speckled pattern on the caudal fin (and also often on the posterior part of the dor- sal and anal fins). Pomacentrus arenarius inhabits lagoons, har- bours, passages, and outer reef areas in about 3 to 35 m depth, usually in sandy habitats where there is shelter in the form of small coral heads, sponge, etc. It occurs solitarily or in small groups. The diet consists mainly of zooplankton which is taken within about 2 m of the substratum, although some benthic algae is also consumed. Reference Allen, G.R. 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. T.F.H. Pub- lications, Inc.: New Jersey. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 13-14 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 4. A NEW SPECIES OF STEENEICHTHYS (PLESIOPIDAE) By G. R. ALLEN Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, W.A., 6000 Abstract Allen, G. R., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 4. À new species of Steeneichthys (Plesiopidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 13-14. A new species of plesiopid, Steeneichthys nativitatis, is described from Christmas Island, In- dian Ocean, on the basis of a single specimen. It is similar to S. plesiopsus Allen £ Randall from north-western Australia and the western Pacific, but differs in pectoral ray and gill raker counts, and also in coloration. Introduction The family Plesiopidae contains abut 20 species in seven genera distributed mainly on Indo-west Pacific coral reefs, although Trachinops and Paraplesiops Bleeker containing eight species are mostly confined to southern Australian seas. Allen and Randall (1985) described Steeneichthys plesiopsus as a new genus and species from north- western Australia, Fiji and Samoa. This paper describes a second species of Steeneichthys col- lected on a recent expedition to Christmas Island. The holotype is deposited at the Western Aus- tralian Museum, Perth (WAM). Steeneichthys nativiatis sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, near Smith Point (10°26'S, 105°40’E), 30-40 m, rote- none, G. Allen and R. Steene, 6 Jul 1986, WAM P29016-001 (24.5 mm SL). Description. Dorsal fin rays IX, 9; anal fin rays III, 7; pelvic fin rays I, 4; pectoral fin rays 16; total gill rakers on first arch 12; scale rows from origin of lateral line to base of caudal fin about 24 (many scales missing); a single lateral-line scale with sensory tubule above upper edge of oper- culum; transverse scale series counted forward and upward from the second anal spine 9. Measurements in mm (percent of standard length in parentheses): standard length 24.5; head length 9.5 (39); snout length 1.7 (7); maxilla 13 length 4.0 (16); eye diameter 3.1 (13); body depth at first dorsal spine 9.0 (37); predorsal length 9.5 (39); preanal length 16.7 (68); least depth of cau- dal peduncle 4.2 (17); pectoral fin length 5.0 (20); pelvic fin length 8.6 (35); length of dorsal fin base 12.0 (49); length of anal fin base 5.0 (20). Colour when fresh: overall brown, centre of each scale darker forming series of dark brown stripes on side; dorsal, caudal, anal, and pelvic fins dark brown, all except pelvics with white margin, widest on dorsal fin; pectoral clear with brown edged rays. Colour in alcohol: similar to live colouration after three months in preservative although there are large whitish areas on the head and body due to missing scales. Distribution. Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Etymology. From nativitas (Latin) the nativity, referring to the type locality of Christmas Island. Remarks. This species is similar to Steeneichthys plesiopsus Allen & Randall but differs by hav- ing 16 pectoral rays and 12 gill rakers on the first arch (17-18 and 10-11 respectively in S. plesiopsus). Furthermore, there are distinct colour differences between these species: S, plesiopsus has faint vertical bars on the head and body, S. nativitatis has narrow horizonal stripes; the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins have prominent light and dark bands in P plesiopsus and are uni- form brown in P nativiatis. 14 G. R. ALLEN Figure 1. Steeneichthys nativitatis, holotype WAM P29016-001, 24.5 mm SL, Christmas Island. The holotype was collected in 30-40 m amongst rubble at the base of a vertical cliff that began in 6 m depth. It is likely that this species will be found at other Indian Ocean localities and may prove to be an allopatric “geminate” relative of the western Pacific (and Western Australia) S. plesiopsus. Because of their small size and cryp- tic, deep-dwelling habits these fishes are seldom collected. Reference Allen, G.G. and Randall, J.E. 1985. A new genus and spe- cies of plesiopid fish from Western Australia and the central-south Pacific Ocean. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 12(2): 185-191. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 15-16 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 5. A NEW SPECIES OF ACANTHURUS (ACANTHURIDAE). By G. R. ALLEN! AND A. M. AYLING? ‘Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, ) Francis Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000 2Marine Research Foundation, PMB 1, Daintree, Queensland 4873 Abstract Allen, G.R. and Ayling, A.M., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 5. A new species of Acanthu- rus (Acanthuridae). Mem. Mus. Vict, 48: 15-16. A new species of surgeonfish, Acanthurus albipectoralis is described on the basis of two speci- mens collected on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. It is most similar to 4. mata, but differs in colour, most notably that of the pectoral fins, which are blackish basally and abruptly white on the distal half. Introduction The surgeonfish family Acanthuridae contains 10 genera with about 78 species. Australia is represented by seven genera and 31 species, in- cluding a new Acanthurus which is described herein. The genus Acanthurus was revised by Randall (1956). Type specimens of the new taxon are deposited at the Queensland Museum, Bris- bane (QM) and Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Acanthurus albipectoralis sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: Queensland, Swains Reefs, Great Barrier Reef (20°57’S, 152°15’E), 5 m, spear, A.M, Ay- ling, 13 Dec 1985, QM 1.223541 (212 mm SL). Paratype: Coral Sea Territory, W. side of West Herald Cay (17°00'S, 149°07’E), 20 m, spear, G.R. Allen, 17 Nov 1985, WAM P28537-001 (261 mm SL). Description. (counts and proportions in paren- theses refer to the paratype if different from holo- type). Dorsal rays IX, 33; anal rays III, 23; pectoral rays 16 (17); gill rakers on first arch 5 + 9 + 14(4 + 10 = 14); body oblong and later- ally compressed, snout rounded; greatest body depth 2.3 (2.4), head length 3.8, predorsal dis- tance 3.0, preanal distance 2.0 (2.1), length of dorsal fin base 1.5, of anal fin base 1.9 (2.2), all in standard length; greatest width of body 2.5 (2.8) in greatest depth; snout length 2.0, eye di- 15 ameter 4.0 (4.4), interorbital width 3.0 (2.8), length of maxillary 4.7 (5.3); least depth of cau- dal peduncle 3.1 (3.3), length of caudal pedun- cle 2.3; of pectoral fin 1.0, of pelvic fin 1.7 (1.8), of tallest dorsal fin ray 2.0 (2.1), of tallest anal fin ray 2.6 (2.7), of caudal spine 5.8, of caudal fin 0.9 (1.0); dorsal and anal fins relatively long and low, their posterior profiles, angular; caudal fin lunate with pointed tips; entire head and body covered with small cteniod scales, those of head partially embedded; a shallow groove, about equal to eye diameter in length, present in front of eye; teeth of jaws uniserial, club-shaped or spatulate with serrated edges, about 20-24 in each jaw. Colour in life, overall blackish including fins except outer half of pectorals white. Colour in alcohol, overall dark brown includ- ing fins except outer half of pectorals white. Distribution. Swains Reefs Queensland, and Her- ald Cays (Coral Sea Territory). Etymology. From the Latin albus (white) and pectoralis (pectoral), referring to the distinctive fin coloration which is highly visible underwater and served to distinguish it from the similar A. mata. Remarks. This species resembles Acanthurus mata Valenciennes which has a similar slender shape (compared to other Acanthurus) and is also a plankton feeder. The latter has usually been 16 G. R. ALLEN AND A. M. AYLING Figure 1. Acanthurus albipectoralis, paratype (WAM P28537-001), 212 mm SL, Swains Reefs, Queensland. referred to as A. bleekeri Günther but Randall (in press) has ascertained that A. mata is the cor- rect name. They differ mainly in colouration. Acanthurus mata is generally brown overall with numerous fine bluish or purple striations on the sides. It has a prominent yellow area extending forward from the eye and pale pectoral fins. Both species were observed at Swains Reefs. Acanthu- rus albipectoralis was observed adjacent to steep outer reef drop-offs at depths between about 5 and 20 m. It was generally seen in aggregations containing about 5-30 individuals, which swam high above the bottom while apparently feeding on plankton. References Randall, J.E., 1956. A revision of the surgeon fish genus Acan- thurus. Pacif. Sci. 10(2): 159-235. Randall, J.E., (in press). Three nomenclatorial changes in Indo-Pacific surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae). Pacif. Sci. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 17-23 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 6. NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOTRIGLA (TRIGLIDAB), CHOERODON (LABRIDAE) AND ZEBRIAS (SOLEIDAE) By M. F. Gomon Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia Abstract Gomon, M.F., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 6. New species of Lepidotrigla (Triglidae), Choerodon (Labridae) and Zebrias (Soleidiae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 17-23. The following new species are described: Lepidotrigla spinosa, confined to the southern coast of Australia, Choerodon sugillatum, restricted to northern Australia, and Zebrias penescalaris, distributed off the central and western portions of Australia’s south coast. A replacement name, Zebrias scalaris, is proposed for Zebrias fasciatus (Macleay), a junior homonym of Zebrias fas- ciatus (Basilewsky). The former is confined to eastern and south-eastern Australia and is closely related to the allopatric Zebrias penescalaris. Introduction Studies on the faunal composition of temperate Australian waters have revealed numerous taxo- nomic problems associated with fishes occurring there. Not the least of these is the discovery of a number of undescribed taxa. This paper pro- vides names for two species of the families Trigli- dae and Soleidae and rectifies a problem of homonymy existing in a third, Soleidae. In addi- tion, a new species of labrid is described from northern Australia. All of these species have been treated or soon will be treated in popular books. Methodology for accounts of species in the fa- milies Triglidae and Soleidae is primarily that of Hubbs and Lagler (1947). The labrid account fol- lows methods given in Gomon (1974). Type speci- mens are lodged in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS), CSIRO, Division of Fisheries Research, Hobart (CSIRO), Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV), South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA), National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. (USNM), and Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Triglidae Lepidotrigla Gúnther Lepidotrigla Gúnther, 1860: 196. Type species. Trigla aspera Cuvier, in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829 (subsequent designation by Jordan, 1919: 296). Discussion. Lepidotrigla, as currently recognised, is by far the largest genus in the family. Richards and Saksena (1977) pointed out that further studies of the family on a world-wide basis may redefine genera, affecting species currently as- signed to Lepidotrigla. Until this has been done, nomenclatural stability is best maintained by re» taining this catch-all genus. Recent authors, including Gloerfelt-Tarp and Kailola (1984) and Sainsbury et al. (1985) have treated several tropical species referred to this genus as having uncertain status. Although these species do not appear to represent forms described from Australian waters, it is premature to recognise them as new without comparing them with species described from other tropical Indo-Pacific waters. Because of the magnitude of this task, such comparisons have not yet been completed. On the other hand, comparison of subtropical and temperate Australian species with the few forms occurring in similar conditions elsewhere leaves little doubt that they are en- demics. An ongoing study aimed at differentiat- ing all fish species occurring in waters of Australia’s southern coast has revealed the 18 M. F. GOMON presence of the following undescribed species. Lepidotrigla spinosa sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Albany (35°00S, 117?52'E), 38-45 m, P.R. Last, 5 Mar 1986, FV “Nor- nalup”, NMV A3728 (83.5 mm SL). Paratypes: Western Australia. Type locality, NMV A3730 (3 specs., 75.6-87.9 mm SL). Western end of Great Australian Bight (32°42'S, 125%48'E), 54 m, S03/81/17, FRV “Soela”, 31 Jul 1981, SAMA A791 (5 specs., 95.1-103 mm SL). South Australia. South of Head-of-Bight (32°16.3'S, 131°23.6'E), 60-61 m, S05/81/56, FRV “Soela”, 7 Dec 1981, NMV A2893 (87.1 mm SL). Same area (32°15.4’S, 131°22’B), 62 m, S05/81/54, FRV “Soela”, 7 Dec 1981, NMV A2860 (87.1 mm SL); (32°13.4S, 131 22.2'E), 60 m, S05/81/53, FRV “Soela”, 7 Dec 1981, NMV A2877 (83.3 mm SL). Anxious Bay, (33°28'S, 134°48’E), P.C. Haffey, 25 Feb 1981, SAMA A101 (96.1 mm SL). 15.4-18.8 km (10.5-8.6 miles) off Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island, (35°25’S, 137°35’E), I. Brown, April- May 1981, SAMA Al121 (4 specs., 94.2-99.5 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays IX, 14-15 (LX, 14 in holotype). Anal-fin rays 14-15 (14 in holotype). Lateral-line scales 51-57 (57 in holotype). Profile of snout in front of eyes nearly straight. Interor- bital moderately depressed. Shallow but distinct transverse groove above and behind each eye, grooves not meeting on dorsal midline of head. Snout rostrum in most specimens nearly truncate when viewed from above, but with slight medial notch, each side with several moderately small Spines, none usually markedly larger than others. Scales small, ctenoid, firmly attached, covering all of body except chest and anterior portion of belly. Lateral-line scales slightly enlarged, each with 1 or more prominent spines; spines best de- veloped on posterior lateral-line scales. Pectoral- fin tip reaching to above base of third or fourth anal-fin ray, distinctly short of pelvic-fin tip, ex- cept in very small specimens. Reaches a total length of at least 125 mm. Reddish above, white below. More or less prominent black spot on dorsal fin between fourth and seventh spines. Dorsal surface of pec- toral fin dark between second and sixth or seventh rays, leading edge of fin pale except for dusky blotch distally, distal edge narrowly pale, inner margin between last 3 or 4 rays pale. Distribution. Off southern Australia between Kangaroo Island, South Australia and Albany, Western Australia, at depths of 30-80 m. Etymology. From the Latin, spinosa (thorny), in Figure 1. Lepidotrigla spinosa sp. nov., paratype, SAMA A101, 96.1 mm SL; insert shows dorsal view of head. NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOTRIGLA, CHOERODON AND ZEBRIAS 19 reference to the prominent spine bearing lateral- line scales characteristic of this species. Remarks. This species is remarkably close to Lepidotrigla umbrosa Ogilby, 1910, which is con- fined to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. The two share similar ranges of meristic values, although lateral-line scale counts in L. spinosa appear to be slightly lower than in L. umbrosa. The former may be distinguished from the latter by its rather truncate rostrum in dorsal view, the medial notch being very shallow. Rostral spines are usually subequal in this spe- cies and somewhat symmetrically arranged around each rostral lobe. Lepidotrigla umbrosa, on the other hand, has a deep notch in the ros- trum, the rostral lobes often slightly splayed out- wards. The latter species usually has a prominent Spine at the outer corner of each rostral lobe with spines becoming progressively smaller toward the centre of the rostrum. The pectoral fins also ap- pear to differ between the species, with L. spinosa having a slightly shorter fin which reaches only to above the base of the third or fourth anal-fin ray and less pigmentation on the upper surface. The pectoral fin in L. umbrosa reaches to above the base of the fifth or sixth anal-fin ray and has a very narrow pale margin along the leading edge, a rather broad pale margin along the distal edge and a narrow pale margin along the inner edge, the last spanning only about two rays. Both of these species are easily distinguished from sympatric congeners by the following com- bination of characters: ctenoid scales, spines on lateral-line scales, prominent black spot in the first dorsal fin and distinct rostral spines. They appear to be most closely related to L. papilio Cuvier, 1829, of southern Australia, with which they share the first three features. Labridae Choerodon Bleeker Choerodon Bleeker, 1847: 10. Type species. Labrus macrodontus Lacepede (= C. anchorago Bloch) by monotypy. Discussion. As indicated by Gomon and Allen (1987), prior to this publication two undescribed species of Choerodon were known from Aus- tralian waters. One is described here. Choerodon sugillatum sp. nov. Choerodon sp. 2 Gloerfelt-larp & Kailola, 1983: 235, colour figure on opposing page. Choerodon sp, 2 Sainsbury, Kailola & Leyland, 1984; 260, colour figure on opposing page. Choerodon sp. Allen, 1985: 2408, fig. 334. Material examined. Holotype: Queensland, Cape Bedford (15%13.59-15.00'S, 145%23.36'-27.87'E), 30 m, trawl, FV “Gwen- daline May”, C.C. Lu, | Mar 1983, NMV A3126 (104 mm SL). -aratypes: Queensland. Lizard Island area (14°40'S, 145°27'S), staff of Australian Museum and Australian Insti- tute ol Marine Sciences, 8 Feb 1979, AMS 1.20751-006 (8 specs., 59.2-97.8 mm SL), USNM 280628 (4 specs., 64,2-84,0 mm SL). Lizard Island area, Mrs Watsons Bay (14%40'5, 145°27’E), Australian Museum party, Nov, 1975, AMS 1.19450-037 (3 specs., 36.2-66.5 mm SL). Cape Tribulation (16°09,46'-12,17'S, 145 33.23'-36.06E), 30 m, trawl, FV “Gwen- daline May”, C.C. Lu, | Mar 1983, NMV A3137 (97,2 mm SL). Cape York, staff of Australian Museum and Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, 18 Feb 1979, AMS 1.20771-066 (2 spees., 87.8-104 mm SL), Gulf of Carpentaria (12375, 140°57'E), CSIRO, 19 Apr 1964, 116 mm SL, AMS 1,15557- 206 (116 mm SL). 180 km west of Cape York (10750.23-48.01'5, 140955.11-55.68'E), 44 m, trawl, FV “Gwendaline May”, C.C. Lu, 26 Feb 1983, NMV A3130 (3 specs., 81.2-99.2 mm SL). Western Australia. North-west Shelf (20°46'-48'S, 115%59'- 116°00E), 19-22 m, FRV “Soela”, CSIRO, 1 Dec 1979, CSIRO H656-01 (141 mm SL). Same area (20°00'-03'S, 115"57-58'E), 78-80 m, FRV “Soela”, CSIRO, 2 Dee 1979, CSIRO H657 01 (35.3 mm SL), CSIRO H657-02 (50.6 mm SL). Same area (19°45'-47'S, 116"33'-35'E), 60-64 m, FRV “Soela”, CSIRO, 4 Dec 1979, CSIRO H658-01 (96,1 mm SL). Monte Bello Is- lands (209255, 115°30/E), Australian Government, Apr 1975, WAM P25354-023 (6 specs., 133-149 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays XII, 8; anal-fin rays III, 10; pectoral-fin rays ii, 13-14 (holotype with 13; 13 in 55 of 58 fins examined); lateral-line scales 27 + 2; predorsal scales 5-7 (6 in holotype; modally 6); scales above lateral line 3-3 1/2 (3 in holotype). Body and head shallow, becoming moderately deep in large adults, body depth 26.6- 37.1% (31.0% in holotype) % SL. Eye large. Predorsal scales reaching forward to above mid- point between hind margin of eye and hind edge of preopercle. Cheek scales reaching forward to below anterior extent of orbit; moderately nar- row naked margin along free edge of preopercle; subopercle with 5-9 uniserial scales reaching for- ward to below centre of eye. Lateral-line scales usually without accessory branches associated with sensory pore. Upper jaw with two pairs of prominent ventrally directed canines anteriorly, 20 M. F. GOMON anteriormost about twice the size of second; upper jaw without posterior canines. Lower jaw with two pairs of prominent anterior canines, an- teriormost much smaller than second; second pair strongly curved laterally, Caudal fin broadly wedge-shaped, upper and lower corners each produced into slight lobe. Pectoral fin rather pointed dorsoposteriorly, with lower ray produced, giving hind margin of fin lunate ap- pearance. Reaches a length of at least 175 mm TL. Juveniles pale with narrow dusky midlateral stripe on sides extending from opercular margin onto caudal fin; small triangular dark mark ex- tending from lateral stripe above pectoral-fin base toward lateral line. Initial and terminal phase individuals pale with hazy angled dark slash on side about midway be- tween pectoral-fin base and dorsal profile of side; small dark spot at upper end of pectoral-fin base and short narrow dark mark near centre of hind margin of caudal-fin. Life colours of juveniles olivaceous with brownish blotches above, white below, areas sepa- rated by brown stripe just above lateral midline; lateral stripe with vertical black mark anteriorly bordered with blue positioned above and slightly behind pectoral-fin base; stripe edged with blue on head, two additional blue lines directed for- ward from eye across snout. Fins transparent ex- cept for two olivaceous stripes in dorsal fin and two blue stripes in anal fin; pectoral-fin base with broad blue band. Initial phase coloration similar to that of juveniles except dorsal coloration uniformly oli- vaceous, scale centres blue, at least posteriorly, yellow streaks between scale rows on caudal peduncle, brown lateral stripe narrower on sides, blue margin along black mark on side and blue band on pectoral-fin base broad and intense, lat- ter thinly outlined with yellow, blue lines on head similarly bordered with yellow, two additional lines across snout and forehead, short blue line directed posteriorly from both top and bottom of eye, lower line turning ventrally anteroveniral to eye and directed onto chin, lower lip blue, and blue stripe directed horizontally from lower jaw to hind edge of preopercle. Dorsal and anal fins blue, dorsal fin with thin yellow longitudinal lines proximally and distally, anal fin with thin yellow longitudinal lines proximally and centrally. Cau- dal fin blue with posteriorly converging yellow lines, lines edged with black posteriorly at centre ‚of rear margin of fin. Terminal phase coloration apparently as in in- itial phase individuals, with lateral brown stripe on sides narrower. Distribution. Confined to northern Australia, ex- tending at least from Cape Tribulation, Queens- land to the Monte Bello Islands, Western Australia. Etymology. From the Latin sugillatum (black and blue spot), in reference to the characteristic mark- ing on the side of this species. Remarks. Choerodon sugillatum is amember of a natural assemblage of at least five species. Representatives of the group are distinguishable from other congeners by their prolonged lower pectoral-fin rays. These species also have a gener- ally shallower and more streamlined body than most other tuskfish and share a dorsal-fin count of XII, 8 with only four other species in the genus. The assemblage, treated as Pealopesia Smith, 1953, or Choerodonoides Kamohara, 1958, by some authors, is referred to Choerodon until further evidence shows otherwise. A revi- sionary study, is currently underway. All species in this assemblage have nearly iden- tical meristic values. Differences are primarily in body form and coloration. Choerodon sugilla- tum has the deepest and most compressed body of the complex, at least in terminal phase adults. It differs from all other species most noticeably in having a prominent black and blue, slash-like mark on the upper side above and behind the pectoral-fin base. The only other species of this complex known to occur in Australian waters is that described by Kamohara (1958) as Choerodonoides japonicus. The only known specimen of this species from Australian waters was collected off Shark Bay, Western Australia. When compared with C. sugillatum, this species has a more slender and robust body. It also has a pearly stripe just above the lateral midline of the sides extending from the base of the caudal fin to the lower side of the eye and curving ven- trally to the upper jaw. The species is also known from Japan and Taiwan. NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOTRIGLA, CHOERODON AND ZEBRIAS 21 Soleidae Zebrias Jordan & Snyder Zebrias Jordan & Snyder, 1900: 380. Type species. Solea zebrina Temminck é Schlegel, 1850 (= Pleuronectes zebra Bloch, 1788) by origi- nal designation. Discussion. Species belonging to the Zebrias group (Chabanaud, 1934), combine to form a dis- tinctive, monophyletic assemblage which has been variously split into a number of genera and subgenera. Although generic limits have con- tinued to change due to the subjectivity of authors treating these species (e.g., McCulloch, 1916; Chabanaud, 1930), there appears to be a consensus that Solea fasciata Basilewsky, 1855, and Synaptura fasciata Macleay, 1882, represent closely related, but distinct species that are refer- able to one genus regardless of criteria used. If generic lines were drawn to place these species in separate genera, each of the resultant groupings would contain at the most two species. Assum- ing that this action is not taken the latter species name is a junior homonym of the former and as no other names have been proposed for this spe- cies, a replacement name is required. The follow- ing treatment presents a name and diagnosis for this taxon. In addition, a description of a closely related but previously unrecognised species res- tricted to central and western portions of Aus- tralia’s southern coast is provided. All three of these species are referred to the genus Zebrias. In the following descriptions, lateral-line scales are counted from directly above the gill opening to the posterior edge of the hypural bones. Zebrias scalaris nom. nov. Synaptura fasciata Macleay, 1882: 14 (type locality-Port Jackson, New South Wales).-McCulloch, 1916: 61, pl. VIII, fig. 2. Brachirus fasciatus Norman, 1926: 295. Zebrias fasciatus-Chabanaud, 1930: 16-17. Haplozebrias fasciatus,-Chabanaud, 1943: 292. Material examined. Queensland. Off Moreton Island, NMV A2787 (117 mm SL). New South Wales. Botany Bay, AMS 1.23455-001 (140 mm SL). Jervis Bay, AMS 1.16892-001 (160 mm SL), AMS 1.19392- 005 (148 mm SL). Tasmania. South-southeast of Flinders Island, NMV A1564 (133 mm SL). Victoria. Bass Strait, off Lake Tyers, NMV A3203 (163 mm SL), NMV A3244 (47.9 mm SL); off Lakes Entrance, NMV A3750 (123 mm SL); off Cape Woolamai, NMV A3751 (103 mm SL). Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays 75-82 (mean 78.4, 8 of 9 specimens with 76-82); anal-fin rays 60-69 (mean 65.6); pectoral-fin rays 6-7; lateral-line scales 74-86 (mean 82, 8 of 9 specimens with 79- 86). Eyes separated by narrow scaly, interorbital space. Pectoral fins rudimentary, contiguous with opercular membrane to form short tubular struc- ture, of similar size and form; length of rays less than half eye diameter. Reaches a length of 200 mm. Pale with 16-24 parallel darker bands crossing body and base of caudal fin, bands of equal breadth or slightly narrower than interspaces and usually distinct, though not sharply demarcated from interspaces. Distribution. South-eastern Australia from Mor- ton Bay, Queensland to Flinders Island, Tasma- nia and Cape Woolamai, Victoria. Etymology. From the Latin scalaris (of a ladder), in reference to the rung-like bands traversing the body in this species. Remarks. This species is easily separable from all other members of the genus, except for the representative treated below, on the basis of colour pattern. It is close to, but clearly distinct from Zebrias fasciatus (Basilewsky) as pointed out by Ochiai (1963). For a more detailed account and comparison with other Australian congeners (treated as Synaptura) see McCulloch (1916). Variablility among examined specimens of this species does not appear to relate to collection lo- calities and thus can not be attributed to environ- mental factors. Zebrias penescalaris sp. nov. Material examined. Holotype: South Australia, Anxious Bay, (33°28'S, 134°48’E), 55 m (30 fms), T. Holder, 25 February 1981, SAMA A96 (113 mm SL). Paratypes: South Australia, Investigator Strait (35°20'S, 137° 50'E), 20 m, over mud and sponges, prawn trawl, H. Lar- son and D. Blake, 14 Mar 1978, AMS 1.20194-029 (7 specs., 106-123 mm SL). 9.7 km (6 miles) off Venus Bay, (33°15’S, 134°30’E), 33-46 m (18-25 fms), T. Olsen, Jun 1982, SAMA A1662 (118 mm SL). 6.9 km (4.3 miles) south-east of Evans Island (32°25'S, 133°30’E), 43 m, T. Olsen, SAMA A6554 (2 specs., 94.3-111 mm SL). 4.8 km (3 miles) south of Evans Is- ty N land, 40 m (22 fms), K. and T. Olsen, 14 Apr 1982, SAMA A1085 (4 specs., 98.0-110 mm SL). South-east of Evans Is- land, near Ceduna, T. Olsen, c. 1 Jun 1982, SAMA A1697 (105 mm SL). Western Australia, Off Albany (35°00'S, 117 57'E), 38-45 m, trawled, FV “Nornalup”, P.R. Last, 5 Mar 1986, CSIRO H572-03 (115 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays 70-80 (mean 73.4, 16 of 17 with 70-76; holotype with 75); anal-fin rays 60-67 (mean 64.1; holotype with 67); pectoral-fin rays 6-7 (holotype with 6); lateral-line scales 67- 76 (mean 71.9; 72 in holotype). Eyes separated by narrow scaly, interorbital space. Pectoral-fins rudimentary, contiguous with opercular mem- brane to form short tubular structure, of similar size and form; length of rays less than half eye diameter. Reaches a length of 150 mm. Eyed side dusky with 16-22 (approximately 20 in holotype) faintly darker parallel bands cross- ing body and base of caudal fin, bands of equal breadth or slightly narrower than interspaces and difficult to distinguish from interspaces; blind side pale. Dorsal and anal fins dusky to dark with narrow pale margin on both sides. Distribution. Southern coast of Australia from at least Kangaroo Island, South Australia to Al- bany, Western Australia. Etymology. From the Latin pene (almost or near) and scalaris (of a ladder), in reference to the close relationship of this species to the previously treated congener. Remarks. This species is very similar to Zebrias scalaris, the two undoubtedly having arisen from a recent common ancestor. Both species are separable from other members of the genus, as defined by Chabanaud (1934), in having the fol- lowing combination of characters: eyes that are adjacent one another but with a scaly interorbi- tal space, rudimentary pectoral fins that are joined to the respective opercular membranes to form a short tube on each side that is shorter than half the diameter of the eye, all rays in the dor- sal and anal fins unbranched and numerous ill- defined parallel bands crossing the body on the eyed side. The new species is separable from Z. scalaris in having fewer lateral-line scales (67-76, versus 79-86 in the latter; one specimen of the latter with 74), generally a lower number of dorsal-fin rays (70-76, versus 75-82 in the latter; M. F. GOMON one specimen of the former with 80), and less definition in the body banding. The possibility that clinal variation may be responsible for the observed differences between Z. scalaris and Z. penescalaris has been ruled out as there were no observed shifts in morphomet- ric values associated with specimen distribution in either population. Although there are some variations in the colour patterns present in both species, the pattern is much more obscure in the latter. This difference does not appear to coin- cide with local conditions. Acknowledgements Travel to the South Australian Museum and the Australian Museum where much of this work was undertaken was made possible by the Marine Sciences and Technologies Research Grant Scheme, grant number 81/0270. I am grateful to John Glover of the former institution and John Paxton and Douglass Hoese of the latter for facilitating the examination of specimens. Rudie H. Kuiter kindly loaned photographic slides which aided in colour descriptions. Thanks go to Graham Milledge for preparing the il- lustration. References Allen, G.R. 1985. Fishes of Western Australia. Pp. 2207-2534 in: Burgess, W. and Axelrod, H.R. (eds.), Pacific Ma- rine Fishes. Book 9. T.F.H. Publications: Neptune, New Jersey. Basilewsky, S. 1855. Ichthyographia Chinae Borealis. Nouv. mem. Soc, Imp. Nat. Moscou 10: 215-263. Bleeker, P. 1847. Overzigt der te Batavia voorkomende Glad- schubbige Labroieden (in subtitle: Lipvisschen), met bex- chrijving van 11 nieuwe speces. Verh. Bat. Gen. 23(3): 1-64, Bloch, M.E. 1788. Naturgeschichte der auslandischen Fische. Part 3. Berlin. xiv, 146 pp. Chabanaud, P. 1930, Les genres de poissons hétérosomates (Pisces Heterosomata) appartenant a la sous-famille des Soleinae. Bull. Inst. Océanograph. 555, 23 pp. Chabanaud, P. 1934, Les soléidés du groupe Zebrias. Défi- nition d'un sous-genre nouveau et description d'une sous- espece nouvelle. Bull. Soc. zool. Fr. 59: 420-436, Chabanaud, P. 1943. Notules ichthyologiques. XXII. Nou- veaux genres de las famille des Soleidae. Bull. Mus. nat. d’Hist. Natur. (2) 15: 291-293, Cuvier, G. and Valenciennes, A. 1829. Histoire naturelle des Poissons, Vol. 4. Paris-Strasbourg. xxvi, 518 pp. Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and Kailola, P.J. 1984, Trawled Fishes of Northern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia. Aus- NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOTRIGLA, CHOERODON AND ZEBRIAS tralian Development Assistance Bureau: Canberra. 406 pp. Gomon, M.F. 1974. A new eastern Pacific labrid (Pisces), Decodon melasma, a geminate species of the western At- lantic D. puellaris. Proc. biol. Soc. Wash. 87(19): 205-216. Gomon, M. F. and Allen, G.R. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 7. A new species of Choerodon (Labridae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 25-26. Günther, A. 1860. Catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes in the collection of the British Museum. Vol. 2. London. 548 pp. Hubbs, C. and Lagler, K. 1947. Fishes of the Great Lakes Region. Bull. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. 26: 1-135. Jordan, D.S. 1919. The genera of fishes, part Il, from Agas- siz to Bleeker, 1833-1858, twenty-six years, with the ac- cepted type of each. A contribution to the stability of scientific nomenclature. Leland Stanford Junior Univer- sity Pub., Univ. Ser. i-ix, 163-284, i-xiii. Jordan, D.S. and Snyder, J.O. 1900. A list of fishes collected in Japan by Keinosuke Otaki, and by the United States Steamer Albatross, with descriptions of fourteen new spe- cies. Proc. U.S. Mus. 23: 335-380. Kamohara, T. 1958. A review of the labrid fishes found in the waters of Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Reps. Usa Mar. Biol. Sta. 5(2): 1-20. McCulloch, A.R. 1916. Ichthyological items. Mem. Od Mus. N uy 5: 58-69. Macleay, W. 1882. Notes on the Pleuronectidae of Port Jack- son, with descriptions of two hitherto unobserved spe- cies. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 7: 11-15. Norman, J.R. 1926. A report on the flatfishes (Heterosomata) collected by the F.I.S. “Endeavour”, with a synopsis of the flatfishes of Australia and a revision of the subfa- mily Rhombosoleinae. Biol. Results Fish. Exp. “En- deavour” 5(5): 219-308. Ochiai, A. 1963. Soleina. Fauna Japonica. Biogiographical Soc. Japan, Tokyo. 114 pp. Ogilby, J.D. 1910. On some new fishes from the Queensland Coast. Proc. R. Soc. Od 23: 85-189. Richards, W.J. and Saksena, V.P. 1977. Systematics of the gurnards, genus Lepidotrigla (Pisces, Triglidae), from the Indian Ocean. Bull. mar. Sei. Gulf Caribb. 27: 208-222. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G. 1985. Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia. Clouston and Hall: Canberra. 375 pp. Smith, J.L.B. 1953. The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa. 3rd edition. Cape Town. xviii, pp. 564. Temminck, C.J. and Schlegel, H. 1850. Pisces. In: Siebold, P. E von, Fauna Japonica, sive descriptio animalium quae in itinere per Japoniam suscepto annis 1823-30 collegit, etc. 2 vols. Lugduni Batavorum. 323 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 25-26 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 7. A NEW SPECIES OF CHOERODON (LABRIDAE). By M. F. GOMON' AND G. R. ALLEN? ‘Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia *Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, Western Australia, 6000, Australia Abstract Gomon, M.F. and Alalen, G.R., 1987. New Australian fishes, Part 7. A new species of Choerodon Labridae). Mem. Mus. Viet. 48: 25-26. A description of a new tuskfish Choerodon cauteroma, restricted to north-western Australia, is presented. It is distinctive in having a relatively deep body and prominent black mark on the upper portion of the side below the seventh dorsal spine. Introduction Recent field studies and revisionary treatments of Australian taxa have differentiated a number of undescribed labrid fishes. Separate concurrent studies by the two authors identified the species of Choerodon treated below as new. Methods for this description follow Gomon (1974). Labridae Choerodon Choerodon Bleeker, 1847: 10. Type species. Labrus macrodontus Lacepede (= C. anchorago Bloch) by monotypy. Discussion. Choerodon is a large, morphologi- cally diverse genus with general body configura- tions varying from slender and streamlined to quite deep-bodied. An unpublished study of this genus and related genera undertaken by the first author has revealed the presence of two un- described species of Choerodon that appear to be restricted to northern Australian waters. Both have been cited in recent works treating, at least in part, Australia’s North-west Shelf. A descrip- tion of one of these species is presented below. Choerodon cauteroma sp. nov. Choerodon sp. 1 Gloerfelt-Tarp & Kailola, 1983: 235, colour figure on opposing page. 25 Choerodon sp. 1 Sainsbury et al., 1984: 260, colour figure on opposing page. Choerodon sp. Allen, 1985: 2406, figs. 330, 331. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Exmouth Gulf, collected by J.B. Hutchins, 6 Dec 1975, WAM P25508- 042 (terminal phase adult, 203 mm SL). Paratypes: Western Australia, Dampier Archipelago (20928.5'S, 116°32’E), J.B. Hutchins, 24 Nov 1974, WAM P24259 (initial phase, 195 mm SL). North-west Shelf (20°46'- 48'S, 115°59-116°00’E), 19-22 m, FRV “Soela”, collected by CSIRO, 1 Dec 1979, CSIRO H659-01 (initial phase, 176 mm SL). Exmouth Gulf, M. Lane, Oct 1974, WAM P25095-038 (initial phase, 6 specs., 98.3-144 mm SL). Off Exmouth Yacht Club, 4-5 m, spear, G.R. Allen, 1 Jul 1975, WAM P25372- 001 (initial phase, 3 specs., 90.2-104 mm SL). Shark Bay, R.J. McKay, 8 Jul 1962, AMS 1.26373-001 (initial phase and ter- minal phase, 2 specs., 130-205 mm SL), NMV A3819 (initial phase and terminal phase, 4 specs., 114-208 mm SL), USNM 280629 (initial phase and terminal phase, 2 specs., 115-158 mm SL). Same area, Poole Bros., May 1964, BPBM 30944 (initial phase, 110 mm SL). Other material: Western Australia, Elphicks Knob (20°28' S, 116°37' E), collected by R.J. McKay, 26 Nov. 1971, WAMP 23092-4 (3 juveniles, 20.5-40.2 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays XIII, 7; anal-fin rays III, 10; pectoral-fin rays ii, 15-16 (ii, 15 in holo- type; ii, 15 in 37 of 40 fins counted); lateral-line scales 27+2; predorsal scales 5-8 (5 in holotype; modally 6); scales above lateral line 4-4 1/2 (4 in holotype). Body and head deep, body depth 36.3- 43.0 (37.3 in holotype). Eye large. Predorsal scales reaching forward to above hind edge of preopercle. Cheek scales reaching forward to 26 M. F. GOMON AND G, R, ALLEN below anterior extent of orbit; broad naked mar- gin along free edge of preopercle; subopercle with 1-5 scales in a mostly uniserial patch dorsally. Lateral-line scales with several anastomosing branches associated with sensory pores. Upper jaw with two pairs of prominent ventrally directed canines anteriorly, anteriormost much larger than second; small recurved canine some- times present (present in holotype) at corner of mouth. Lower jaw with two pairs of prominent anterior canines, anteriormost much smaller than second and directed anterodorsally; second pair strongly curved laterally. Caudal fin mostly trun- cate with upper and lower corners produced into short lobe. Dorsoposterior corner of pectoral fin distinctly pointed, fin broadly rounded below. Reaches a length of at least 230 mm TL. Juveniles (based on three specimens, WAM P.23092-4, tentatively identified as this species) pale with four faint dusky bands or vertically elongate blotches on sides; darker spot about half diameter of eye on lateral line below seventh dorsal-fin spine; fins pale, dusky blotches in dor- sal and anal fins opposite ends of bands cross- ing sides and dark spot in dorsal fin above third band in very small individuals. Initial phase pale with faint dusky stripes posteriorly on sides following horizontal scale rows; broad dark slash on side between base of seventh dorsal-fin spine and lateral line; head with pair of narrow dusky lines crossing snout in front of eyes, similar pair of dusky lines directed posteriorly from each eye, third pair curved posteroventrally from eye across opercu- lum, fourth pair curved anteroventrally from eye to mouth, pair of short dusky marks directed ventrally from mouth on each side and hazy dusky streak angled posteroventrally from cheek; dorsal fin with broad horizontal dark streak dis- tally between first three spines; dorsal and anal fins with two horizontal series of dusky spots, inner series in each fin conjoined to form stripe anteriorly; caudal fin occasionally with one or two vertical series of dusky spots. Terminal phase similar to primary phase but with dark mark dorsally on side reduced to spot of pupil size; lines on head, except for those across snout, those directed postero-ventrally from eye, and streak across cheek, less prominent; spot anteriorly on dorsal fin intense. Life colours of initial and terminal phase adults olivaceous above, yellow to white below with above-mentioned lines and spots, except for blue-edged black spot on side, black spot anteri- orly in dorsal fin and brownish streak across cheek, bright blue; centres of scales anteriorly on sides bright blue; space between pair of blue lines directed posteroventrally from eye brownish; base colour of fins bright yellow; broad blue stripe along basal edge of pectoral fin rays; pelvic fin with one or more longitudinal blue stripes. Distribution. North-western Australia, extending at least from the Dampier Archipelago to Shark Bay. Etymology. From the Latin cauteroma (brand), in reference to the characteristic brand-like mark dorsally on the sides of the body in this species. Remarks, This is a distinctive species of tuskfish which most closely resembles its deep-bodied congeners that have thirteen spines and suboper- cular scales restricted to the dorsoposterior corner of the exposed subopercular surface. The prominent black mark on the upper portion of the side below the seventh dorsal-fin spine, the black mark at the leading end of the dorsal fin and 15 (rarely 16) segmented pectoral-fin rays eas- ily distinguish it from these relatives. References Allen, G.R. 1985. Fishes of Western Australia. Pp. 2207-2534 in: Burgess, W. and Axelrod, H.R. (eds.), Pacific Ma- rine Fishes. Book 9. T,F.H. Publications: Neptune, New Jersey. Bleeker, P. 1847. Overzigt der te Batavia voorkomende Glad- schubbige Labroieden (in subtitle: Lipvisschen), met bex- chrijving van 11 nieuwe species. Verh. Bat. Gen. 23(3): 1-64, Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Northern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia. Aus- tralian Development Assistance Bureau: Canberra. 406 pp. Gomon, M.F. 1974. A new eastern Pacific labrid (Pisces), Decodon melasma, a geminate species of the western At- lantic D. puellaris. Proc. biol. Soc. Wash. 87(19): 205-216. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G. 1985, Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia. Clouston and Hall: Canberra. 375 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 27-29 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 8, A NEW SPECIES OF AULOTRACHICHTHYS (TRACHICHTHYIDAE) By M. F. GOMON AND R. H. KuITER Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia Abstract Gomon, M.F. and Kuiter, R.H., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 8. A new species of Au- lotrachichthys (Trachichthyidae). Mem. Mus, Vict. 48: 27-29, Aulotrachichthys, presented by Fowler (1938) as a subgenus of the trachichthyid Paratrachichthys, is here recognised as a separate genus. A new species, Aulotrachichthys pulsa- tor, from South Australian waters, is described. It is distinguishable from other congeners by various combinations of its body form, eye size, extent of striated tissue and meristic values. Introduction Nine species of roughy, family Trachichthyidae, are currently placed in the genus Paratrachichthys Waite, 1899 (Gon, 1983; Kotlyar, 1980). These species are separable into two natural groups on the basis of the presence or absence of striated luminous tissue on the head, pectoral-fin base and lower portion of the sides. The two groups are here recognized as distinct genera. Paratrachichthys, which lacks striae, comprises two described species, and Aulotrachichthys (Fowler, 1938), which has striae, comprises seven described species. During a collecting trip to the Investigator Group of islands at the eastern end of the Great Australian Bight, the second author acquired a series of a distinctive undescribed spe- cies referrable to this genus. The species is the shallowest dwelling member of the genus known to date. Type specimens are lodged in the Museum of Victoria (NMV) and the South Aus- tralian Museum (SAMA). Aulotrachichthys Fowler Paratrachichthys (Aulotrachichthys) Fowler, 1938: 40. Type species. Paratrachich thys latus Fowler, 1938, by original designation. Discussion. Aulotrachichthys has been consis- tently regarded as a subgeneric taxon, as Origl- nally proposed, or ignored by authors treating species referrable to it. A recent examination of the closely related, but distinctive Sorosichthys ananessa Whitley, 1945, revealed the presence of striated luminous tissue in the same configura- tion as found in species referrable to Au- lotrachichthys. In addition, S. ananessa has the anus positioned between the bases of the pelvic fins as do the nine species currently in Paratrachichthys, but unlike all other trachichthyids. As the striated tissue is a unique structure unlikely to have evolved independently in Sorosichthys and those species referrable to Aulotrachichthys, it is hypothesized that the two groups share an immediate common ancestry which excludes species currently placed in Paratrachichthys without striae. Aulotrachichthys is therefore regarded as a generic taxon closely related to Paratrachichthys and Sorosichthys. Au- lotrachichthys is most easily separable from Paratrachichthys by the diagnostic characters given by Fowler in his original description, “the presence of the subcutaneous silvery-grey striated tubes and areas along lower surface of body”. In other aspects, the two genera are very similar. Aulotrachichthys pulsator sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: South Australia, Investigator Group, Topgallant Island (33°43'S, 134°38’E), 25 m, rocky reef, rotenone, R.H. Kuiter, 1 Apr 1982, NMV A3726 (64.3 mm SL). Paratypes: Collected with holotype, NMV A3727 (14 specs., 27 28 M. F. GOMON AND R. H. KUITER ttt 5 4£ > ER \ ee — == 223330 === my [A l Figure 1. Aulotrachichthys pulsator sp. nov., holotype, NMV A3726, 64.3 mm SL, scale detail omitted. 35.1-65.1 mm SL); SAMA F5490 (64.0 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays V, 13. Anal-fin rays II, 9. Lateral-line scales 28. Belly scutes 8-9 (9 in holotype). Gill rakers 5-7+1+11-13=17-21 (usually 6+1+12, 6+1+12 in holotype). Body moderately shallow, body depth at dorsal-fin ori- gin 33-35% (34% in holotype) SL, dorsal and ventral profiles nearly symmetrical. Eye large, horizontal diameter 35-39% (35% in holotype) head length, placed almost midlaterally on head. Striated silvery tissue extending posteriorly from each pelvic-fin base along ventral profile of sides nearly to caudal-fin base. Dorsal-fin spines be- coming progressively and distinctly longer posteriorly, only second and third subequal; first three segmented rays likewise becoming proceed- ingly longer and subsequent rays becoming progressively shorter; profile of dorsal-fin broadly triangular. Reaches a total length of at least 80 mm. In life, brownish on back, silvery below, with golden hue. Fins whitish, with brownish tint basally on caudal-fin lobes. Distribution. Known only from rocky reefs at- depths of 25 m off Topgallant Island, South Australia. Etymology. From the Latin, pu/sator (striker or beater), in reference to the ability of this species to make click-like sounds when disturbed. Remarks. This species is the most streamlined and shallow dwelling member of the genus. No others have been taken at depths of less than 50 m, and most occur in waters of more than 100 m. Unlike many congeners whose ventral profile is noticeably more deeply rounded than the dor- sal profile at large adult sizes, the opposing pro- files of the body in this species at this stage are virtually mirror images of one another. In addi- tion, the very large eye appears to be placed slightly closer to the lateral midline of the head than in most other species. Aulotrachichthys pul- sator differs markedly in these respects from the other Australian member of the genus occurring off the eastern coast. The latter is very similar in appearance to A. novaezelandicus Kotlyar, 1980, known only from New Zealand waters. However, the identity of the eastern Australian species cannot be made conclusively with infor- mation at hand. Obvious differences between the two Australian species include the presence of an additional segmented anal-fin ray, a proportion- ately shallower body and larger eye in A. pulsator. A NEW SPECIES OF AULOTRACHICHTHYS 29 Acknowledgements We thank Rhyllis J. Plant for preparing the il- lustration of the new species. References Fowler, H.W. 1938. Descriptions of new fishes obtained by the United States Bureau of Fisheries steamer ”Al- batross”, chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters. Proc. U.S. natl. Mus. 85 (3032): 31-135. Gon, O. 1983. Paratrachichthys heptalepis, a new roughie (Pisces, Trachichthyidae) from the Hawaiian Islands. Pac. ¡ICALI 299. Kotlyar, A.N. 1980. Paratrachichthys (Aulotrachichthys) novaezelandicus sp. n. (Pisces, Beryciformes, Trachichthyidae) from the waters of New Zealand. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 59(2): 309-312. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 31-33 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 9. A NEW SPECIES OF KATHETOSTOMA (URANOSCOPIDAE). By M. F. Gomon! AND P. R. Last? ‘Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne Victoria, 3000, Australia 2CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Abstract Gomon, M.F. and Last, P.R., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 9. A new species of Kathetostoma (Uranoscopidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 31-33. A new species of stargazer, Kathetostoma canaster, is described from the southern coast of Australia. It has been confused with the sympatric K. laeve and the New Zealand K. giganteum, but differs from both in details of colour pattern and meristic values. Introduction Scott (1974, 1980) recorded Kathetostoma giganteum Haast, 1873, until then regarded as a strictly New Zealand stargazer, from Tasmanian waters. A comparison of southern Australian specimens which match Scott’s accounts with ex- amples of K. giganteum from New Zealand in- dicates that the populations inhabiting the two countries are not conspecific. A description of this new Australian species is presented below, bringing the number of Australian representatives of the genus to three, All are Australian endemics. This treatment stems from an ongoing study of temperate Australasian taxa of the family Ura- noscopidae. Type specimens are deposited in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS), CSIRO Di- vision of Fisheries Research, Hobart (CSIRO) and Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV). Kathetostoma Kathetostoma Günther, 1860: 274. Type species. Uranoscopus laevis Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (by monotypy.) Discussion. Although Australasian representa- tives of this genus have been considerably con- fused in the literature (see Mees, 1960: 55), the species are distinctive and can be diagnosed. Vari- able characters include numbers of rays in the dorsal and anal fins, configuration of the bony 31 ornamentation on the head, colouration, and relative proportions of the body, such as eye size, length of teeth, body width and body length. Members of the genus are confined to subtropi- cal and temperate waters. Kathetostoma canaster sp. nov. Figure 1 Kathetostoma sp. Last et al., 1983: 423, fig. 30.92. Material examined. Holotype: Victoria, Bass Strait, south- east of Cape Conran (37°55.27'-55.43'S, 149*10.32-15,05'S), 114-119 m (62.5-65 fms), FRV “Hai Kung”, BSS-T-147, M. Gomon et al., 9 Feb 1981, NMV A1594 (166 mm SL), Paratypes: Victoria, Bass Strait, off Lakes Entrance, Dan- ish seine trawl, R. Slack-Smith, NMV A217 (185 mm SL). Tasmania. Bass Strait, south of Flinders Island (40° 43.79- 43.82'S, 148°32.68'-34.41'E), 54.9-58.6 m, FRV “Hai Kung”, BSS-T-139, M. Gomon et al., 7 Feb 1981, NMV A1550 (154 mm SL); south-south-east of Flinders Island (40°48,85'- 43.38'S, 148°37.46'-38.55’E), 69.5 m, FRV “Hai Kung”, BSS- T-140, M. Gomon et al., 7 Feb 1981, NMV A1563 (2 specs., 150-156 mm SL); off south-eastern tip of King Island (40°00.00'-59.98'S, 144° 20.90'-23.64’E), 46-48 m (25-26 fms), FRV “Hai Kung”, BSS-T-127, M. Gomon et al., 2 Feb 1981, NMV A1401 (215 mm SL); off north-west tip of Tasmania (40°48.31'-49.71'S, 144917.06'-14,38'E), 99-102 m (54-56 fms), FRV “Hai Kung”, BSS-T-125, M. Gomon et al., 2 Feb 1981, NMV A1400 (186 mm SL); off north-west tip of Tasmania, (40°32'S, 145°23'E), 44 m (24 fms), FRV “Sarda”, BSS-T-116, M. Gomon et al., 4 Nov 1980, NMV A1222 (165 mm SL); east of Hippolytes Island, AMS 1.21304-001 (2 specs., 111- 195 mm SL); Storm Bay, 85 m, J. Koerbin, 16 Aug 1981, CSIRO H654-01 (165 mm SL); same locality, 30 m, CSIRO 32 M. F. GOMON AND P. R. LAST Figure 1. Kathetostoma canaster sp. nov., paratype, Tasmania, East of Hippolytes Island, AMS 1.21304-001, 195 mm SL. H655-01 (102 mm SL). South Australia. south-west of Beachport (37%51-45'S, 139%48'-39ÉE), 370-400 m, FV “Halcyon”, MFG 109, collected by R. Wilson et al., 24 Oct 1981, NMV A2166 (2 specs., 121- 128 mm SL); south-west of Beachport (37°42'-45’S, 139°42- 38'E), 380-420 m, FV “Halcyon”, MEG 107, R. Wilson et al., 23 Oct 1981, NMV A2153 (2 specs., 201-255 mm SL); Great Australian Bight, 640-823 m, FRV “Endeavour”, AMS E.3354 (158 mm SL). Description. Dorsal-fin rays 16-18 (17 in holo- type); anal-fin rays 15-16 (16 in holotype); pectoral-fin rays 19-21 (19 in holotype); vertebrae 31-33 (32 in holotype). Body of moderate length; greatest head width 35.3-39.3 (36.1 in holotype) % SL; head length 27.2-30.1 (30.1 in holotype) Y. Unossified space between orbits moderately broad, 42.0-59.1 (51.8 in holotype) % interorbi- tal distance; lateral edges of space usually parallel, posterior edge straight to slightly con- cave. Eyes moderately small, 17.7-23.8 (17.7 in holotype) % head length. Ossified dorsal surface of head with very low, fine, radiating ridges in juveniles, ridges nearly indistinct in adults; posterior edge of dorsal bony surface usually slightly concave, sometimes bulging slightly on each side. Lower jaw with row of moderately small canines, pair adjacent symphysis (and often One or more other pairs laterally) considerably larger than rest; upper jaw with broad band of smaller teeth and row of larger depressible ca- nines on inner edge. Reaches at least 650 mm total length. Body whitish below, speckled greyish brown above, with two more-or-less distinct broad bands dorsally on sides, first above pectoral fin and se- cond below posterior half to two-thirds of dor- sal fin, bands most distinct in small specimens; dorsal surface of head variably mottled and speckled with dusky and dark pigment. Dorsal and caudal fins and lateral surfaces of pectoral fins dark with distinct pale margins; anal fin and lateral surfaces of pelvic fins pale or slightly dusky with pale margins. Etymology, From the Latin canaster (grizzled), in reference to the distinctive colour pattern of this species. Distribution. Restricted to southern Australia, in- cluding Tasmania, from about Sydney, New South Wales to the Great Australia Bight, in depths of 30 to over 370 m. The depth of the paratype (AMS E.3354) recorded early this cen- tury from 640-823 m is somewhat doubtful based on recent collecting efforts. Comparisons. Kathetostoma canaster is most eas- ily distinguished from the other Australian con- geners by colour pattern, both K. /aeve (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) and K. nigrofasciatum Waite & McCulloch, 1915, having distinctively contrast- ing dark bands against a uniformly paler back- ground dorsally, instead of the more speckled pattern of the new species. In comparison with the new species, K. nigrofasciatum has fewer dorsal-fin rays (14-15), anal-fin rays (13-14) and vertebrae (27-29), a narrower head and more pronounced bulges along the posterior edge of the dorsal bony surface of the head. Kathetostoma laeve has on an average fewer anal- fin rays (13-15), fewer vertebrae (28-30), a smaller eye (15.7-19.3% head length) and lacks noticea- bly enlarged canines in the outer row of teeth of the lower jaw. A New Zealand species, K. giganteum Haast, 1873, differs in usually having A NEW SPECIES OF KATHETOSTOMA 33 more dorsal-fin rays (18-20, rarely 20), more anal- fin rays (17-20, rarely 17 or 20) and a much rougher ornamentation on the bony dorsal sur- face of the head, especially in juveniles. The juvenile colour pattern of K. giganteum is dis- tinctly different, consisting of a series of broader pale and dark vermiculations on the dorsal sur- face, those at the base of the dorsal fin forming interrupted longitudinal stripes. Acknowledgements Travel to the South Australian and Australian Museums, where part of this work was under- taken, was made possible by the Marine Sciences and Technologies Research Grant Scheme, grant number 81/0270. We are grateful to John Glover of the South Australian Museum, John Paxton and Douglas Hoese of the Australian Museum and Barry Hutchins of the Western Australian Museum for providing facilities for the examina- tion of specimens. Graham Milledge kindly pre- pared the illustration. References Bloch, M.E. and Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyolo- giae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit J. Gottlob Schneider. Saxo. Berolini. lx, 584 pp. Gúnther, A. 1860. Catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes in the collection of the British Museum. Vol. 2. London. 548 pp. Haast, J. 1873. On some undescribed fishes of New Zealand. Trans. N. Z. Inst. 5: 272-278. Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. and Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tas- mania. Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority: Hobart. viii, 563 pp. Mees, G.F. 1960. The Uranoscopidae of Western Australia (Pisces, Perciformes). J. R. Soc. West. Aust. 43(2): 46-58. Scott, E.O.G. 1974. Observations on some Tasmanian fishes: Part XX. Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. 108: 171-197. Scott, E.O.G. 1980. Observations on some Tasmanian fishes: Part XXVI. Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. 114: 85-144. Waite, E.R. and McCulloch, A.R. 1915. The fishes of the South Australian Government trawling cruise, 1914. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 39: 455-476. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 35-42 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES PART 10. A NEW GENUS AND TWO NEW SPECIES OF FRESHWATER ELEOTRIDID FISHES (GOBIOIDEI) FROM THE KIMBERLEY REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA By Douatass F. HOESE' AND GERALD R. ALLEN? The Australian Museum, P.O. Box A285, Sydney South, N.S.W. 2000 Western Australian Museum, Francis St, Perth, W.A. 6000 Abstract Hoese, D.F. and Allen, G.R. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 10. A new genus and two new species of freshwater eleotridid fishes (Gobioidei) from the Kimberley region of Western Austra- lia. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 35-42. A new genus and two new species of freshwater gudgeons (Family Eleotrididae) are described from the Kimberley region of north-western Australia. Kimberleyeleotris, gen. nov., is closely allied to Hypseleotris Gill, but differs in having vomerine teeth, reduced scales, a slightly larger mouth, and different pattern of head papillae. The two new species, K. hutchinsi and K. notata are thus far known only from the Mitchell and Drysdale rivers respectively, They differ from each other in the pelvic and pectoral rays (branched in K. notata, mostly unbranched in K. hutch- insi), in vertebral counts, in shape of the head and first dorsal fin, in extent of the gill opening and in colour pattern. Introduction The family Eleotrididae is represented by about 200 to 300 species in 40 genera. Most of the spe- cies are relatively small (usually less than 20 cm) fishes that usually dwell in brackish or freshwater habitats, primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. The largest number of species inhabits the Indo-Pacific fauna province, There has been extensive speciation in fresh waters of Australia and New Guinea, with about 60 to 70 species in the region and many of them endemic. The present paper describes a new genus and two new species obtained by J,B. Hutchins of the Western Australian Museum during expeditions to the Kimberley region of north-western Austra- lia during 1975 and 1976. Previous treatment was given to the genus Hypseleotris of Western Austa- lia (Hoese and Allen, 1983) and the eleotridid fauna of Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea (Allen and Hoese, 1986). The genus shows several specialisations com- mon to a group of eleotridid genera recognised here as the subfamily Eleotridinae. 35 Methods Methods for most counts and measurements mainly follow Hubbs and Lagler (1958). The lon- gitudinal scale count was taken along the mid- line from behind the pectoral base to the end of the hypural. The transverse scale count was taken from the origin of the second dorsal fin ven- troposteriorly to the anal base (TRDB). Caudal ray counts are given as upper/lower. Gill raker counts include all rudiments. Counts for ver- tebrae, fin rays, scales and gill rakers and meas- urements of types are presented in Tables 1-6. Head depth and width were taken at the posterior preopercular margin. The postdorsal length is the distance from the base of the last ray in the se- cond dorsal fin to the posterior tip of the hypural plate. The urogenital papilla width was taken at the base of the papilla. Terminology for bones follows Springer (1983). The ptyygiophore for- mula follows Birdsong (1975). Types are deposited in: Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS); Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Comparative material of other eleotridid genera is deposited in the Australian 36 D. F. HOESE AND G. R. ALLEN Museum. Head papilla drawings were basd on camera lucida outlines, with papilla patterns a compo- site based on two or more specimens. Kimberleyeleotris gen. nov. Type species. Kimberleyeleotris hutchinsi sp. nov. Diagnosis. No head pores. No scales on head. Body scales reduced, with large naked areas on belly and below first dorsal fin. Anterior nostril a simple pore above middle of upper lip, posterior nostril a simple pore above anterodorsal margin of eye. Gill opening broad, extending anteroven- tral to preoperculum or eye. First dorsal fin VI, origin well posterior to pectoral insertion. Anal fin original immediately below second dorsal ori- gin. Pelvic origin well posterior to pectoral inser- tion, but before first dorsal origin. Vomer with few minute conical, pointed, loosely attached teeth. Head papillae in transverse pattern. Osteology. Typical eleotridid features. Dorsal and ventral postcleithra present; palatine L-shaped, articulating dorsally with medial base of lateral ethmoid; branchiostegal rays 6; urohyal with very slender transverse shelf on ventral margin (broad in most eleotridids); pelvic intrecleithral and ven- tral intercleithral cartilages present. Eleotrinine specialisations. Inner adductor mandibulae tendon attaching about to middle of maxilla; outer tendon or connective tissue attach- ing on groove on upper third of maxilla. Caudal fin with 8 upper and 7 lower segmented rays, up- permost articulates with hypural 5, 7 segmented rays articulating with upper hypural plate, 6 seg- mental rays articulating with lower hypural plate, lowermost segmented caudal ray articulating with parhypural; first upper procurrent caudal ray separated from posterior epural by upper procur- rent cartilage; lower procurrent cartilage extend- ing over tip of haemal arch of penultimate vertebra, surrounded by base of first lower procurrent ray, which also extends over tip of hae- mal arch. Other features, No mesopterygoid. Basihyal spatulate. Scapula ossified. Epurals 2; lower hypural plate not fused with urostyle. First dor- sal pterygiophore formula 3(12210) or 302211). Preoperculum with short process adjacent to, but not connecting to upper end of symplectic. Sym- plectic slender. Metapterygoid slender, separated by cartilaginous rod from quadrate. Lacrimal tri- angular, overlapping about one-half of premax- illa. Anterior tip of vomer broad, below and in front of ethmoid. Dorsal flange of sphenotic short not reaching supraoccipital. Etymology. From Kimberley, referring to the type locality region, and Eleotris, a genus of Eleotrididae. Relationships. The genus is most similar in general appearance to Hypseleotris Gill, in posi- tion of fins (posterior placement of pelvic fin and first dorsal fin and beginning of anal fin immedi- ately below second dorsal origin), slender body, narrow ventral shelf of urohyal, slender metap- terygoid separated by long catrilage from qua- drate and in the lateral placement of eyes. Kimberleyeleotris differs from Hypseleotris in the papilla pattern, in possessing vomerine teeth, in having reduced scales and with a slightly larger mouth. Although species of Hypseleotris may be deeper bodied, species from the Kimberley Region of Western Australia are very slender and easily confused with this new genus. Only some species of Hypseleotris lack a mesopterygoid. The attachment of the adductor mandibulae tendon, number of and attachment of segmented caudal rays are characteristic of eleotridine genera, apparently representing a specialised con- dition. In the primitive butine eleotridids the inner adductor maxillae tendon attaches anteri- orly on maxilla, often attaching to a bony process off the maxilla. In butines and most gobiids there are 17 (rarely 14, 15 or 16 in butines) segmented caudal rays and the uppermost ray articulates directly with the posterior or single epural and is not displaced by cartilage (Hoese, unpubl.), suggesting that eleotridines have probably lost the upper segmented ray and probably the ven- tralmost ray as well. Butines with 14-16 segmented caudal rays typically have lost rays from the hypural plates. Kimberleotris hutchinsi sp. nov. Figures 1, 2 New genus and species B.-Allen, 1982: 61, pl. 13, fig. 7 (Mitchell River). Material examined. Holotype. Western Australia, tributary NEW FRESHWATER ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM THE KIMBERLEY REGION 37 Ses Figure 2. Paratype of Kimberleyeleotris hutchinsi, AMS 1.26255-001, base of Mitchell River (14%49'S, 125°42’E), J.B. Hutchins and T. Dryker, 31 Oct 1976, WAM P.25684-009 (30.8 mm SL male). Paratypes. Taken with holotype, AMS 1.26322-001, 2(25- 29), cleared and stained, AMS 1.26255-001, 8(26.9-31 mm SL) and WAM P.25684-007, 14(25-30 mm SL). Western Australia, Pool 5km above falls, Mitchell River (14°49'S, 125°41'B), J.B. Hutchins and T. Dryker, 30 Oct 1976, WAM P.25683-008, 2(22-24 mm SL). Diagnosis. Pelvic rays and most pectoral rays un- branched. Vertebrae 25; first dorsal fin elevated; body pale coloured; gill opening extends an- teroventral to preoperculum (between posterior preopercular margin and posterior margin of d largely on a 31 mm SL specimen. eye). Body light brown, first dorsal fin black an- teriorly between first three spines, sometimes pale in small females; second dorsal fin with margins black in males, usually pale in female, other fins clear to light grey. Description. An asterisk indicates count of holo- type (See also Tables 1 and 2). First dorsal fin VI* (in 25); second dorsal fin I, 8-9, anal fin I, 9-10, usually with 1 more anal ray than dorsal ray (2 in 5 specimens); pectoral rays 14-16 (rarely 14 or 16; segmented caudal rays 8/7* (24); branched caudal rays 6/4 (1), 6/5*, (22), 7/6 (1); unseg- 38 D. F. HOESE AND G. R. ALLEN Table 1. Frequencies of fin, gill raker and caudal ray counts in two species of Kimberleyeleotris K. Character State hutchinsi K. notata Second dorsal 1,8 18 - 1,9 Nie 2* Anal it 12 [% 1,10 13% l Pectoral rays 14 4 is 15 20* -= 16 1 = Lower gill 11 — Jt: rakers 12 I I (Ist arch) 13 l — 14 6 — 15 2 — Total gill 14 — ib rakers 15 l l (Ist arch) 16 1 — 17 4 — 18 4 — Lower gill rakers 10 2 22 (outer face of 2nd) 11 6 — arch) 12 2 _ Procurrent 9 = 2a caudal ray 10 _ _ counts —upper 11 6* = 12 6 = 13 5 _ lower 8 - 2* 9 E = 10 4 — 11 iia _ 12 6 _ mented caudal rays 11-13/10-12; vertebrae 12+13* (11), 13+12 (14); longitudinal scale count 25(2), 28(3), 29(1), 31(1), 32(1), 32(1), 33*(4), 34(3), 35(3), 36(1); transverse scale count (TRDB); 5(1), 6(3), 7(2), 9*(3), 10(3); gill rakers on outer face of first arch 3-4/1/11-14; lower rakers on outer face of second arch 10-12. Head, slightly compressed, flat on top, length 27.3-32.5% SL; snout 7.5-8.8% SL; eyes lateral, 6.6-9.0% SL; mouth oblique forming an angle of about 40° with body axis; posterior margin of jaws below or just before anterior margin of eye, length of upper jaw 7.9-9.2% SL; body slender and compressed; depth at pelvic origin 12.5-15.4% SL depth at anal origin 10.7-14.0% SL in females, 14.1-15.4% SL in males; caudal peduncle slender and elongate, slightly more than twice the length of the base of the second dorsal fin. Scales ctenoid; body covered with scales posteriorly, anteriorly scales taper toward mid- line, extending forward to below middle to end of first dorsal fin; anteriormost scales usually in a single line often widely spaced and not in con- tact with other scales; naked patch below dorsal fin often extends to below end of second dorsal fin; area immediately above anterior half to two- thirds of anal fin base often naked; belly, pec- toral base, prepelvic area and head naked. Gill rakers elongate on outer face of first arch, rakers near angle longer than gill filaments; rakers on inner face of first arch and following arches short and denticulate, short denticulate rakers on inner face of last gill arch. First dorsal fin elevated in males (19.9-25.3% SL), with pointed margin, fin reaches to or well beyond second dorsal fin origin when depressed; first dorsal spine moderate in length, second to fourth spines subequal in length, fifth spine sube- qual in length to first spine; sixth spine short, about one-third length of fifth spine; fin of fe- males low and pointed (height 14.5-18.0% SL) reaching to near, but before second dorsal ori- gin; second dorsal fin well separated from first dorsal fin, fin elevated, slightly higher than first dorsal fin of female and much higher than body depth, first segmented ray unbranched, other rays branched; anal fin original below second dorsal origin; fin slightly shorter in height to second dorsal fin, but higher than body depth, first 1 or 2 segmented rays unbranched, other rays branched; pelvic fin elongate reaching to or just before anus; pectoral fin rays elongate, reaching to above or slightly beyond anus; pectoral rays typically appearing unbranched, but often 1 to 4 central rays with single branch at extreme tip; caudal fin with truncate to emarginate posterior margin. Urogenital papilla of male slender and pointed length 2.5 to 3 times width at base; papilla of fe- male broad and rounded, with short papilla at 39 To so 0 9¢ To S'O GE v9 Ela VL L6 EO vr oP Sp ° Ç Ë Ç ca LY 6'£ 98 Tor yıpIm ejpded feırusdoın y13u9] ejpded eyrun y13u3] ¡epneo y13u9] DAT y13u9] [8103994 y13u9] [esIOp 15114 possoidaq y13u31 spunpad [epney y13u9] [esıop 1504 ug [esıop puodas Jo əseg umo jeue je yidop Apog UIZLIO Srappd ye yydap Apog y13u9] 9A y13u9] mel add y13u31 ¡nous yıdap peəH YIPIM peoH y13u9| peəH “IS sə[pui sadÁye1ed adAjojoy odAjered adA1o[oy Isulyajny `y p)p)ou `y 19)59p1puO NEW FRESHWATER ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM THE KIMBERLEY REGION 511J09]949]49qIN JO satsads mau OMI JO SƏdÁ} Jo (wu uD SIUDUIINSPIAN `Z AQEL 40 D. F. HOESE AND G. R. ALLEN each posterolateral margin, length 1.3 to 1.4 times width at base. Colour of freshly collected male (figured in Allen, 1982). Head and body light greyish-brown, light purple ventrally on head, body darker on lower side, Fins as described below under alco- hol coloration, except anal fin mainly reddish orange, Colour in alcohol. Head and body pale yellow- ish. Scale pockets edged with melanophores and lines of melanophores on skin along myosepta; males with dense concentrations of melanophores scattered over body, often most dense ventrally on caudal peduncle; females with few scattered melanohores and chromatophores along edges of scales distinct. Large median black blotch ven- trally behind urogenital papilla connecting to thin black line on either side of base of anal fin, lines join behind anal fin to form thin median black stripe extending to anterior base of procurrent caudal rays. First dorsal fin black before fourth dorsal spine, black extending on to and along distal tip of fin; rest of fin clear, except dense concentra- tions of chromatophores along fifth and sixth dorsal spines. Second dorsal fin with large black blotch at base of fin anteriorly, blotch extending just anterior to third segmented ray, thin black distal margin; often with broad, black stripe on distal upper third of fin; rest of fin clear, but with some scattered melanophores. Anal fin clear with few scattered melanophores; small patch of melanophores near anterior base forming faint blotch. Caudal fin light grey with scattered melanophores. Pectoral base with few scattered melanophores; pectoral fin clear to grey with melanophores along lateral margins of rays. Pel- vic fins clear to white, with few elongate melano- phores along lateral margins of rays in males. Etymology. Named after J.B. Hutchins of WAM, who collected the type specimens. Remarks. Males of this species are typically larger than females. Of the 21 specimens for which the sex could be determined, 10 are females between 22.5 and 27 mm SL, and 11 are males between 25 and 31 mm SL. Only two males are less than 27 mm SL. In the samples males average 29.3 mm SL and females 25.3 mm SL, with the average sizes significantly different (p<0.001). Kimberleyeleotris notata sp. nov. Figures 3, 4 Gobiid species.-Hutchins, 1977: 107, fig. 11 (Drysdale River). New genus and species A.-Allen, 1982: 60, pl. 13, fig. 4 (Drysdale River). Material examined. Holotype. Western Australia, Drysdale River at rapids about 4 km above junction with Forest Creek (14°38'S, 126°58’E) J.B. Hutchins (stn C5-4), 21 Aug 1975, WAM P.25427-010 (37.5 mm male). Paratype. Taken with holotype, AMS 1.26254-001, 35.5 mm SL male. Diagnosis. Gill opening broad, extending an- teroventral to posterior quarter of eye; pectoral and pelvic rays branched; vertebrae 26; first dor- sal fin with low rounded margin; colour dark brown, with 3 to 5 thin vertical brown bars an- teriorly and 8 to 10 chevron-shaped brown bar on midside posteriorly; all fins dusky. Description. First dorsal fin IV (2); second dor- sal fin I, 9-10; anal fin I, 9-10, number of dorsal rays equal to number of anal rays; pectoral rays 14; segmented caudal rays 8/7 (2); branched cau- dal rays 6/5 (2); unsegmented caudal rays 9/8; vertebrae 12/14 (2); longitudinal scale count 25- 27; transverse scale count (TRDB) 8; gill rakers on outer face of first arch 3/1/10-11; lower rakers on outer face of second arch 9-10. See also Ta- bles 1 and 2. Head more or less square in cross section, top of head flat, length 28.1-30.4% SL; snout rounded in dorsal and side views, length 7.5-8.2% SL; eyes lateral, 7.5-8.2% SL; mouth oblique forming an angle of abut 40° with body axis; posterior margin of jaws below anterior margin of eye, length 9.6-10.6% SL; body slender and compressed; depth at pelvic origin 13.1-13.8% SL; depth at anal origin 12.3-14.1% SL; caudal peduncle slender and elongate slightly less than twice the length of base of second dorsal fin. Scales ctenoid; body covered with scales posteri- orly, anteriorly scales taper toward midline, ex- tending forward to below origin of first dorsal fin; anteriormost scales usually in single line of l or 2 rows, with scales widely spaced and not in contact with other scales; naked patch below dorsal fin often extends to below middle of se- cond dorsal fin; area immediately above anal-fin base scaled; belly, pectoral base, prepelvic area NEW FRESHWATER ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM THE KIMBERI EY REGION and head naked. Gill rakers elongate on outer face of first arch, rakers near angle longer than gill filaments; rakers on inner face of first arch and following arches short and denticulate, no rakers on inner face of last gill arch. First dorsal fin low in 2 males examined (17.9- 19.5% SL), with rounded margin, fin ending just before second dorsal fin when depressed, first dorsal spine moderate in length, second to fourth spines subequal in length, fifth spine slightly shorter than fourth spine, sixth spine short, slightly less than half of fifth spine; second dor- sal fin well separated from first dorsal fin, second dorsal fin elevated, subequal to height of first dorsal fin and slightly higher than body depth; first segmented ray unbranched, other rays branched; anal-fin origin below second dorsal origin; fin slightly shorter in height to second dorsal fin, but higher than body depth, first seg- mented ray unbranched, other rays branched; pel- vic fin elongate reaching to just before anus (well 4 short of anus on one side in one specimen), length 17.2-18.2% SL; pectoral-fin rays elongate, reaching to above or slightly beyond anus, length 23.5-27.0% SL; pectoral rays branched; caudal fin apparently with a rounded to truncate posterior margin, (fin damaged in both specimens). Urogenital papilla of male broad and flat, with smooth margin, length 1.6 to 1.7 times width at base. Colour in alcohol (fresh coloration unknown). Head and body brown, densely covered with melanophores; melanophores most dense along margins of scales. Snout, interorbital region and cheeks dark brown. Midside with a series of ver- tical and chevron-shaped, dark brown bands; bands separated from mid-dorsal region by ap- proximately length of band; first vertical band broad, below and before beginning of first dor- sal fin; second vertical band broad and below se- cond to third dorsal spine; third vertical band, (A Figure 3. Camera lucida drawing showing sensory papilla of holotype of Kimberleyeleotris notata. Figure 4. Holotype of Kimberleyeleotris notata. 42 D. F. HOESE AND G. R. ALLEN narrow, below end of first dorsal fin; thin, yerti- cal band between two dorsal fins; thin, vertical band below second dorsal origin; followed by 12 chevron-shaped bands (with apex forward) in holotype (paratype damaged); faint vertically elongate grey bar at base of caudal fin. Median fins dark grey to black; without dis- tinct rows of dark spots; dorsal portion of pec- toral base with dark brown spot that fades ventrally, fin with melanophores along upper and lower margins of rays; pelvic fins also with melanophores along edges of rays and with some scattered melanophores on membranes. Melano- phores dense around anus, but not forming an obvious dark ring; melanophores dense on uro- genital papilla. Etymology. From the latin nota (mark or sign) referring to the pattern of markings on the side of this species. Acknowledgements We thank J.B. Hutchins for making the material available for study. Assistance with drawings was kindly provided by L. Moody. References Allen, G.R. 1982. A Field Guide to Indland Fishes of Western Australia. Western Australian Museum: Perth. 86 pp. Allen, F.R. and Hoese, D.F. 1986. The eleotrid fishes of Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea with descriptions of four new species. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 13(1): 79-100. Birdsong, R. 1975. The osteology of Microgobius signatus Poey (Pisces: Gobiidae), with comments on other gobiid fishes. Bull. Fla State Mus. Biol. Sci. 19(3): 135-187. Hoese, D.F. and Allen, G.R. 1983. A review of the gudgeon genus Hypseleotris (Pisces: Eleotridae) of Western Aus- tralia, with descriptions of three new species. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 10 (3): 243-261. Hubbs, C.L. and Lagler, K.F. 1958. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. Bull. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. 26: 1-251. Hutchins, J.B. 1977. The freshwater fish fauna of the Drys- dale River National Park North Kimberley, Western Aus- tralia. In: E.D. Kabay and A.A. Burbidge. A Biological survey of the Drysdale River National Park North Kim- berley, Western Australia. Wildl. Res. Bull. West. Aust. 6: 1-133. Springer, V.G. 1983. Tyson belos, new genus and species of western Pacific fish (Gobiidae, Xenisthminae), with dis- cussions of gobioid osteology and classification. Smith- son. Contrib. Zool. 390: 1-40. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 43-50 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 11. A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF ELEOTRIDID (GOBIOIDEI) FROM SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA WITH A DISCUSSION OF RELATIONSHIPS By DouaLass F. HoEsE' AND HELEN K. LARSON? y 'Australian Museum, P.O. Box A285, Sydney South, N.S.W. 2000, Australia Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, G.P.O. Box 4646, Darwin, N.T., 5794, Australia Abstract Hoese, D.F. and Larson, H.K. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 11. A new genus and species of eleotridid (Gobioidei) from southern Australia with a discussion of relationships. Mem. Mus. Vict, 48: 43-50. Thalasseleotris adela is described as a new genus and species of eleotridid fish from marine waters of southern Australia. Individuals of the monotypic genus are among the smallest eleotridid fishes known. The genus is one of three truly marine genera in the family and is peculiar in superficially resembling a gobiid. It is distinctive in lacking head pores, in having a single pterygio- phore before the first haemal arch, and in having the first gill slit closed by a membrane to the inner gill cover. Although superficially similar to other temperate eleotridid genera, it has several primitive features, not found in many of the more specialised Australian genera and immediate relatives are unknown. The species, distributed from New South Wales throughout southern Aus- tralia to south-western Western Australia shows considerable geographical variation in pectoral- ray counts. Introduction Few genera of gobioid fishes are confined to tem- perate regions of Australia. Two gobiid genera are found only in southern waters, with Tas- manogobius restricted to Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and Nesogobius restricted to southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and southern Western Australia, Similarly, few temperate eleotridid genera are known from Australia. Philypnodon is restricted to fresh waters and coastal estuarine lakes of southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, while Gobiomorphus is res- tricted, in Australia, to coastal rivers of southern Queensland, New South Wales and eastern Vic- toria. Gobiomorphus occurs in New Zealand. In 1972 a small gobioid that was thought to be related to Hetereleotris was collected from Tas- mania. This relationship was based on its general similarity in body form to Hetereleotris and other morphological similarities. Both genera have 10/17 vertebrae and the first gill slit closed. Study of the osteology, however, revealed that the spe- cies has several primitive features not known in 43 any gobiid fish. The species was subsequently found to be widespread in southern Australia in marine rocky reef areas from Sydney, New South Wales, to Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Methods The first dorsal pterygiophore formula follows Birdsong (1975). In descriptions and the tables, an asterisk indicates the value is that of the holo- type, figures in brackets in the text indicate the number of specimens examined with the preced- ing value. In the Material examined list the num- ber of specimens is given following the registration number and the size range in mm standard length is given in parentheses. Counts and measurements mostly follow methods out- lined by Hubbs and Lagler (1958). In the species studies, the first ray of the anal fin and second dorsal fin is always a spine: The remaining rays in these fins are segmented. The last ray of the second dorsal and anal fins, as counted, consists of two elements in contact though distinct through the extreme base. Segmented caudal ray 44 D. F. HOESE AND H. K. LARSON count is of total segmented rays, and in most specimens there are eight dorsal and eight ven- tral rays. Unsegmented caudal rays are recorded as dorsal/ventral rays. Longitudinal scale counts (LS) are taken along the midline of the sides of the body, from the upper base of the pectoral fin to the end of the hypural, excluding small scales on the base of the caudal fin. Transverse scale counts are taken from the anal spine upward and backward to the base of the second dorsal fin (TRB). Vertebrae are counted from radiographs. Caudal vertebrae are defined here as those with a closed haemal arch and a developed haemal spine. Generally in gobioids, one or two anal pterygiophores precede the first haemal spine (whether one or two depending on the genus). The osteology was studied from trypsin prepared cleared specimens, stained with alizarin red and in some cases, counterstained with alcian blue. Papillae were studied from cleared and stained material and untreated specimens (Hoese, 1983). The papillae line terminology follows Hoese (1983). The abbreviation LT refers to a more or less horizontal line, with each papilla axis at right angles to the axis of the line; LL refers to a more or less horizontal line, with each papilla axis along the axis of the line; VT refers to a more or less vertical line with each papilla axis at right angles to the axis of the line. The term OT is used specifically for the oblique lines on the opercu- lum, with each papilla axis at right angles to the axis of the line. Material is deposited in: Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS); Laboratory of Ichthyology, Crown Prince’s Palace, Tokyo (LICPP); Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV); Northern Terri- tory Museum of Arts and Sciences, Darwin (NTM), Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston (QVM); South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA) and Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Thalasseleotris gen. nov. Type species. Thalasseleotris adela sp. nov. Diagnosis. Gill opening broad, gill membranes attaching to isthmus below posterior quarter of eye; membranes forming free fold across isthmus. Vertebrae 10/17. Tongue tip deeply bilobed. First gill slit closed by membrane from lower part of first gill arch to inner gill cover. Head subterete, body covered with ctenoid scales, cycloid on belly. Mouth small, posterior end of jaws reaching to point ventral to middle to posterior quarter of eye. Pelvic fins completely separate, with no basal membrane. Pterygiophore formula 3(22110) in 6, 3212110) in 1. Segmented caudal rays usually 8+8=16. Tendon from adductor mandibulae at- taching anteriorly and ventrally on inner side of maxilla in front of maxillo-dentary ligament. Sin- gle pterygiophore preceding first haemal arch. Osteology. Typical eleotridid features. Palatine more or less L-shaped, with short dorsal flange articulating with middle of anterior part of lateral ethmoid. Branchiostegal rays 6. Primitive butine features. Tendon from adduc- tor mandibulae attaching anteriorly on inner face of maxilla, slightly anterior to maxillo-dentary ligament. Caudal fin usually with 8 dorsal (rarely 9) and 8 lower segmented rays uppermost artic- ulates with hypural 5; 7 segmented rays articulat- ing with upper hypural plate, 6 segmented rays articulating with lower hypural plate, 1 segmented caudal ray articulating with parhypural lower- most articulating with haemal arch of penulti- mate vertebra. Specialisations. No mesoptrygoid. Dorsal and ventral postcleithra absent. Maxillo-dentary liga- ment attaches to distinct process on outer face of maxilla. Urohyal without transverse shelf on ventral margin (broad in most eleotridids). Basi- hyal triangular, broader than long. Scapula os- sified dorsally, cartilaginous ventrally. Epurals 1. Interneural gap (interneural space without pterygiophore) between 2 dorsal fins. Frontal very narrow between orbits. Single ptreygiophore pre- cedes first haemal spine. Other features, Pelvic-intercleithral and ventral intercleithral cartilages present. Lower hypural plate with articulation joint connecting to uro- style but not fused with urostyle or upper hypural plate. Pterygiophore formula 3(22110). Preoper- culum broad adjacent to symplectic, but without process connecting to upper end of symplectic. Symplectic slender. Metapterygoid broad, sepa- rated by cartilaginous rod from quadrate. Lacrimal elongate and triangular, ovrlapping middle of maxilla. Dorsal flange of sphenotic short not reaching supraoccipital. Etymology. From the Greek thalassa (sea) and Eleotris (a genus of fish), feminine. NEW ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA 45 Remarks. In the presence of the interneural gap, the absence of posteleithra and mesoptrygoid, the genus is similar to other temperate Australian eleotridids, such as Philypnodon or Gobiomor- phus. However, these latter genera are specialised in having the tendon from the adductor mandib- ulae attaching to near the middle of the maxilla and 15 segmented caudal rays. In Philypnodon the dorsal postcleithrum is present, and in some species of Gobiomorphus the dorsal post- cleithrum and mesoptrygoid are present. Simi- larly in Hypseleotris the mesoptrygoid is present only in some species. Both the mesopterygoid and dorsal postcleithrum are poorly developed in most eleotridid genera and presumably these structures have been lost several times. The genus is unique among eleotridids in hav- ing a single ptreygiophore before the first hae- mal spine, very narrow interorbital, and a broad membrane closing the first gill arch. A partial membrane is developed in some eleotridids, such as in Eleotris acanthopoma. Studies currently underway by the senior author indicate that the jaw musculature is un- like that of other eleotridids. Consequently, its relationships are, at present, uncertain. Thalasseleotris adela sp. nov. Figures 1-4 Material examined. Holotype. Tasmania, 3 km north of Nor- folk Creek, north of Port Arthur (43005, 147°46'E), 1-2 m, D. Hoese and W. Ivantsoff, 2 Dec 1972, AMS 1.17550-010, (25 mm SL female). Paratypes. New South Wales. Oakes Bay, Port Hacking, 1-2 m, NSW Fisheries, CSIRO and Australian Museum party, 14 Nov 1974, AMS 1.18241-017, 23 (9-28); AMS 1.18241-035, 4 (20-26), cleared and stained; NTM S.11905-001m 4 (18-28). Victoria. Melbourne, R. Kuiter, 9 Jun 1976, AMS 1.19178- 001, 2(25-26). Portsea Pier, Port Phillip, 3-4 m, R. Kuiter and L. Reynolds, 12 Apr 1977, AMS 1.19773-010, 3(22-25). Port- sea Pier, Port Phillip, R. Kuiter, 30 Jul 1977, AMS 1.19921- 001, 1(19). Portsea Hole, 20-25 m, R. Kuiter, NMV A.3821, 1(26). Portsea, 4 m, R. Kuiter, 12 Jul 1981, NMV A.3820, 6(22- 28). Portsea, R. Kuiter, NMV A.2684, 4(24-27). Tasmania. Type locality, AMS 1,17550-014, 11(18-31). Port Arthur, 1 m, D. Hoese and W. Ivantsoff, 2 Dec 1972, QVM 1986/5/8, Type No. 429, 1(25). Mundy Island, Port Davey, J.B. Hutchins, I Feb 1982, WAM P.27542-004, 1(18). Port Davey, J.B. Hutchins, 1982, WAM P.27543-005, 1(30). Hope Island, Port Esperance, J.B. Hutchins, 6 Feb 1982, WAM P.27544-014, 4(21-22). 3 km north of Esperance Point, Port Esperance, J.B. Hutchins, 9 Feb 1982, WAM P.27546-012, 8(13- 22). Hope Island, Port Esperance, J.B. Hutchins, 1982, WAM P.27547-007, 6(22-25). Port Arthur, J.B. Hutchins, 1982, WAM P.27549-015, 3(22-23). West headland of Spring Bay, J.B. Hutchins, 1982, WAM P.27554-018, 4(19-22). Skeleton Bay, St Helens, J.B. Hutchins, 24 Feb 1982, WAM P.27555- 011, 4(19-20). Bridport, J.B. Hutchins, 1982, WAM P.27564- 014, 4(13-21). South Australia. Western River Cove, Kangaroo Island, 15 m, D. Hoese and party, 3 Mar 1978, AMS 1.20160-020, 6 (15- 26). Vivione Bay, Kangaroo Island, 0-2 m, D. Hoese and K. Handley, 6 Mar 1978, AMS 1.20171-020, 1(22). Knob Point, Kangaroo Island, 0-2 m, H. Larson and party, 5 Mar 1978, SAMA F.5489, 1(21). Off Kings Beach, Victor Harbour, J.B. Hutchins, 1981, WAM P.27136-015, 3(21-25). Western Australia, Rottnest Island: Fish Hook Bay, 11 m, J.B. Hutchins, 11 Apr 1978, WAM P.26060-016, 2 (16-20). 300 m north of Point Clune, 8 m, J.B. Hutchins and party, 7 Jun 1980, WAM P.26616-025, 2(24-24). Off Geordie Bay, 5 m, J.B. Hutchins, 14 Jun 1980, WAM P.26620-023, 3(15-20). Fish Hook Bay, J.B. Hutchins, 1984, WAM P.27616-033, 1(20). Western Australia, Recherche Archipelago: Sandy Hook Island, B. Hutchins and Bryce, 11 Apr 1977, WAM P.25570- 022, 1(24). West side of Mondrain Island, 10-13 m, J.B. Hut- chins, 18 Mar, 1978, WAM P.26005-011, 1(20). East side of Lucky Bay, 5-7 m, J.B. Hutchins, 12 Apr 1984, WAM P.28293- 033, 15-22), East side of Mondrain Island, 5-6 m, J.B. Hut- chins, 13 Apr 1983, WAM P.28296-047, 6(19-25). East side of Lucky Bay, 8-10 m, J.B. Hutchins, 14 Apr 1984, WAM P.28297-025, 2(12-22). Lucky Bay, 24 m, J.B. Hutchins, 18 Apr 1984, WAM P.28298-017, 1(21). East side of Lucky Bay, 11-12 m, J.B. Hutchins, 16 Apr 1984, WAM P.28300-028, 3(12-23). Non-type material, New South Wales. Port Hacking, LICPP ex AMS 1.18241, 6(20-21). Tasmania. Esperance Point, Port Esperance, WAM P.27545- 009, 5(18-23). Point Homes Lookout, Mercury Passage, WAM P.27553-020, 1(13). Western Australia, Rocky Cape, WAM P.27569-019, 1(12). West side of Lucky Bay, Recherche Archipelago, WAM P.26000-018, 2(14-210). East side of Lucky Bay, Recherche Ar- chipelago, WAM P.26001-008, 2(14-22). Diagnosis. No head pores. Second dorsal usually I, 9; anal usually I, 8; pectoral usually 18-20; pel- vics I, 5, fifth ray highly branched with 4-6 branches. Yellow to dark brown stripe from an- teroventral margin of eye to just above middle of premaxilla. Elongate yellowish to black blotch directly below eye extending to posterior end of jaw (faint in some preserved material). Dark ver- tical bar at base of caudal fin. Description. First dorsal V(1), VI*(59), VII(1); se- cond dorsal 1,9*(58), 1,10(3), anal 1,82), 1,9*(57); pectoral rays 17-21 (Table 1), pelvic rays I, 5*(61); segmented caudal rays 15(7), 16*(38), 17(9); branched caudal rays 13*(21), 14(24), 15 (4), 16(1); unsegmented caudal rays 8/6 (1), 7/6 (5); ver- tebrae 10/17* (18), longitudinal scale series 22- 46 D. F. HOESE AND H. K. LARSON Figure 2. Lateral view of head showing sensory papillae in Thalasseleotris adela, based on 25 mm cleared and stained para- type AMS 1.18241-035. 27 (Table 1); transverse scale series (TRB) 6(14), 7(5*). Measurements of holotype in mm: SL 23.8, head length 7.9, head width at posterior preopercular margin 5.3, head depth at posterior preopercularmargin 4.7, upper jaw length 3.2, snout length 2.0, eye length 2.6, body depth and pelvic origin 4.9, body depth at anal original 4.7, pectoral length 7.5, pelvic length 7.7, caudal length 6.1, third-dorsal spine length 3.7, fourth- dorsal spine length 3.5, fifth-dorsal spine length 3:7; Head, pectoral base, breast and prepelvic area naked. Body scales extend forward to line from upper pectoral insertion to below 4th-6th dorsal spine. Snout short, rounded in dorsal view, slightly less than eye length; prominent bump on snout formed by protrusion of ascending processes of premaxillae, both nostrils at end of short tube, anterior nostril subequal in length to posterior nostril; posterior nostril about 1 nos- tril diameter in front of eye, anterior nostril slightly less than 1 nostril diameter from upper lip, eyes elevated, shallow groove between and be- hind eye; interorbital very narrow, eyes almost touching; mouth oblique, angled about 35-40° with body axis; lips thick, jaws reaching posteri- NEW ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA 47 _ — i 3 ` jo A < o < ç anıllae į ec ic Figure 3. Top view of head showing sensory papillae in Thalasseleotris adela, based on 25 mm cleared and stained paratype AMS 1.18241-035. Figure 4. Ventral view of head showing sensory papillae in Thalasseleotris adela, based on 25 mm cleared and stained para- type AMS 1.18241-035. orly to below anterior margin to middle of pupil; teeth minute, conical, with sharp points, teeth in upper jaw in 4-5 rows anteriorly, tooth patch tapering laterally to 2 rows, teeth in outermost row thicker and slightly longer than teeth in mid- dle rows, innermost teeth anteriorly subequal in length to teeth in outer row; teeth in lower jaw in 4-6 rows anteriorly, tooth patch tapering later- ally to 2 rows, teeth in innermost row longest, teeth in outermost row slightly larger than teeth in middle rows; gill opening very broad, extend- ing forward to below posterior quarter of pupil, gill membranes forming thin and short fold across isthmus; lower limb of first gill arch joined 48 D. F. HOESE AND H. K. LARSON to inner gill cover by membrane; no spines on operculum; chin with small rounded mental fre- num, followed by 2 sensory papillae and with papilla at each side of frenum base. First dorsal fin with broadly rounded margin, third to fifth dorsal spines longest and subequal, fourth or fifth spine often slightly longer than third spine; second dorsal fin subequal in height to first dor- sal fin, anal fin slightly shorter in height than first dorsal fin; base of second dorsal fin less than dis- tance from end of second dorsal fin to base of caudal fin; pectoral fins with pointed margin, rays 10-14 (counted from top) longest, fin reaching to above anal fin origin or slightlybeyond; caudal fin with rounded posterior margin, fin about two- thirds length of head; separate pelvic fins long, reaching to or slightly beyond urogenital papilla; pelvic rays highly branched, with membranes connecting tips of ray, but with shallow notch be- tween tips of rays; fourth pelvic ray with 7-10 branches in adult, fifth ray with 4-7 branches in adult, fourth ray longest, fifth ray slightly shorter than fourth ray and longer than third ray. Uro- genital papilla similar in both sexes, broad at base and tapering slightly distally, with small lobes at tip; males usually with dense concentration of minute black dots covering papilla, distal tip with fringe of minute lobes, lengths of lobes less than one-fifth length of papilla; papilla flattened dor- soventrally. Females with little or no pigment on urogenital papilla, distal end with elongate lobes, lengths about one-third to one-fourth length of papilla; papilla only slightly flattened and more rounded in cross section than that of male. Sensory papilla; (Figs. 2-4). Lateralis-system papillae prominent on head as short flaps, height of papilla about 1.5 to 2 times width of papilla at base. Three oval papillae along base of bulbose nasal sac. An LT line of papillae above posterior two- thirds of upper jaw. Irregular LL line from above middle of jaw to below and near posterior end of eye, followed posteriorly by short VT line, fol- lowed by LT line of 3 to 5 papillae. Short LT line of 3 to 5 papillae below upper LT line of cheek. Preopercular mandibular series with inner LL line composed of single row of papillae and outer LT line, composed of single row of papillae, with short gap below and just behind posterior end of jaws in the LT line. The preopercular mandibu- lar series terminates anteriorly at side of chin. Pair of LT papillae at anterior tip of chin. Oper- cular series with anterior VT line and upper ob- lique (OT) and separate lower oblique line (OT). LL line from posterior end of eye on nape to just behind operculum interrupted by short sections of LT lines, composed of 1 to 3 papillae, with the LT lines displaced slightly dorsally. Other papillae show on figures 2-4. Little variation noted in 3 cleared and stained specimens examined. Colour of live female from Victoria (NMV A.3820). Head and body translucent. Dorsal margin of eye with 5 brown transverse bands, as wide as light interspaces; iris gold; pupil reddish- black. Yellowish bar, with minute black dots from anteroventral margin of eye to just behind mid- dle of upper jaw; similar yellowish bar with few scattered minute black dots extending ventrally from eye to posterior margin of jaws; round yel- lowish spot (subequal to pupil) with dense con- centration of minute black spots below posteroventral margin of eye; small (slightly less than pupil diameter) yellowish brown spot at mid-posterior end of preoperculum; top of head with yellowish brown marbling. Small (much less than pupil diameter) spot at upper margin of pec- toral base ventroposteriorly to lower pectoral base (band width subequal to pupil diameter). Body with 4 elongate, subcutaneous black blotches along vertebral column, 1 below first dorsal fin, 2 below second dorsal fin and one on caudal peduncle. Faint gray blotch below middle of se- cond dorsal fin. Two minute black spots above anterior half of anal fin, larger black spot above end of fin, 4 slightly larger black spots ventrally on caudal peduncle. Posterior margin of scale edges golden brown. First dorsal fin densely co- vered with minute black spots, a dense concen- tration of spots forming vertically elongate black spot at posterior margin of fin below sixth dor- sal spine; distal tip of first dorsal fin with thin white margin. Second dorsal fin dusky grey, with thin white distal margin. Other fins almost clear to faintly dusky grey. Vertically elongate black bar behind caudal peduncle on base of caudal fin. Colour of freshly collected male from Western Australia (WAM P.28293-033). Similar to live NEW ELEOTRIDID FISHES FROM SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA 49 coloration of female, differing in following: lips, eyes, head and pectoral base densely covered with minute black dots. Posterior margins of scales yellowish with dense concentration of minute black dots inside yellowish markings. Yellowish brown spot (subequal to pupil) on upper pectoral base. Dorsal fins densely covered with minute, black dots, giving fin blackish appearance, mar- gins of fins clear. Thin, black, longitudinal stripe at base of first dorsal fin; spot at posterior end of fin black. Anal fin with lower concentration of black dots. Caudal fin clear, but with black vertical bar at base extending onto end of cau- dal peduncle. Pectoral and pelvic fins densely co- vered with minute, black dots. Colour in alcohol. Head and body light to dark brown. Males: Head and body densely co- vered with minute evenly-spaced black dots, dots denser on top of head and back. Oblique, dark brown bar from anteroventral margin of eye to upper lip; second dark brown,vertical bar from lower margin of eye to posterior end of jaws; short, dark brown, oblique bar from posteroven- tral margin of eye; bars often obscured by dark head coloration. Dark brown, oval spot in con- tact with posterior margin of eye. Top of head with very thin, median, longitudinal, black line above front half of operculum; second black, me- dian line immediately before first dorsal spine. Papillae on top of head and nape often with black tips, particularly those immediately before first dorsal fin. Median dark brown, line on cau- dal peduncle from end of anal fin to base of cau- dal fin, often broken into a series of short, dark brown lines. Black spot at upper pectoral base dissected by opercular membrane attaching to upper pectoral base. Posterior edges of scales only slightly darker than centres of scales. Fins varying from light dusky grey to almost black. Distal margins of fins lighter than rest of fin, often without pigment. Small, black spot cover- ing most of membrane behind sixth dorsal spine. Dark brown, vertical bar at base of caudal fin. Females: Colour variable. Colour of sensory papilla, vertical bar at base of caudal fin, spot behind eye and spot at upper edge of pectoral base as in males. Minute black dots usually con- centratd into spots, mottling and bands; in lar- gest females (over 20 mm SL) dots sometimes uniformly distributed on head and body giving fish dark brown appearance similar to that of males. In small females (up to 25 mm SL); 3 dis- tinct stripes radiating from eye, 1 from anteroven- tral margin of eye to and crossing upper lip, second bar extending vertically from eye to below posterior end of jaws, third bar extending almost vertically from posteroventral margin of eye to lower edge of preoperculum; rest of preopercu- lum and operculum with irregular mottling; top of head with mottling forming 2-4 irregular trans- verse bands, often darkest at edges; minute, black dots on body concentrated along posterior edges of scales, back often with series of short, oblique (sloping ventroposteriorly) broad, dark brown bars; first band below anterior part of first dor- sal fin, second band below posterior end of first dorsal fin, 2 bands below second dorsal fin and 2 bands on caudal peduncle, last band often ex- tending ventrally to lower edge of caudal pedun- cle, bands on back extending dorsally as oblique bands on to dorsal fins, third oblique band at end of second dorsal fin above first caudal peduncle band; pectoral fin with dark brown, vertical bar anteriorly, followed posteriorly by light area; fins generally translucent, except for oblique bands on dorsal fins and blackspot behind sixth dorsal spine; pectoral fin often with dark brown irregu- larly shaped spot dorsally near bases of rays.In some larger females, head, body and fins dark brown as in males, but banding on back and on dorsal fins usually discernible. Distribution and habitat. From Sydney, New South Wales through Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, to Rottnest Island, Western Aus- tralia. Restricted to rocky reef environments, often in silty turbid waters; 1-24 m. Etymology, From the Greek adelos (dim or ob- scure), referrring to its cryptic and often dark habitat. Remarks. Thalasseleotris adela shows consider- able geographical variation in pectoral-ray counts (Table 1). Counts from specimens from New South Wales and Western Australia are lower than those from specimens from other states. Analy- sis Of variance, using multiple comparison methods (Scheffe, 1959) indicate that the means from New South Wales and Western Australia do not differ significantly from one another, but 50 D. F. HOESE AND H. K. LARSON Table 1. Pectoral ray counts and longitudinal scale series counts of populations of Thalasseleotris adela from southern Australia. Counts Mean Variance Pectoral Rays: 17 18 19 20 21 New South Wales 1 14 10 1 — 18.4 0.41 Victoria — — 1 6 4 20.3 0.42 Tasmania — — 10 14 6* 19.9 0.55 South Australia — 1 2 3 5 208] 1.09 Western Australia 2 11 vy 1 19.0 0.96, Longitudinal scale series 22 23 24 25 26 27 New South Wales — B 4 22 — — 23.9 0.61 Victoria — — 1 3 1 1 25243 _ Tasmania _ 3 Z 7. 3 [e 24.6 1.14 South Australia — — 1 2 — _ 24.7 — Western Australia S 3 3 — — — 22.8 0.76 both differ significantly from all other southern Acknowledgments states (p < 0.01). A similar trend also occurs in the longitudinal scale counts (Table 1), but counts were obtained from few specimens, since many had lost scales. Analysis of variance including only samples from New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia indicated a highly signifi- cant difference between Western Australia and Tasmania (p < 0.001). These trends are most likely correlated with temperature,with the lowest counts occurring in the warmest areas, north of ASA Colour varies considerably, usually with large males being darker and more uniformly coloured than females. Small individuals may be very pale. Since the fish apparently can lighten and darken in life, some variation is undoubtedly related to their habitat. We thank J.B. Hutchins and R. Kuiter for provid- ing much of the material and photographs of live and fresh specimens used in this study. L. Moody assisted with drawings of papillae. References Birdsong R. 1975. The osteology of Microgobius signatus Poey (Pisces: Gobiidae), with comments on other gobiid fishes. Bull. Fla St. Mus., Biol. Sci. 19(3): 135-187. Hoese, D.F. 1983. Sensory papilla patterns of the cheek later- alis system in the gobiid fishes Acentrogobius and Glos- sogobius and their significance for the classification of gobioid fishes. Rec. Aust. Mus. 35: 195-222. Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1958. Fishes of the Great Lake Region. Bull. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. 26: 1-251. Scheffe, H. 1959. The Analysis of Variance. John Wiley: New York. 477 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 51-52 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 12. A NEW SPECIES OF EUBALICHTHYS (MONACANTHIDAE) By J. B. HUTCHINS Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, Western Australia, 6000 Abstract Hutchins, J. B., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 12. A new species of Eubalichthys (Monacan- thidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 51-52. Eubalichthys cyanoura is described as new from south-western Australian seas. It is distin- guished from the closely related E. gunnii (Günther) by differences in coloration and several morphological features. Introduction Hutchins (1977) recognised 54 species of monacanthid fishes from Australian seas. One of these, Eubalichthys gunnil, was listed with a dis- tribution ranging from Victoria to the southern portion of Western Australia. Subsequently, Hut- chins and Thompson (1983) restricted E. gunnii to Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia. They recognised the Western Australian form as a dis- tinct species, its range overlapping with the former in South Australia. This paper describes the western form as new. Methods were given by Hutchins (1977). The following abbreviations are used: AMS, Aus- tralian Museum, Sydney; WAM, Western Aus- tralian Museum, Perth; SL, standard length. Eubalichthys cyanoura sp. nov. Figure 1 Eubalichthys gunnii—Hutchins, 1977: 55 (in part). Eubalichthys species Hutchins 8: Thompson, 1983: 68, 87, fig. 326. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Recherche Archipelago, Sandy Hook Island, J.B. Hutchins, speared at 20 m, 7 Apr 1977, WAM P.25762-001 (male, 232 mm SL). Paratypes. Western Australia. Albany, Big, Grove, Depart- ment of Fisheries and Fauna, 6 May 1974, WAM P.24841- 001 (159 mm SL); Geographe Bay, M. Walkere, fish trap, 18 Nov 1976, WAM P.28393-004 (156 mm SL); Safety Bay, south of Fremantle, B. Paxman, spear, 13 Apr 1975, WAM P.28865- 002 (299 mm SL); AMS 1. 26445-001 (323 mm SL); off Fremantle, between Garden and Carnec Islands, J. Braun, handnet, 12 Jan 1977, WAM P.25998-001 (104 mm SL). 5i South Australia. Yorke Peninsula, Stenhouse Bay, J.B. Hut- chins, speared at 8 m, 31 Mar 1981, WAM P.27137-001 (2 speci- mens, 138-238 mm SL). Description. Dorsal fin rays 31-35; anal fin rays 32-34; pectoral fin rays 12-13 (mostly 13). Body elongate in male, somewhat deeper in female and juvenile, depth 2.1-2.9 in SL. Lateral profile of snout prominently convex in male, straight to slightly convex in female and juvenile. Ventral flap small. Caudal peduncle without spines or bristles. Skin velvety to rather coarse. Dorsal spine moderate to long (1.4-1.7 in head length), originating over centre to posterior one-third of eye, and partly received by a shallow groove in interdorsal space when depressed; spine with small downward-directed barbs, barbs decreasing in size with increasing SL, becoming obsolete in large individuals. Second dorsal and anal fins elevated anteriorly in male, outer border concave; fins not elevated in female and juvenile, outer border convex. Pelvic fin rudiment small to minute, consisting of 4 encasing scales, located about one-half eye diameter in advance of rear end of pelvis. Reaches a total length of 42 cm (36 cm SL). Colour in life: Adult-head and body pale green, pale brown to blackish brown, covered with close-packed darker spots; dark brown lines and spots on snout and along anal fin base; mosaic pattern of dark brown to blackish blotches often present on side, or mosaic of pale lines only; 2 whitish bars usually present on 52 J. B. HUTCHINS Figure 1. Eubalichthys cyanoura, WAM P.27609-001, 309 mm SL, male (non-type). throat (may be pale and difficult to detect in large males). All fin rays green, integuments of first dorsal and caudal fins bright blue in male, hya- line in female. Juvenile-side of head and body with a mosaic of large dark blotches; spotting de- velops at about 100 mm SL. Colour in preservative: base dark brown with markings as described above, except blue fin in- teguments black. Distribution. Yorke Peninsula, South Australia (35°14'S, 137%02'E) to Dongara on Western Aus- tralia’s west coast (29%15'S, 114°56’E). Etymology. From the Greek kyanos (dark blue) and oura (tail) referring to the blue caudal fin of the male. Remarks. Eubalichthys cyanoura is very similar in body shape to E. gunnii, although the juvenile is not as deep-bodied as similar-sized individuals of the latter species. In addition, the snout pro- file in lateral view of the juvenile is straight to convex in E. cyanoura, concave in E. gunnii. However, the two differ most noticeably in colou- ration: E. gunnii lacks the dark spots and blue fin integuments of E. cyanoura. E. gunnii also has a network of pale lines on the side, breaking up the ground colour into many small darker blotches. The blotches of E. cyanoura are much larger, and arranged in a less obvious reticulate pattern, although in some large males,the pattern of blotches may be faint and therefore difficult to detect. This species inhabits coastal reefs to 30 m, preferring exposed offshore areas. Juveniles have been found under jetties in coastal embayments. References Hutchins, J.B. 1977. Descriptions of three new genera and eight new species of monacanthid fishes from Austra- lia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 5: 3-58. Hutchins, J.B. and Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Es- tuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australia Museum: Perth. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 53-55 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 13, TWO NEW SPECIES OF PLATYCEPHALIDAE By LESLIE W. KNAPP : Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Centre, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A. Abstract Knapp, L. E., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 13. Two new species of Platycephalidae. Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 53-55. Two new species of Platycephalidae from Australian waters are described: Platycephalus aurimaculatus sp. nov., a species of the subgenus Neoplatycephalus Castelnau which lacks a swim bladder and has more than 80 pored scales in the lateral line; and Rogadius patriciae, which lacks an antrorse preopercular spine and has 12 soft dorsal fin rays. Introduction There are about 36 described species of flatheads (Platycephalidae) in Australian waters and others awaiting description. The two brief descriptions given here will be expanded upon in future pub- lications of the family. Platycephalus Bloch Platycephalus Bloch, 1795: 96 (type species Platycepha- lus spathula Bloch= Callionymus indicus Linnaeus by origi- nal designation). Neoplatycephalus Castelnau, 1872: 87 (type species Neo- platycephalus grandis Castlenau by original designation). Platycephalus (Neoplatycephalus) aurimaculatus sp. nov. Platycephalus sp. Last et al., 1983: 334-335, fig. 28.23, Material examined. Holotype: Tas. Bass Strait, east of King Island (39956.41'S, 144°48.054E), 49 m, trawled, RV “Hai- Kung”, 3 Feb 1981, NMV (Museum of Victoria) A1404 (290 mm SL). Paratypes: Vic. Bass Strait, off Cape Otway (39°06.5'S, 143°31.43Z/E), 83 m, trawled, FRV “Hai-Kung”, 31 Jan 1981, AMS (Australian Museum, Sydney) 1.26328-001, formerly NMV A1389 (333 mm SL) Port Phillip Bay, about 3.2 km W. of Sandringham (37°57’S, 145°E.), 30 Mar 1971, NMV A3733 (232 and 215 mm SL) Bass Strait, trawled, RV “Hai- Kung”, Feb 1981, USNM (U.S. National Museum of Natural History) 280181 (318 mm SL). 53 Platycephalus conatus: Western Australia, off Point Cul- ver, AMS 1.18710-007 (160 and 174 mm SL). South Austra- lia, Investigator Strait, AMS 1.12393-94 (224 and 234 mm SL). Platycephalus richardsoni: Victoria, Lakes Entrance, AMS 1B.21166 (245 mm SL). Tasmania, Wineglass Bay, AMS 1.B507 (440 mm SL). Diagnosis. Platycephalus with enlarged canine teeth on the palatine, dentary, vomer and premaxillary symphysis. More than 80 pored scales in the lateral line, a gill raker count of 1 + 5-7 and lacking a swim bladder. Description. Dorsal fin rays usually I, VII, I, 14; anal fin rays 14; pectoral fin rays 18-20 (20 in holotype); branched caudal fin rays 12. Pored scales in the lateral line 81-85 (84); number of ob- lique scale rows slanting backward above the lateral line 88-100 (91); scale pores elongate with a single tube to the exterior. Iris lappet of eye a simple lobe; greatest diameter of orbit about half of snout length. Interopercular flap and swim bladder lacking. Attains a length of at least 550 mm (Last et al., 1983: 335). Body light grey or brown; dorsal surface of head and back covered with small golden spots; larger gold to orange spots on pelvic and caudal fins; pectoral fin dusky with dark bands on upper half. Distribution. Bass Strait and South Australia, 49- 90 m. 34 L. E. KNAPP Etymology. From the latin aureus (golden) and macula (spot), referring to the distinctive golden spots on the body and fins. Remarks. Platycephalus aurimaculatus, P richardsoni Castelnau and P conatus Waite & McCulloch constitute the subgenus Neo- platycephalus and are separated from all other species of Platycephalidae by the presence of large canine teeth. Characters separating the three species are given in Table 1. Rogadius Jordan & Richardson Rogadius Jordan & Richardson, 1908: 630 (type species Platycephalus asper Cuvier by original designation). Rogadius patriciae sp. nov. Suggrundus sp. 2 Gloerfelt-Tarp et al., 1984: 125, fig.-Sains- bury et al., 1984: 120, fig. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, North-West Shelf. (20%03'-04'S, 116°09’-10'E), 64 m, trawled, RV “Soela” (stn 36), 4 Dec 1979, AMS 1.26330-001, (160 mm SE). Paratypes: Type locality, USNM 280182 (158 mm SL). North-West Shelf (19°14'S, 118°22’E), 88-90 m, trawled, RV “Courageous”, 27 May 1978, WAM (Western Australian Museum) P26212-004 (179 mm SL). Rogadius asper: Hong Kong, off Lema Island, CAS (California Academy of Sciences) 60896 (3, 91-106 mm SL) China, near Swatow, CAS 29058 (101 mm SL). Rogadius pristiger: Northern Territory, Arafura Sea, (109 and 120 mm SL), Philippines, Mindinao, Nasipit, CAS 29411 (7, 59-122 mm SL). Rogadius serratus: Indonesia, Lombok, Tanjung Luar, BPBM (Bernice P. Bishop Museum) 30022 (3, 137-153 mm SEF. Diagnosis. Vomerine teeth in 2 separate patches; dorsal soft rays 12; iris lappet bilobed; interoper- cular flap absent. Number of oblique scale rows slanting backward above the lateral line about equal to number of pored scales; pored scales about 52, anteriormost 1-15 bearing small spine; scale pores short, with 2 tubes to exterior. Subor- bital and infraorbital ridges with fine serrations; preorbital spine lacking; antorbital margin bear- ing 5-10 denticulations; single stout preocular spine; usually 3 preopercular spines, antrorse spine lacking. Gill rakers 1/5-7, usually 6. Description. Dorsal fin rays IX-12; anal fin rays 11; pectoral fin rays 21-23 (22 in holotype); branched caudal fin rays 11-12 (12). Pored scales in lateral line 51-53 (53), the anteriormost 7-9 (9) scales bearing small spines; greatest diameter of orbit 1.2-1.4 (1.2) times in snout length; upper preopercular spine somewhat flattened, about 3 times longer than next. Attains at least 191 mm SL. Body brown above, venter white anteriorly with dark streaking posteriorly; pelvic fins black with outer edge and ray tips white; pectoral fin rays bearing numerous small brown spots on upper part of fin, lower part black except lowest 3 rays which are white; spinous dorsal fin with black marginal band; soft dorsal fin with small black spots on rays; anal fin whitish with dark basal band becoming black posteriorly; caudal fin white with 4 or 5 dark blotches on upper edge and 2 or 3 elongate black bars posteriorly. Distribution. Western Australia, North-West Shelf, 65-100 m. Etymology. Named in honour of Patricia J. Kai- lola in recognition of her many contributions to the knowledge of the fishes of north-western Aus- tralia and southern Indonesia. Table 1. Comparison of the three species of Platycephalus (Neoplatycephalus) Character P conatus P. richardsoni P. aurimaculatus Pored lateral line scales 72-78 64-74 81-85 Oblique scale rows 76-83 82-85 88-100 Gill raker count 1-2+7-9 3+10-12 1+5-7 Swim bladder Present Present Absent TWO NEW SPECIES OF PLATYCEPHALIDAE 55 Remarks. Four species are here provisionally as- signed to the genus Rogadius Jordan & Richard- son. Rogadius patriciae sp. nov. is separated from R. pristiger (Cuvier, 1829) and R. asper (Cuvier, 1829) by lacking an antrorse preopercular spine. It is separated from R. serratus (Cuvier, 1829) by having 12 rather than 11 soft dorsal fin rays. References Bloch, M.E., 1795. Naturgeschichte der auslandischen Fische, IX. Berlin. 192 pp. Castelnau, F.L. de, 1872. Contributions to the ichthyology of Australia. No. 1. The Melbourne fish market. Proc. Zool. Acclimat. Soc. Vict. 1: 29-242. Cuvier, G. and Valenciennes, A., 1829. Histoire naturelle des poissons. 4: XXVI, 518 pp. F.G. Levrault: Paris. Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled fishes of Northern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia. Aus- tralian Development Assistance Bureau: Canberra. Jordan, D.S. and Richardson, R.E., 1908. A review of the flatheads, gurnards, and other mail-cheeked fishes of the waters of Japan. Proc. U.S. natn. Mus. 33(1581): 629-670, figs.1-9. Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. and Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tas- mania. Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority: Hobart. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G. 1984. Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia. Clouston and Hall: Canberra. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 57-61 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 14. TWO NEW SPECIES OF DASYATIS (DASYATIDIDAE) By P.R. LAST CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Abstract Last, P.R. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 14. Two new species of Dasyatis (Dasyatididae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 57-61 Two new stingrays, Dasyatis leylandi sp. nov. and D. annotatus sp. nov., are described. These species resemble the widely distributed and sympatric D. kuhlii (Müller & Henle) but differ in colour pattern and external morphology. Unlike D. kuhlii the new species lack blue spots on the dorsal surface of the disc. D. annotatus is uniformly dull green dorsally and has a distinctive medial series of thorns on the tail. Dasyatis leylandi has a dorsal coloration consisting of a net- work of dark yellowish or brownish reticulations superimposed on a paler background and lacks tail thorns. Introduction The genera and species of stingrays (Family Dasyatididae) are currently under review. The genus Dasyatis Rafinesque presently contains several species complexes, each of which may be distinct at the generic level. Osteological studies in progress indicate that a complex of species, similar to the widely distributed D. kuhlii (Müller & Henle), may be referable to Amphotistius Gar- man, considered by recent authorities to be a junior synonym of Dasyatis (Compagno and Heemstra, 1984; Masuda et al., 1984). To avoid further confusion of the nomenclature, however, two new species described herein from north- western Australia are tentatively referred to Dasyatis. Bracketed morphometrics provided in the di- agnoses represent values for the holotypes. Material is lodged in the collections of CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, Hobart, and the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV). Dasyatis Dasyatis Rafinesque, 1810: 16. Type species. Dasyatis ujo Rafinesque, by monotypy. Dasyatis annotatus Sp. nov. Figure 1 Dasyatis sp. 1. GloerfeltTarp & Kailola, 1984: 37. Amphotistius sp. 1. Sainsbury, Kailola & Leyland, 1985: 48, fig on opposing page. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Northwest Shelf, M. Baron, 1984, CSIRO T449 (male, 212 mm disc width). Paratypes: Northern Territory, north of Vansittart Bay (13°25'S, 126°19'E), 62 m, trawled, FRV “Soela”, 26 Jun 1980 (stn S05/80/18), CSIRO CA1248 (immature male, 191 mm disc width); north of Groote Eylandt, prawn trawl, 28 Jun 1981, CSIRO CA2404 (female with pup, 196 mm disc width). Arafura Sea, 46 m, trawled, M. Baron, 11 Nov 1983, CSIRO T691 (female, 242 mm disc width) and T695 (male, 209 mm disc width); 09%47'S, 136°20’E, 50 m, trawled, “Pao Yuan No. 1”, M. Baron, 22 Feb 1982, CSIRO T694 (female, 220 mm disc width) and T696 (female, 234 mm disc width); M. Baron, Mar 1983, CSIRO T697 (male, 212 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc moderately flat, rhomboidal, width 1.12-1.28 (1.21) times length; pectoral apices narrowly rounded; preorbital snout broadly tri- angular, margin slightly concave, tip pointed. Disc surface largely naked, denticles confined to separate, single series on disc and tail; denticles on disc small, retrorse, closely spaced, 4-13 (9) (number proportional to size) on midline behind spiracles; 0-4 (3) (rarely absent) similar denticles situated on midline of tail before sting. Eyes small, size not sexually dimorphic; distance from anterior margin of eye to posterior apex of spira- 58 P, R. LAST Figure 1. Dasyatis annotatus, paratype, CSIRO CA 1248. cle 2.05-2,39 (2.27) in preorbital snout length. Mouth small, 2 elongate papillae on floor; labial furrows and lower labial folds prominent, inter- nasal flap skirt-shaped, papillose, margin fringed; overlapped laterally by inner lobe of nostril; con- nected anteriorly by narrow membrane. Pelvic fins moderately large, lateral apices extended. Tail slender, length variable but longer than disc when undamaged; slightly depressed to rounded in cross- section anteriorly, tapering quickly after sting insertion; generally with 2 stings; ventral cutaneous fold low, elongate; dorsal fold short, TWO NEW SPECIES OF DASYATIS 59 situated behind sting, subequal in height to ven- tral fold. Reaches a total width of at least 242 mm. Dorsal surface mostly uniform dull green; slightly darker transverse bars situated immedi- ately before eye, through eye and across snout angle; pair of small dark patches situated either side of midline behind spiracles. Tail with varia- ble black and white bands behind sting; apex dark in undamaged specimens; ventral cutaneous fold pale (rarely dusky). Ventral surface pale. Preserved colour: dorsal surface brownish, dar- ker bars and patches often indistinct, tail band- ing persistent; ventral surface whitish or yellowish. Distribution. Timor and Arafura Seas, off north- ern Australia, at depths of 46-62 m. Etymology. From the Latin combination an- (not) and -notatus (marked) in allusion to the lack of distinct ocelli, spots or blotches. Remarks. This species is a member of the Dasy- atis kuhlii species complex. Unlike sympatric con- geners, D. kuhlii and D. leylandi, D. annotatus lacks a distinctive pattern of spots or reticulations on the dorsal surface but has a prominent medial series of thorns on the tail. Dasyatis leylandi sp. nov. Figure 2 Amphotistius sp. 2. Sainsbury, Kailola and Leyland, 1985: 48, fig on opposite page. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, north of Forestier Island (19°28'S, 118°24’E), 54 m, bottom trawl, FV “Soela” (stn S02/82/1), 26 Mar 1982, CSIRO CA 2806 (male, 189 mm disc width). Paratypes: Western Australia, north of Dampier Ar- chipelago (20°17’S, 116°25’E), 11 May 1983, CSIRO T674 (fe- male, 213 mm disc width), CSIRO T675 (pup of T674); north-west of Port Hedland (20°00'S 117°55’E), 34m, trawled, FV “Soela” (stn S04/82/89), 22 Aug 1982, CSIRO CA3246 (male, 191 mm disc width); north-east of Monte Bello Islands (19°49'S 116°0S’E), 70 m, trawled, FV “Soela? (stn 505/82/12), 23 Sep 1982, CSIRO CA4282 (immature male, 146 mm disc width); west of Dampier Archipelago (19°51'S 116*56'E), 62 m, trawled, FV “Soela” (stn 504/82/57), 16 Aug 1982, CSIRO CA3232 (immature male, 199 mm disc width); north of Port Walcott (19°44'S 117°12’E), 68 m, mesh wing trawl, FV “Soela” (stn S04/80/21), 2 Jun 1980, CSIRO CA1249 (female, 218 mm disc width); north of Dampier Ar- chipelago (20%07'S 116°04E), 50 m, trawled, “Charng Sheng”, 6 May 1982, CSIRO T683 (female, 242 mm disc width), T681 (female, 252 mm disc width) and T676 (female, 190 mm disc width); north-west of Dampier (20°10S 116°04’E), 60 m, otter trawl, collected by M. Gomon and N. Sinclair, 9 Mar 1981, NMV A1869 (immature male, 197 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc moderately flat, rhomboidal, width 1.13-1.26 (1.26) times length; pectoral apices narrowly rounded; preorbital snout broadly tri- angular, margin straight or slightly concave, tip feebly pointed to rounded. Disc surface largely naked, single series of 1-9 (2) small, retrorse, closely spaced denticles situated on midline be- hind spiracles; no denticles on tail. Eyes moder- ately small, size not sexually dimorphic; distance from anterior margin of eye to posterior apex of spiracle 1.94-2.31 (1.94) in preorbital snout length. Mouth small, 2 elongate papillae on floor; labial furrows and lower labial folds promi- nent. Internasal flap skirt-shaped, papillose, mar- gin fringed; overlapped laterally by inner lobe of nostril; connected anteriorly by narrow mem- brane. Pelvic fins moderately large, lateral apices extended. Tail slender, length variable but longer than disc when undamaged; slightly depressed to rounded in cross-section anteriorly, tapering quickly after sting insertion; generally with 2 stings; ventral cutaneous fold low, elongate; dor- sal fold short, situated behind sting, subequal in height to ventral fold. Reaches a total width of at least 252 mm. Dorsal surface pale brown or yellowish, su- perimposed with a network of darker reticula- tions; sometimes with light scattering of pale speckles; pattern slightly darker in sub-, pre- and interorbital areas; pair of small faint patches sometimes situated either side of midline behind spiracles, Tail with variable black and white bands behind sting; apex pale in undamaged specimens; ventral cutaneous fold pale with dark margin. Ventral surface pale. Preserved colour: dorsal sur- face pale brown, darker network distinct although sometimes faint; tail banding persistent; ventral surface whitish or yellowish. Distribution. Western Australia, off Dampier at depths of 34-70 m. Etymology. Named in honour of Mr Guy Ley- land who was responsible for supplying most of the Australian material to be used in a revision of this genus. 60 P. R, LAST Figure 2. Dasyatis leylandi, specimen from type locality (Sainsbury et al., 1985). TWO NEW SPECIES OF DASYATIS 61 Remarks. This new species closely resembles Dasyatis kuhlii but, in addition to having a yel- lowish brown network pattern on the dorsal sur- face of the disc rather than an array of large blue spots,the new species has a relatively longer snout and smaller eye. Acknowledgements I am particularly indebted to Mr M. Baron, a for- eign fishing observer for the Department of Primary Industry, for collecting type material of Dasyatis annotatus. My thanks also go to the scientific staff and crew of RV “Soela” who col- lected other type material. References Compagno, L.J.V. and Heemstra, P.C., 1984. Himantura draco, a new species of stingray (Myliobatiformes; Dasyatidae) from South Africa, with a key to the Dasyat- idae and the first record of Dasyatis kuhlii (Müller & Henle, 1841) from southern Africa. J. L. B. Smith Inst. Ichth. Spec. Publ. 33: 17. Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and Kailola, P.J., 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia. Aus- tralian Development Assistance Bureau: Canberra. Masuda, H., Amaoka, K., Araga, C., Uyeno, T. and Yoshino, T. 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Tokai University Press: Tokyo. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G., 1985. Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia. Clouston & Hall: Canberra. AN AA Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 63-72 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 15. NEW SPECIES OF TRYGONOPTERA AND UROLOPHUS (UROLOPHIDAE) By P.R. Last! AND M.F. Gomon? 1CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia 2Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Abstract Last, P.R. and Gomon, M.F. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 15. New species of Trygonoptera and Urolophus (Urolophidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 63-72, The following Australian species of stingaree are described herein: Trygonoptera ovalis, T. personata, Urolophus flavomosaicus, U. mitosis, U. orarius and U. westraliensis. Introduction The batoid family, Urolophidae, presently con- tains 11 described Australian species (McKay, 1966; Dixon, 1969). Six new species of the genera Trygonoptera and Urolophus, are added to this list. A revisionary study of the family is currently being undertaken. Type specimens are deposited in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS), CSIRO Division of Fisheries, Hobart (CSIRO), Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV), South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA) and Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). Trygonoptera Trygonoptera Müller & Henle, 1841: 174. Type species. Trygonoptera testacea Müller & Henle, by monotypy. Discussion. Most Australian authors have regarded Trygonoptera as a synonym of Uro- lophus. Trygonoptera was originally used for those members of the family that have a dorsal fin. While this character is unreliable for separat- ing the genera, there are major differences be- tween the two in oro-nasal and skeletal structures. Trygonoptera ovalis sp. nov. Figure 1 Urolophus species 1. Hutchins & Thompson, 1983: 16, fig. 41. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Great Aus- tralian Bight, south of Red Rocks Point (32°24'S, 127°30’E), 30 m, demersal trawl, FRV “Courageous”, stn 032/0606, 3 Mar 1978, CSIRO CA521 (female, 210 mm disc width). Paratypes: Western Australia, Great Australian Bight, east of Low Point (32°01'S, 128°30’E), 36-38 m, demersal trawl, FRV “Courageous”, stn 031/0589, 17 Feb 1978, CSIRO CA525 (immature male, 208 mm disc width); south of Scorpion Bight (32°30'S, 126°43’E), 35-36 m, FRV “Soela”, stn S05/81/18, 6 Dec 1981, NMV A2817 (female, 302 mm disc width), NMV A2818 (female, 338 mm disc width); south of Scorpion Bight (32°24'S, 126°30’E), 30-40 m, demersal trawl, FRY “Coura- geous”, stn 032/0604, 3 Mar 1978, CSIRO CA510 (imma- ture male, 186 mm disc width); Geographe Bay, Quindalup (33°38’S, 115°09' E), speared, P. Good, 23 Jan 1981, WAM P27037-001 (immature male, 151 mm disc width); south of Mandurah, 42-43 m, FV “Kaiyo Maru 71”, D. Heald, 27 Aug 1979, WAM P27285-001 (female, 160 mm disc width); Hout- man Abrolhos Group (28°29'S, 113%47'E), 4-6 m, rotenoned, N. Sinclair, 16 Apr 1982, WAM P27585-002 (female, 141 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc almost oval, slightly longer than wide; broadest part 1 to 3 eye diameters behind level of spiracles; anterior profile obtuse. Snout fleshy, tip not extended. Eye of moderate size, 17- 22% preocular snout length. Posterior margin of spiracle rounded or angular. Mouth small; about 4 minute papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt- shaped, posterior angle not extended into distinct lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril forming a broad flattened and fleshy lobe. Tail broad, rounded in cross-section; of moderate length, 75- 100% disc length; lateral cutaneous folds absent; dorsal fin small; caudal fin relatively large, lan- ceolate. Reaches a total length of at least 610 mm. Dorsal surface greyish to greyish brown; dark markings below, in front of and between eyes; often with a dark stripe extending to snout tip (obvious on juveniles); paired dark patches near NEW SPECIES OF TRYGONOPTERA AND UROLOPHUS 65 centre of disc extending as stripes posteriorly along disc and tail, sometimes darkish areas ob- scure; pale along midline. Caudal fin greyish or black. Ventral surface white or yellow; tail and margins of disc and ventral fins mostly dark. Distribution. Southern coast of Western Austra- lia in depths to 43 m. Etymology. From the Latin ovalis (oval), refer- ring to the distinctive disc shape. Remarks. This species differs from other Trygonoptera which have a dorsal fin, 7. testacea Müller & Henle and T. personata sp. nov., in hav- ing a more ovate disc and in possessing a pair of longitudinal stripes on the disc and tail. Trygonoptera personata sp. NOV. Figure 2 Urolophus species 2. Hutchins & Thompson, 1983: 16, fig. 42. Maierial examined. Holotype: Western Australia, north-east of Cape Naturaliste (33°01'S, 115°10’E), 70 m, trawled, FRV “Hai Kung”, 23 Apr 1981, CSIRO H46 (male, 231 mm disc width). Paratypes: Western Australia, off Perth, Cottesloe Banks, (31°59'S, 115%45'E), trawled, FV “Peron”, R. J. McKay, 17 Apr 1960, WAM P8194-001 (immature male, 165 mm disc width); north-east of Rottnest Island, 31-36 m, trawled, FV “Bluefin”, R. J. McKay, 18 Sep 1965, WAM P14104-001 (fe- male, 193 mm disc width); south-west of Shark Bay (27°02'- 26°55'S, 113°02'- O'E), 115-160 m, 63 m otter trawl, FRV “Hai Kung”, M. Gomon and N. Sinclair, 2 Mar 1981, NMV A1820 (2 females, 188-208 mm disc width), NMV A1821 (2 males, 190-202 mm disc width); Shark Bay (25°21'S, 113°44'B), R. J. McKay, 1958, WAM P12034-001 (female, 173 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc not especially broad, subcircu- lar, mostly wider than long; broadest part slightly more than eye diameter behind level of spiracles; anterior profile obtuse. Snout fleshy, tip not ex- tended. Eye of moderate size (21-28% preocular snout length). Posterior margin of spiracle mostly angular. Mouth small; 3-4 papillae on floor. In- ternasal flap skirt-shaped, posterior angle not ex- tended into distinct lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril forming a broad flattened, fleshy lobe. Tail slightly depressed to rounded in cross-section; of moderate length (67-86% disc length), lateral cutaneous folds absent; dorsal fin small; caudal fin lanceolate in young, shorter and broader in adults. Reaches a total length of at least 470 mm. Dorsal surface yellowish brown to grey with dark markings around eyes and central dark blotch on disc; markings frequently connected medially and laterally by narrow longitudinal stripes. Caudal fin margin and dorsal fin black in young, greyish in adults, Ventral surface white or yellow, with slightly darker lateral margins. Distribution. Known to occur between Bunbury and Shark Bay, Western Australia in depths to 160 m. Etymology. From the Latin personatus (masked), referring to the mask-like appearance of the dark pattern adjacent the eyes. Remarks. Readily distinguished from the sym- patric congeners, T. ovalis sp. nov. and T; mucosa (Whitley), by the colour pattern, disc shape and dorsal fin sizes. Urolophus Urolophus Müller & Henle, 1837: 17. Type species, Raja cruciata Lacepede, monotypy. Discusssion, More study is required before the ex- tent of this genus is fully understood. by Urolophus orarius sp. nov. Figure 3 Material examined. Holotype: South Australia, Investigator Strait (35°20'S, 137°50’E), 20 m, trawled, FV “Ruby H”, H, Larson and D. Blake, 14 Mar 1978, AMS 1.20194-043 (female, 165 mm disc width). Paratypes: South Australia, same data as holotype, AMS 1.20194-044 (immature male, 138 mm disc width); Great Aus- tralian Bight, off Venus Bay, 36 m, 11 Apr 1984, SAMA jar no. 1187 (2 immature males, 120-148 mm disc width); off Venus Bay, 33-46 m, June 1982, SAMA jar no. 1647 (2 specs., 77 mm disc width); south of Fowlers Bay (33°46'S, 133°30'E), 36.4 m, 28 Feb 1981, SAMA jar no. 403 (2 females, 100-110 mm disc width); south of Evans Island, 4 April 1982, SAMA jar no, 1079 (male, 175 mm dise width), Diagnosis. Disc broadly subcircular, slightly wider than long; broadest part more than eye di- ameter behind spiracles; anterior margin obtuse. Snout tip rarely extended. Eye moderately large (28-34% preocular snout length). Posterior mar- gin of spiracle rounded. Mouth moderately large; 4-5 papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt- shaped, posterior angle not extended into distinct 64 P. R. LAST AND M. F. GOMON Figure 1. 7rvgonoptera ovalis, holotype, CSIRO CAS21. 66 P, R. LAST AND M. F. GOMON Figure 2. Trygonoptera personata, holotype, CSIRO H46. NEW SPECIES OF TRYGONOPTERA AND UROLOPHUS 67 Figure 3. Urolophus orarius, holotype, AMS 1.20194-043. lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril forming weak nob, not forming broad flattened lobe. Tail rounded in cross-section; moderately elongate (72-80% disc length); lateral cutaneous folds and dorsal fin absent; caudal fin lanceolate. Reaches a total length of at least 310 mm. Dorsal surface greyish to brown; darker areas around eyes extending onto back; dark blotches Oi P. R. LAST AND M. F. GOMON situated centrally on pectoral fins and at bases of pelvic fins; caudal and pelvic fins of juveniles dark; general pattern more evident in small speci- mens, Ventral surface pale, margins greyish brown to black; lower surface of tail pigmented, mostly dark. Distribution. Known only from the Great Aus- tralian Bight off South Australia where it has been trawled in depths of 20-50 m. Etymology. From the Latin orarius (of the coast), in allusion to the primary vernacular “coastal stingaree”. Remarks. This species is similar in general mor- phology to the allopatric congeners, Urolophus cruciatus (Lacepede) and U. sufflavus Whitley, but differs from them in colour pattern and in the relative lengths of the tail and caudal fin lobe. Urolophus orarius lacks a dark median stripe, which is always present in U, cruciatus and some- times present in U. sufflavus but possesses a large dark blotch near each pelvic fin base that is ab- sent in U. sufflavus. U. orarius has a relatively longer tail and longer caudal fin, than either of these species. Urolophus mitosis sp. nov. Figure 4 Urolophus sp.3. Sainsbury et al., 1985: 54, fig. opposite. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, north of Forestier Is. (182395, 117°53’E), 200 m, trawled, FRV “Soela”, stn SO2/82/15, 2 Apr 1982, CSIRO CA2874 (male, 145 mm disc width). aratypes: same data as holotype, CSIRO CA2875 (female, 165 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2876 (male, 130 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2877 (male, 150 mm disc width), CSIRO H574 (prenatal male from CA2875, 78 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc subcircular, slightly wider than long; broadest about eye diameter behind spira- cles; anterior margin obtuse. Snout tip slightly extended. Eye large (33-43% preocular snout length). Posterior margin of spiracle rounded or acute. Mouth moderately large; 3-4 papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt-shaped, posterior angle extended into distinct lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril flat or forming weak nob, not forming broad flattened lobe. Tail moderately depressed, elongate (85-104% disc length); lateral cutaneous folds weak; dorsal fin absent; caudal fin lanceolate. Reaches a total length of at least 290 mm. Dorsal surface of disc pale green with several large, widely-spaced granulated blotches and stripes, reddish brown near margin; blotches and stripes pale blue, mostly variable in shape but regular in position, bordered by and mostly co- vered with dark blue mitotic granulations. In preserved specimens dorsal surface becoming pale yellow, granulations remaining obvious. Ven- tral surface pale. Distribution. Occurs off Forestier Island, north- western Australia in depths of 200 m. Etymology. From the Greek mitos (thread), with reference to the distinctive granular patterns of the blotches and stripes. Remarks. This species is immediately recognisa- ble by its characteristic colour pattern. Other members of this genus, U. expansus McCulloch and U. viridis McCulloch, which are larger southern and eastern Australian relatives respec- tively, also have a skirt-shaped internasal flap, cutaneous folds on the tail and lack a dorsal fin. The dorsal coloration of U, viridis is uniform green, whereas U. expansus, while having a few pale transverse bands, lacks dark markings. Urolophus flavomosaicus sp. nov. Figure 5 Urolophus sp. 2. Sainsbury et al., 1985: 52, fig. opposite. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, north of Port Hedland (18°20'S, 118°27’E), 202 m, bottom trawl, FRY “Soela”, stn S02/82/13, 2 Apr 1982, CSIRO CA2867 (male, 325 mm dise width). Paratypes: Western Australia, south-west of Shark Bay (27°07'-01'S, 112°49'-48’E), 238-248 m, 63 m otter trawl, FRV “Hai Kung”, M. Gomon and N. Sinclair, 3 Mar 1981, NM V A1810 (immature male, 218 mm disc width); same data as holotype, CSIRO CA2866 (female, 197 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2868 (immature male, 195 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2869 (female, 274 mm disc width), Diagnosis. Disc quadrangular, much wider than long; broadest about 1.5 eye diameters behind spiracles; anterior margin broadly rounded. Snout tip slightly extended. Eye small (21-28% preocular snout length). Posterior margin of spiracle acute. Mouth large; about 8 very short papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt-shaped, NEW SPECIES OF TRYGONOPTERA AND UROLOPHUS 69 Figure 4. Urolophus milosis, holotype, CSIRO CA2874 posterior angle not lobed. Posterolateral border of nostril flat or forming weak nob, not form- ing broad flattened lobe. Tail moderately depressed; short (67-79% disc length); lateral cutaneous folds weak, sometimes inobvious; dor- sal fin present; caudal fin lanceolate. Reaches a total length of at least 325 mm. Dorsal surface yellowish with numerous paler spots encircled by darker yellowish brown rings; spots almost regularly spaced, sometimes inter- 70 P. R. LAST AND M. F. GOMON Figure 5. Urolophus flavomosaicus, holotype, CSIRO CA2867. spersed with pale narrow reticulations, largest on central disc. Distribution. Occurs off Port Hedland, Western Australia in depths to 250 m. Etymology. Derived from the Latin flavus (yel- low) and mosaicus (mosaic), with reference to the distinctive colour pattern. Remarks. Among the largest of tropical Aus- tralian stingarees, this species closely resembles the temperate U. bucculentus Macleay. Apart from morphometric differences, these species have very different colour patterns. Urolophus bucculentus is either uniform yellowish or brownish and, although it may be covered in fine reticulations and spots, not forming a broad mosaic pattern. NEW SPECIES OF TRYGONOPTERA AND UROLOPHUS E e Figure 6. Urolophus westraliensis, holotype, CSIRO CA2870. 71 Ne P. R. LAST AND M. F. GOMON Urolophus westraliensis sp. nov. Figure 6 Urolophus sp. 1. Sainsbury et al., 1985: 52, fig. opposite. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, north of Port Hedland (18°20'S, 118°27’E), 202 m, bottom trawl, FRV “Soela”, stn SO2/82/13, 2 Apr 1982, CSIRO CA2870 (male, 192 mm disc width). Paratypes: Western Australia, Northwest Shelf, off Dampier (19°17'S, 116°16'E), 170-172 m, trawled, FRV “Courageous”, B. Hutchins, 16 May 1978, WAM P26193-006 (female, 225 mm disc width); north of Port Hedland (18°38’S, 118°02’E), 182 m, trawled, FRV “Soela”, stn S03/83/26, 6 Jun 1983, CSIRO CA4195 (female, 143 mm disc width); south-west of Imperieuse Reef (18°24'S, 118°31’E), 154 m, bottom trawl, FRV “Soela”, stn S02/82/8, 28 Mar 1982, CSIRO CA2802 (male, 166 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2803 (female, 196 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2804 (male, 171 mm disc width); same data as holotype, CSIRO CA2871 (male, 196 mm disc width), CSIRO CA2872 (male, 189 mm disc width); west of Buccaneer Archipelago (15°08'S, 121940'E), 204-210 m, FRV “Courageous”, K. Sainsbury, 26 Jun 1978, WAM P26262-007 (male, 182 mm disc width). Diagnosis. Disc subcircular, slightly wider than long; broadest about eye diameter behind spira- cles; anterior margin obtuse. Snout tip slightly extended. Eye small (22-28% preocular snout length). Posterior margin of spiracle mostly rounded. Mouth moderately large; 5-6 small papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt-shaped, posterior angle extended into distinct lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril flat or forming weak nob, not forming broad flattened lobe. Tail moderately depressed; short (66-80% disc length); lateral cutaneous folds barely noticeable; dorsal fin absent, or reduced to a low fold; cau- dal fin short, mostly broad. Reaches a total length of at least 355 mm. Dorsal surface uniformly pale yellow to light brown, lacking spots or other darker markings. Ventral surface pale. Distribution. Occurs on the outer continental shelf of north-western Australia in depths of 150- 210 m. Etymology. Named after the Australian state in which this species occurs. Remarks. This species is closely allied to the sym- patric U. mitosis sp. nov., but has a relatively shorter tail, a smaller eye and a uniform colour pattern. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the efforts of the late Mr N. Sinclair who provided considerable data on Western Australian species. Other important contributions were made by Dr R. Holst, Mr K. Graham, Miss R. Alexander and Miss J. O’Regan. References Dixon, J.M., 1969. A new species of ray of the genus Uro- lophus (Elasmobranchii: Urolophidae) from Victoria. Victorian Nat. 86: 11-18. Hutchins, J.L.B. and Thompson, M., 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of Southwestern Australia. Western Aus- tralian Museum: Perth. 103 pp. McKay, R.J. 1966. Studies on Western Australian sharks and rays of the families Scyliorhinidae, Urolophidae and Tor- pedinidae. J. Roy. Soc. West. Aust. 49: 65-82. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. and Leyland, G.G., 1985. Con- tinental Shelf Fishes of Northern and Northwestern Aus- tralia, Clouston & Hall: Canberra. 375 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 73-74 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 16. A NEW SPECIES OF CRAPATALUS (LEPTOSCOPIDAE) By P. R. LAST! AND G. J. EDGAR? 'CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia *CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research, PO Box 20, Marmion, Western Australia 6020, Australia. Abstract Last, P.R. and Edgar, G.J. 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 16. A new species of Crapatalus (Leptoscopidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 73-74. A sandfish, Crapatalus munroi, is described from southern Australia. It can be distinguished from other Australian species by its deeper body form and by the presence of scales on the lower half of the pectoral fin, Introduction Three members of the trachinoid family Lep- toscopidae, have been recorded from Australian waters. Lesueurina platycephala Fowler, which may be a senior synonym of Crapatalus arenarius McCulloch, is found commonly in exposed beach habitats of southeastern Australia. The type locality of Leptoscopus macropygus (Richardson) is recorded as Port Jackson, New South Wales but no Australian specimens have been seen since. This species occurs commonly off New Zealand and it is likely that Richardson's material became mixed at some stage. The third, an undescribed species of Crapata- lus, has been documented (Last, Scott and Tal- bot, 1983) and is formally described herein. The authors are presently revising the family. Type specimens are deposited in the CSIRO Di- vision of Fisheries, Hobart (CSIRO) and the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (NMV) Crapatalus Gúnther Crapatalus Gúnther, 1861: 86. Type species. Crapatalus arenarius McCulloch (monotypy). Crapatalus munroi sp. nov. Figure 1 Crapatalus sp. Last, Scott & Talbot, 1983: 425, fig. 30,95. Material examined. Holotype. Tasmania. Verona Sands, D'En- 73 trecasteaux Channel (43°17'S, 147%09'E), 1 m, beach seined, P.R. Last, 1978, CSIRO H636 (101 mm S.L.). Paratypes. Tasmania. Chinamans Bay, Maria Island (43°39'S, 148°02E), 1 m, beach seined, P.R. Last, 10 Apr 1977, CSIRO H640-01 (2 specimens, 41-52 mm S.L.). Flinders Is- land, dredged, J. Grant, 11 May 1977, CSIRO H638 (1 speci- men, 58 mm S.L.). Hopetoun Beach, Dover, D'Entrecasteaux Channel (43°19'S, 147%01'E), 1 m, beach seined, P.R. Last and R. Green, 19 Jun 1977, CSIRO H639-01 (1 specimen, 63 mm S T. Victoria. Portsea, Port Phillip Bay, 2 m, handnet, R. H. Kuiter, 13 Jun 1981, NMV A3320 (3 specimens, 79-98 mm S.L.). Portsea Wharf, Port Phillip Bay, 3 m, by hand, R.H. Kuiter, Dec 1981, CSIRO H637-01 (4 specimens, 41-82 mm S.L.). Mordialloc, G. Mason, 4 July 1902, NMV R11958 (1 specimen, 93 mm S.L.). Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays 36-38; anal-fin rays 36- 37; ventral-fin rays 1.5; pectoral fin rays 21-23; lateral line scales 46-49. Body elongate, compressed, tapering to cau- dal fin; maximum depth 4.0-5.2 in S.L; head bul- bous, rounded or slightly compressed, about 4 times wider than the body. Fimbrae simple on jaws, sometimes bifurcated on operculum, not papillated, 34-42 on lower jaw; 23-31 on upper jaw; 13-19 on operculum. Eyes dorsal, situated close to snout; interorbital distance short, less than three quarters tranverse eye diameter. Mouth almost vertical; maxilla extending to below an- terior margin of eye. Teeth small, caniniform; in narrow bands in jaws and on palatines; two separate patches present on vomer. Scales cycloid, large, covering trunk, and pectoral and caudal fin 74 P. R. LAST AND G. J. EDGAR WA AS Figure 1. Craptalus munroi sp. nov. bases; head naked except for small scaly patches on upper preoperculum and operculum; prepel- vic area scaled. Dorsal and anal fin bases elon- gate, former shorter; rays short, simple. Pectoral fin large (21.7-24.4% S.L.), pointed; rays 8-9 generally longest, decreasing in length ventrally; upper part only slightly incised, rays mostly bi- furcated; lower part moderately incised, rays divided into 4-6 portions. Pelvic fins jugular; in- serted close to pectoral fin bases, shortest dis- tance between them less than half interpelvic distance; extending posteriorly well behind anus. Caudal fin short, truncate. Isthmus without lap- pets. Reaches a total length of at least 115 mm. Body white; upper half densely covered with numerous small, irregular brownish to golden markings which extend onto upper pectoral, dor- sal and caudal fins. Preserved specimens yellow- ish or pink with peppery markings, mostly faint; some specimens immaculate. Distribution. Off Victoria and Tasmania where, as a burying species, it lives mainly in soft sedi- ments near the coast. Etymology. In honour of Mr 1.S. Munro, an emi- nent student of ichthyology, who discovered the species. Comparisons. This species can be distinguished from Lesueurina platycephala by its deeper body form and the presence of scales on the lower part of the pectoral fin. A New Zealand species, Crapatalus novaezelandiae Günther, is similar in form but has prominent cutaneous flaps on the isthmus and papillated oral fimbrae. Acknowledgments We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr Rudie Kuiter who has provided photographs, type material and biological information on members of this family. Reference Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. and Talbot, F.H., 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority: Hobart. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 75-77 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 17. NEW SPECIES OF GADELLA AND PHYSICULUS (MORIDAE) By C. D. PAULIN Department of Ichthyology, National Museum of New Zealand, Private Bag, Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Paulin, C.D., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 17. New species of Gadella and. Physiculus (Mori- dae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 75-77. The following species are here described: Gadella norops and Physiculus therosideros. G. norops has a very small light organ placed closer to the anus than the interventral line, elongate ventral fins, second dorsal ray count more than 72 and an inter-orbital width greater than 7.9% SL. P. therosideros has a large light organ placed closer to the anus than the interventral line, equal sized teeth and a lateral line reaching the origin of the second dorsal fin. Introduction Morid fishes of the genera Gadella and Physic- ulus are distributed in all tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world's oceans, in depths of 40-1500 m, usually 100-600 m. Both genera are currently being revised on a worldwide basis: Gadella is represented by six nominal and two undescribed species; Physiculus is represented by 25 nominal and nine undescribed species (Paulin, in prep). One new species of Gadella, and one new species of Physiculus which form the basis of the present account, are found in Australia in addition to four known species of Physiculus: P. longifilis Weber, P. luminosa Pau- lin, P nigrescens Smith & Radcliffe and P. roseus Alcock. Species of these genera can be identified by measurements of the size and position of the der- mal fossa of the ventral light organ, expressed as a percentage of ventral fin base to anal fin ori- gin distance (InV-af) (Paulin, in prep). Material is lodged in these institutions: Aus- tralian Museum, Sydney (AMS); Queensland Museum, Brisbane (QM); Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN); National Museum of Natural History (USNM); Zoologisk Museum, Copenhagen (ZMC). GE Gadella norops sp. nov. Physiculus edelmanni.-Paulin 1983: 116 (not Brauer, 1908). Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Port Hed- land (18°41'S, 116°46'E), 506-508 m, 13 Apr 1982, AMS 1. 22827-003. Paratypes: New South Wales. off Sydney (33°45’S, 151°5.5’E), AMS I. 17857-008; east of Clarence River (29°26- 20'S, 153°49'-59’E), 450 m; AMS 1.19096-005. Queensland. Off Tweed Heads, (2893'S, 154%4'E), 731 m, 6 Nov 1978, AMS 1.21795-003. Non-type material: Queensland. Off Brisbane (27°19'S, 153°54’E), 535 m, QM 1.21030. New South Wales, Newcastle (33°8’S, 157°27’E), 586 m, AMS 1.21805-001. Ballina-Tweed Heads (28°17'S, 153°53’E), 200 m, AMS 1.23993, Western Australia. Port Hedland (17°59'S,118°17’E), 404- 420 m, 3 Apr 1982, AMS 1.22808-024. Port Hedland (18°29'S, 116°36’E), 696-704 m, 6 Apr 1982, AMS 1.22814-017. North- east of Bluff Point (27°9/16"S, 11297'50"E), 294-297 m, 22 Aug 1979, USNM 262075; (27°9'16"S, 112°47'50"E), 294-297 m, 22 Aug 1979, USNM 262073; (27°32'41"S, 112°58'59"E), 226- 302 m, 27 Jul 1979, USNM 262074. New Zealand. Bay of Plenty, NMNZ P20267. New Caledonia?. USNM 262076. Diagnosis. Barbel absent; light organ very small, 4.0% (1.4-6.4% InV-af and placed closer to anus than interventral line; distance from interventral line to anterior margin of light organ 39.6% (36.2-42.5%) InV-af;distance from posterior mar- gin of light organ to anterior margin of anus 30.6% (25.9-35.6%) InV-af; gular scales absent; ventral fins reaching 10th anal ray; first dorsal 76 C. D. PAULIN fin rays not elongated; second dorsal fin ray counts more than 72; interorbital width greater than 7.9% SL. Description. Dorsal rays 8-10, 72-77; anal rays 71- 78; pectoral rays 21-27; scales in longitudinal ser- ies about 120, scales between base of first dorsal fin and lateral line 9-12; gill rakers 2-5 + 9-12; ver- tebrae 62-63. Measurements. (Mean with range in parenthesis) as percent standard length. Greatest depth of body 17.6(12.8-20.9); least depth of caudal peduncle 1.9(1.6-2.0); length of head 22.3 (20.6- 26.0); width of head 18.7(16.8-20.1); horizontal diameter of orbit 4.4 (3.4-5.6); length of snout 5.4(4.6-6.0); length of maxilla 11.5 (10,7-13.5); width of bony interorbital 9.0(7.9-10.5); predor- sal length 26.1(23.4-29.8); length of pectoral fin 18.0(16.3-20.1). Body elongate, compressed, greatest depth below first dorsal fin. Head wider than deep. Maxilla extending to beyond hind margin of orbit. Teeth in upper jaw equal sized, in villiform bands 4-5 teeth wide. Lower jaw with slightly larger subequal teeth in 3-4 rows. Gular region without scales, Gill membranes joined to each other and to isthmus far forward. Gill rakers long, slender, equal in length to opposite gill filaments. First dorsal fin about same height as second. Vertical fin membranes without scales. Ventral fins reaching well beyond anal fin origin. Lateral line commences aboye upper angle of opercle, reaches only to anterior third of second dorsal. A distinct continuous tube slightly behind first dorsal fin origin, thereafter a series of short discontinuous tubes. Colour. (Fresh, from colour transparency kindly provided by Ken Graham). Head and body pinkish. Abdomen and sides of body just above pectoral fin insertion blue. Gular region, branchiostegal membranes, lips, and tips of ver- tical fins black. Etymology. From the Greek norops (flashing) referring to the light organ in the belly. Distribution. Australian coasts and the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand in depths of 200-750 m. Remarks. Gadella norops is distinguished from other species in the genus by gill raker counts; interorbital width, snout length, number and length of dorsal rays and in size of the ventral fossa of the light organ (Paulin, in prep). The spe- cies has previously been recorded from Australia as Physiculus edelmanni Brauer (Paulin, 1983). Physiculus therosideros sp. nov. Material examined. Holotype: New South Wales. Scott Point, (30°43'S, 153°16’E), 134-151 m, 10 Oct 1978, AMS 1.23685. Paratypes: Queensland. Off Caloundra, (26°31'S, 153° 50E), 240-330 m, AMS 1.15550-003. Off Southport (27°52’S, 153°55' E), 245 m, QM 1.21060. Non-type material: Queensland. Off Southport (28°7'S, 153°54’E), 274 m, QM 1.21145. New Caledonia. MNHN 1980-335, 1980-560. New Zealand. Raoul Island, Kermadecs (29°15'S, 177°S7'W), 83 m, 3 Mar 1952, ZMC 676. Diagnosis. Barbel present; light organ large, 13.7% (11.2-18.6%) InV-af and placed closer to anus than interventral line; distance from inter- ventral line to anterior margin of light organ 27.2% (24.7-28.3%) InV-af; distance from posterior margin of light organ to anterior mar- gin of anus 14.4% (11.2-18.6%) InV-af. Teeth equal sized; gular scales present; scales present on dorsal fin membrane; gill rakers of moderate length, slender; continuous tube of lateral line reaching origin of second dorsal fin. Description. Dorsal rays 8-9, 60-63; anal rays 62- 66; pectoral rays 24-25; scales in longitudinal ser- les c118-120, scales between first dorsal base and lateral line 8-9; gill rakers 2-3+7-9; vertebrae 52-55. Measurements. (Mean with range in parenthesis), as percent standard length. Greatest depth of body 18.4(16.0-21.1); least depth of caudal pedun- cle 2.5(2.4-2.6); length of head 25.4(22.1-26.6); width of head 17.9(15.2-20.1); horizontal di- ameter of eye 6.0(5.4-6.4); length of snout 5.7(5.1- 6.8); length of maxilla 11.7(10.1-12.7); width of bony interorbital 5.3(4.1-6.6); barbel length 5.1(4.3-7.2); predorsal length 29.7 (27.8-31.8); pectoral length 15,5(14.9-16.2). Body elongate, compressed, greatest depth below first dorsal. Head slightly wider than deep. Maxilla extending to about hind margin of eye. Teeth in villiform bands, 6-7 teeth wide in upper jaw, 4-5 in lower. Barbel slightly less than di- ameter of eye. Gular region with scales. Gill membranes joined to each other and to isthmus. NEW SPECIES OF GADELLA AND PHYSICULUS 77 Gill rakers of moderate length, slender, not spiny, about two-thirds as long as opposite gill filaments. First dorsal fin about same height as second. Vertical fin membranes with small scales. Ven- tral fins reaching just beyond anal fin origin to about third anal ray. Lateral line commences above upper angle of opercle, straight, gradually descending beyond origin of anal fin to mid-line of body. A distinct continuous tube for a distance equal to length of head, thereafter interrupted, not visible be- yond mid-point of anal fin. Colour. (preserved). Head and body pinkish or yellowish tan. Abdomen blue-black. Gular region, branchiostegal membranes, lips and tips of vertical fins dark brownish black. Etymology. From the Greek theros (summer) and sideros (iron). Named for the vessel “Iron Sum- mer” which conducted a deepwater survey for Queensland Fisheries Research between July 1982 and June 1983 and collected specimens of this species. Distribution. Physiculus therosideros is known from New South Wales and Queensland, Austra- lia, New Caledonia and the Kermadec Islands in depths of 83-330 m. Remarks. Physiculus therosideros is distinguished from all species of the genus by the size and po- sition of the ventral fossa of the light organ, the presence of scales on both the gular region and the vertical fin membranes, scale size, length of the lateral line and equal sized teeth (Paulin, in prep). References Paulin, C.D. 1983. A revision of the family Moridae (Pisces: Anacanthini) within the New Zealand region. Rec. natl. Mus. N.Z. 2: 81-126. Paulin, C.D. (in prep). Revision of the morid genera Gadella, Physiculus and Salilota (Pisces: Gadiformes) with descrip- tions of eleven new species. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 79-82 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 18. A NEW SPECIES OF COCOTROPUS (APLOACTINIDAE) By STUART G. Poss! AND GERALD R. ALLEN? ‘Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, U.S.A. *Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, W.A., 6000, Australia Abstract Poss, S. G. and Allen, G.R., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 18. A new species of Cocotropus (Aploactinidae). Mem, Mus. Vict, 48: 79-82. A new species of velvetfish (Aploactinidae), Cocotropus larvatus, is described from speci- mens taken from the Marshall Islands, the Ryukyus, Great Banda Island, and from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. C. /arvatus can be distinguished from other species of Cocotropus, except C. roseus, by its combination of high pectoral, dorsal, and anal counts. It differs from C. roseus in having a more convex snout profile, a more compressed body, and in coloration. The new species is the first aploactinid reported from the Central Pacific. Introduction The Aploactinidae contains 30 species belonging to 15 genera (Poss and Eschmeyer, 1978, 1979, 1980; Poss, 1982). The family is closely related to the Scorpaenidae and is confined to the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Most species occur in the Australian and Indo-Malaysian regions. Twelve species and nine genera are cur- rently known from Australia. Although there is scant information on their ecology, most appear to live in crevices on rocky, coral rubble, or coral- line algae substrata. Some species frequently ap- pear in trawls. The present paper describes a new species of the genus Cocotropus, expanding the largest genus of velvetfishes to 8 species. In addition to this new species, the genus contains the follow- ing taxa: Cocofropus echinatus (Cantor, 1850) from Malaysia, C. dermacanthus Bleeker, 1852 from Indonesia, C. roseus Day, 1878 from India, C. altipinnis Waite, 1903 from Lord Howe Island, C. monacanthus Gilchrist, 1906 from South Africa, C. masudai Matsubara, 1943 from Japan, and C. steinitzi Eschmeyer and Dor, 1978 from Indian Ocean localities. Several closely related species, previously placed in Cocotropus, have been transfered to Paraploactis by Poss and Es- chmeyer (1978). 79 Cocotropus larvatus sp. nov. Figure 1 Material examined. Holotype: Marshall Is., Kwajalein Atoll, outside reef off Ennubuj Islet, rubble bottom, caught by hand under rubble, by day, Scott Johnson, 2 Jun 1983, BPBM 29211 (1 male 49.8 mm SL). Paratypes: Ryukyu Is. West side of Sesoke Is., on sand and rubble bottom at base of reef front, 15-18 m, rotenone, J. Ran- dall and T. Yoshino, 12 Sep 1977, BPBM 22297 (1, 41.2 mm SL), URM P4282 (2, 36.7, 14.0). Banda Is. Just west of northern-most tip of Great Banda Is. (04°30'30”S, 129°56'10’E), stn VGS 74-11, 0-18.3 m, rote- none, V.G. Springer, 9 Mar 1974, USNM 280267 (1, 34.7). Christmas Is. (10°26'S, 105°40’E), 35-40 m, rotenone, col- lected from vertical drop-off, G,R. Allen and R. Steene, 2 Jul 1986, WAM P29008-001 (1, 22.0). Description. Dorsal XIII, 9(5)*, XIII, 10(1) (counts for holotype denoted by asterisk; last two rays borne on one pterygiophore and counted as one ray, anal II, 8(3), II, 9(3)* (last two rays counted as one); pectoral 13(1)*, 14(5); pelvic I, 3; vertebrae 27(5)*, 28(1). Head markedly compressed, and covered with modified scales, each of which ends in a spinous point; few scales on snout, none in interorbit. Dorsal profile of head concave, anterior part in- clined dorsoposteriorly about 45° from horizon- tal, posterior part steeper, inclined about 60° 80 S. G. POSS AND G. R. ALLEN Figure 1. Holotype of Cocotropus larvatus (BPBM 29211; 49.8 mm SL) in lateral view. from horizontal. Lacrimal spines connected at base. First spine points ventrally and slightly posteriorly over maxilla. Second spine of about equal size, points posteroventrally. A small blunt spinous knob at base of first spine; similar but larger knob at base of second spine near middle of bone on a ridge which runs to lateral ethmoid. Second infraorbital bone with a blunt spine that projects laterally from near centre of raised mar- gins. Third infraorbital bone with a prominent blade-like but blunt spine that projects laterally. Interorbital ridges prominent, converge posteri- orly to meet at midline. Posterior end of each ridge with a short tufted cirrus; better developed in smaller specimens. Nasal bone tubular, without spine. Anterior nostril prominent, pore midway between eye and tip of snout. Posterior nostril just anterior to orbit with slightly raised margin. Preopercular and supraorbital lateral-line pores of moderate size; form short tubes. Preopercle with 5 blunt spines; dorsalmost project laterally and slightly dorsally as well as posteriorly; about equal in size to third from above. Second from above also projects laterally as well as posteriorly; about equal or slightly smaller than those above and below. Ventral preopercular spines smaller. Opercle with 2 ridges, more dorsal better developed; each ends in spine. Dorsal margin of opercle inclined dor- soposteriorly about 20° above horizontal. In- teropercle without spine on dorsoposterior margin. Parietal spine a prominent blunt knob. Pterotic spine strong, blunt. Ventral margin of posttemporal with a strong blunt spine. Cleithrum without spine. Ventral margin of den- tary strongly projects medially. Mandibular lateral-line pores of moderate size, 5 on each side. Ventral surface of lower jaw with numerous papil- lae and two rows of tufted or papillose cirri, outer row usually larger; more papillose in smaller specimens. Angular bone projects ventrally. Mouth slightly upturned. Maxilla extends to below anterior margin of pupil. Maxilla with prickles but without cirrus. Minute teeth on the vomer, none on the palatines. Gill rakers short knobs; 7-10 total, 2-3 on upper arch, 5-7 on lower A NEW SPECIES OF COCOTROPUS sl arch. Pseudobranch with 4-6 filaments. No slit behind posterior hemibranch. Branchiostegal rays 6. Branchiostegal membranes of each side not fused to isthmus. Isthmus with a fleshy extension anteriorly. Body extremely compressed. Body depth 2.8 to 3.2 in SL. Longest spinous points on scales on dorsum behind head about 2-3 times as long as wide near base. Lateral line not high on body; with 9-11 tubed scales, each with small paired projections which extend laterally, last extends over base of caudal fin. Dorsal fin originates over anterior margin of pupil. First dorsal spine longest, spines decrease in length posteriorly until eighth or ninth spine; decrease most pronounced in smaller specimens. Dorsal fin membrane weakly incised. Pectoral fin rounded, with 14 rays, longest (4th from above) reaches just past anus. Pelvic fin membrane not adnate to body. Caudal fin rounded, somewhat elongate with 18(5) or 19(1) total (9 upper / 9-10 lower) fin ray elements. Caudal skeleton with parhypural and hypurals 1 and 2 fused, hypurals 3 and 4 fused, hypural 5 autogenous; 2 epurals; preural neural spine long, narrow. Colour in life tan or cream coloured, covered with numerous rather regularly scattered small dark brown spots each of which is usually sur- rounded by larger but lighter and more diffuse brown spot or splotch. Diffuse spots arranged in nearly oblique bands in holotype but not in smaller specimens. The dark brown spots are often elongate and form dash-like lines; those be- tween lateral line scales particularly prominent; intensity of elongate spots decreases in larger specimens. Snout and dorsal surface of head co- vered with brown and greyish brown spot or splotches, similar but somewhat larger and more distinct than those over body and usually sur- rounded and accentuated by a thin whitish border; those around eye, particularly ventrally, especially dark and radiate from pupil. Promi- nent dark spot on pterotic spine; another on parietal spine. Ventral side of head and pelvic fins notably pale and cream coloured. A conspicuous chalk white spot on or just above lateral line be- tween scales 3 to 5. Dorsal and anal fins notably lighter in colour than body and transparent posteriorly. Brownish grey spots or splotches, similar in size and shape to those on snout and dorsal part of head, cover fins. They are smaller, more transparent, and more closely set posteriorly than anteriorly, giv- ing the fins a laced, reticulate appearance posteri- orly. Dorsal fin more densely pigmented subterminally. Caudal fin pattern like that of posterior part of dorsal and anal fins; in holo- type small spots coalesce to form a narrow band near base of fin, Pectoral fin with conspicuous brown or greyish brown spots or splotches like those on dorsal surface of head. Colour in 70% ethanol light brown or tan. Small darker brown specks and brown elongate markings scattered over head, body, and fins; most prominent on head and fins and in smaller specimens. Belly and ventral side of head with few such marks. A cream coloured spot just dor- sal to lateral line. A district, but narrow and in- termittent brown stripe runs between lateral-line scales. Measurements for the six type specimens are as follows (holotype first followed by paratypes; percent SL in parentheses): Standard length 49.8, 41.2, 36.7, 34.7, 22.0, 14.0. Head 18.2(36), 14.8(36), 13.1(36), 12.5(36), 7.6(34), 5.6(40). Snout 5.2(10), 4.1(11), 3.6(10), 3.4(10), 2.2(10), 1.6(11). Orbit 4.3(9), 3.5(8), 3.1(8), 3.3(9), 1.9(9), 1.4(10). Interorbit 4,0(8), 2.6(6), 2.3(6), 2.5 (7), 1.1(5), 1.2(8). Upper-jaw length 6.9(14), 5.4(13), 4.9(13), 4.914), 3.1(14), 2.6(16). Postorbital 7.916), 6.5(16), 5.6(15), 5.5(16), 3.6(16), 2.6(19). Greatest body depth 16.7(33), 12.7 (31), 11.760), 11,0(32), 7.0(32), 4.9(35). Anal fin 19.5(39), 16.0(39), 13.8(38), 13.9(40), 8.2(37), 5.3(38). Cau- dal fin 14.5 (29), 13.2(32), 11.6(32), 10.7(31), 6.5(29), 4.6(33). Pectoral fin 15,3(31), 12.6(31), 10.9(30), 9.5(27), 6.2(28), 4.3(31). Pelvic fin 8.2(16), 7.1(17), 6.1(17), 4.9014), 4.0(18), 2.5(18). Length of first dorsal spine 11.2(22), 10.5(25), 9.305), 8.524), 5.5 (25), 3.2(23); second 12.2(24), 10.0(24), 9.4(26), 8.7(25), 5.0 (23), 3.3024); third 11.924), 8.922), 7,921), 7.722), 4.3(19), 2.3(16); fourth 9.6(19), 6.6(16), 4.9(13), 5.7(16), 2.8(13), 1.7 (12); fifth 7.2(14), 5.3013), 3.7(10), 3.7(11), 2.3(10), 1.2(9); penultimate 6.7(13), 5.5(13), 4,4(12), 4.1(12), 2.6(12), 1.7(12); last 7.0(14), 5.8(14), 4.8(13), 4.4(13), 2.8(13), 2.0(14). Length of first anal spine 2.8(6), 2.8(7), 2.1(6), 2.2(6), 1.5(7), 0.9 (6); second 3.8(8), 3.7(9), 3.0(8), 3.0(9), 2.1(9), 1.2(8). Least depth of caudal peduncle 82 S, G, POSS AND G. R, ALLEN 5.7(11), 3.809), 3.6(9), 3.6(10), 2.3 (10), 1.6(11). Distance from tip of snout to first dorsal spine (predorsal length) 8.707), 6.4(15), 5.7(15), 5.5(16), 3.2(14), 2.3(16); to second spine 10.7(21), 8.0(19), 6.7(18), 6.509), 4.0 (18), 3.0029); to third 12.1(24), 9.623), 8.303), 8.404), 4.6 (21), 3.8(27); to fourth 15.5(31), 12.7(31), 11.0(30), 11.0(32), 6.329), 4.8(34); to fifth 19.4(39), 16.4(40), 13.9(38), 13.5 (39), 8.0(36), 5.5(39). Transverse width of first dorsal spine at midlength 0.5(1.0), 0.4(1.0), 0.3(0.8), 0.5(1.4), 0.3(1.4), 0.1(0.7). In- cision of dorsal-fin membrane at fourth dorsal spine (from tip to membrane) 0.1(0.2), 0.1(0.2), 0.3(0.3), 0.2(0.6), 0.2(0.9), 0.2(1.4). Etymology. From the Latin /arva (ghost), refer- ring to its ghost-like appearance and small size. Comparisons. The new species can be distin- guished from most other members of the genus by its high counts when considered in combina- tion. Only Cocotropus roseus has a pectoral fin ray count as high as 14 and equally high dorsal and anal fin ray counts. However, C. roseus is a much less compressed species and lacks the pronounced development of the blunt head spines and the combination of distinct, often elongate, dark spots and intermittent dashed lines along the lateral line and a reticulate colour pat- tern on its fins. C. /arvatus also differs in having the snout and interorbit distinctly more concave in lateral view. Distribution. Cocotropus larvatus has been col- lected from Kwajelein Atoll in the Marshall Is., Sesoko Is. in the Ryukyu Is., from Great Banda Is., and from Christmas Is. in the eastern Indian Ocean. This species occurs inshore from near the surface to 40 m. This species is the first aploac- tinid to be described from the Pacific Plate (see Springer, 1982). Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Drs John E. Randall, Victor G. Springer, and Tetsuo Yoshino for kindly making specimens available. References Poss, S.G. 1982. A new aploactinid fish of the genus Kaneko- nia from Indonesia and redescription of K. florida. Jap. J. Ichthyol. 28(4): 375-380. Poss, S.G. and Eschmeyer, W.N. 1978. Two new Australian velvet fishes, genus Paraploactis (Scorpaeniformes: Aploactinidae), with a revision of the genus and com- ments on the genera and species of the Aploactinidae. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 41(18): 401-426. Poss, S.G. and Eschmeyer, W.N. 1979. Prosoproctos patae- cus, a new genus and species of velvetfish from the South China Sea (Aploactinidae: Scorpaeniformes). Jap. J. Ichthyol. 26(1): 11-14. Poss, S.G. and Eschmeyer, W.N. 1980. Xenaploactis, a new genus for Prosopodasys asperrimus Gunther (Pisces: Aploactinidae), with descriptions of two new species. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 42(8): 287-293. Springer, V.G. 1982. Pacific plate biogeography, with special reference to shorefishes. Smithson. Contrib. Zool. 367: 1-182. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 83-84 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 19. A NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOPERCA (SERRANIDAE) By CLIVE D. ROBERTS Department of Zoology, Victoria University of Wellington, Private Bag, Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Roberts, C.D., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 19. A new species of Lepidoperca (Serrani- dae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 83-84. Lepidoperca filamenta sp. nov. is described from 15 specimens collected off southern and south- western Australia. It can be distinguished by dark blotches on the anterior base of soft dorsal, anterior soft anal and pectoral fins, and a lunate caudal fin. Introduction Part of an ongoing study (Roberts, in prep.) on the taxonomy of anthiine serranids of the genus Lepidoperca Regan has focussed on the orange perches of Australia and New Zealand currently referred to the species L. pulchella Waite. It is now apparent that at least four species are represented in the complex, The purpose of this paper is to name and diagnose a new species be- longing to this complex from southern and south- western Australia. Counts and measurements (to the nearest 0.1 mm with dial calipers) were made following the methods of Hubbs and Lagler (1964). Counts of scale rows exclude the small, often irregular scales sheathing the fin bases; the last ray of the dorsal and anal fin usually branches to its base and was counted as one ray; fin ray counts were confirmed from radiographs; lengths of specimens are all standard lengths unless otherwise stated. Stan- dard length and upper jaw length were measured from the anterior median point on the upper lip; bony orbit diameter is the horizontal distance be- tween bony margins; length of dorsal lobe of cau- dal fin is the oblique distance from the base of the shortest caudal ray to the distal tip of the lon- gest dorsal caudal ray. Abbreviations are as follows: Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS); Western Austalian Museum, Perth (WAM); standard length (SL); total length (TL); head length (HL). 83 Lepidoperca filamenta sp. nov. Anthias pulchellus pulchellus Glover & Branden, 1978: 57, fig. 3, South Australia, off Port Lincoln (not Waite). Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, west of Eucla, Great Australian Bight (32°20'S, 128°00’E), trawled 128-200 m depth, F.LV. “Endeavour”, Mar 1912, AMS 1.12339 (116.4 mm SL, 165.5 mm TL). Paratypes: Western Australia, type locality, 14 specimens: AMS E.2356 (129.0 mm), AMS E.2357 (134.5 mm); AMS E.2358 (128.5 mm), AMS E.2359 (127.4 mm), AMS E.2360 (128.0 mm), AMS E.2361 (128.0 mm), AMS 1.12335 (126.5 mm), AMS 1.12336 (124.8 mm), AMS 1.12337 (133.0 mm), AMS 1.12338 (132.1 mm), AMS 1.12340 (119.0 mm). Between Cape Naturaliste and Geraldton, trawled 137-220 m depth, ELV. “Endeavour”, 1912, AMS E.2489 (103.0 mm). c. 150 km south-west of Eucla, Great Australian Bight (33°17'S, 128°32’E), trawled, depth unknown, F.V. “Orsino”, 21 Apr 1978 WAM P.26804-001 (106.9-127.4 mm). Diagnosis. Dorsal fin rays X,16-17 (X,17 in holo- type); anal fin rays HI, 8; pectoral fin rays 15; pored lateral line scales 39-43 (41); upper trans- verse scale rows 4, lower transverse scale rows 12- 14 (14); gill rakers 9-10+24-27=33-37 (9+26=35). Upper jaw length 2.08-2.43 (2.08) in HL; maxilla reaching to below middle of pupil. Caudal fin lunate, its dorsal lobe 0.83-1.10 (0.83) in HL. Pelvic fin long, 2.44-2.90 (2.66) in SL. Basal part of spinous dorsal fin scaled; axil of pectoral fin scaled. Large, dark blotch on anterior of soft dorsal fin; a small dark blotch at centre of pectoral fin and on anterior of soft anal fin. Etymology. From the latin filum (thread) and - 84 C. D. ROBERTS mentum (forming) refering to the long filamen- tous rays of the caudal fin lobes. Distribution. Coastal waters of southern and south-west Australia at depths of 128-220 m. Remarks. Lepidoperca filamenta can be distin- guished from its congeners, except L. pulchella and L. occidentalis Whitley, by a large dark blotch on the anterior base of the soft dorsal fin and a lunate caudal fin. Lepidoperca filamenta is morphologically closest to L. pulchella Waite, but differs from it in having a lower number of scales in upper trans- verse series (4 cf. 5), longer caudal fin (dorsal lobe 0.83-1.10 cf. 1.17-1.41 in HL), and a small dark blotch at the centre of anal and pectoral fins (cf. absent). In addition, modal differences are found in the following characters: pored lateral line scales (39-43 cf. 42-45), gill rakers on lower arch (24-27 cf. 26-30), bony orbit diameter (2.40-3.02 cf. 2.60-3.54 in HL), upper jaw length (2.18-2.43 cf. 2.28-2.54 in HL), longest anal soft ray (1.27- 1.74 cf. 1.68-2.48 in HL) and pelvic fin length (2.88-3.38 cf. 3.18-3.88 in SL). Lepidoperca filamenta differs from L. occiden- talis, the only other species in the genus recorded from south-western Australia, by a lower num- ber of tubed lateral line scales (39-43 cf. 44-48), greater body depth (2.29-2.58 cf. 3.18-3.95 in SL), spinous dorsal fin scaled basally (cf. naked), and a dark blotch extending between basal part of an- terior 5-7 soft dorsal fin rays (cf. extending be- tween tips of anterior 3 soft dorsal fin rays). Both species differ from others in the genus by having a lunate caudal fin. Acknowledgements I thank John Paxton (AMS) and Barry Hutchins (WAM) for the loan of specimens in their care. The manuscript was read by Chris Paulin (Na- tional Museum of New Zealand). References Glover, C.J.M. and Branden, K.L., 1978. New fish records from South Australia. S. Aust. Naturalist 52(4): 55-60. Hubbs, C.L. and Lagler, K.F., 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes Region. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor. 213 pp. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 85-87 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 20. A NEW SPECIES OF APLODACTYLUS (APLODACTYLIDAE) By BARRY C. RUSSELL Division of Natural Sciences, Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, PO Box 4646, Darwin, NT 5794, Australia Abstract Russell, B.C., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 20. A new species of Aplodactylus (Aplodactyl- idae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 85-87. Aplodactylus westralis sp. nov., from south-western Australia, is described. It is separable from other species of Aplodactylus by the following combination of characters: lanceolate teeth, dis- tinctly convex interorbital space, obtuse head profile, and recticulate pattern of pale markings on the body and fins. Introduction The family Aplodactylidae presently contains four species belonging to two nominal genera: Crinodus lophodon (Günther) from New South Wales; Aplodactylus arctidens Richardson from New Zealand, Victoria, South Australia and Tas- mania; A. etheridgii (Ogilby) from north-eastern New Zealand, Kermadec Islands, Lord Howe Is- land, Norfolk Island, New South Wales and Vic- toria; and A. punctatus (Valenciennes) from Chile and Peru. An additional species, Aplodactylus westralis sp. nov., collected from south-western Australia is described herein. In the following description, morphological values for the holotype are presented first and ranges for the paratypes follow in parentheses. Type specimens are deposited in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS) and the Western Aus- tralian Museum, Perth (WAM). Aplodactylus westralis sp. nov. Figure 1 Crinodus lophodon.-Mees, 1960: 16 (non Gunther). Dactylosargus arctidens.-Hutchins, 1979: 62, 97, pl. 47 (non Richardson). > Dactylosargus sp--Hutchins & Thompson, 1983: 48, 83, fig. 216. Aplodactylus sp. Hutchins & Swainston, 1986: 78, 135, fig. 414. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, Canal Rocks, Cape Naturaliste (33°40'S, 115°00E), speared by B.C. Russell, 1 Apr 1978, AMS 1.20233-012 (325 mm SL). 85 Paratypes (5 specimens): Western Australia, Wilsons Inlet (35°00'S, 117°20’E), B.J. Allen, 31 Dec 1959, WAM P4728- 001 (235 mm SL); Cheynes Beach (34%35'S, 118°46E), P. Ewers, May 1972, WAM P21799-001 (300 mm SL); Bussel- ton (33°39S, 115%00'E), netted by J.S. Blue, Nov 1963, WAM P5877-001 (530 mm SL); Geographe Bay (33°37'S, 115°18’E), speared Sep 1977, WAM P25931-001 (347 mm SL); Freman- tle (32°03'S, 115944'E), handlined, Sep 1977, WAM P25930- 001 (335.2 mm SL). Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays XVII1,18 (XVII, 18- XVIII,19); anal-fin rays 111,7; pectoral-fin rays 1,14 (1,13-14); lateral-line scales 96 (92-100); gill rakers 6+15 (7-9+14-18); vertebrae 16+18; epipleural ribs on first 13 (11) vertebrate, Body elongate, greatest depth 3.9 (3.7-4.7) in SL; greatest width 5.7 (5.4-7.6) in SL; head length 4.4 (4.3-4.5) in SL; snout short, 2.7 (2.6-2.8) in head; dorsal profile of head obtusely angled in front of eye, snout and nape subtending an angle of about 135°; orbital diameter 5.9 (4.8-6.5) in head; interorbital space convex medially, least width of interorbital 4.2 (3.6-4.5) in head; least depth of caudal peduncle 1.9 (1.9-2.4) in head; peduncle length 2.3 (2.0-2.6) in head; base of dor- sal fin long, with elongate notch between spinous and soft parts of fin, basal length of soft dorsal fin 1.3 (1.2-1.4) in length of spinous part; anal fin short, basal length 2.0 (2.0-2.5) in head; pectoral-fin length 1.1 (1.1-1.2) in head, ven- tralmost 6 (5-6) rays simple, fleshy; pelvic-fin length 1.3 (1.3-1.5) in head, rays fleshy. Mouth small, somewhat ventral on head; lips fleshy, upper lip projecting, maxilla reaching a 86 B. C, RUSSELL Fig. 1. Aplodactylus westralis sp. nov., holotype, 325 mm SL, AMS 1.20233-012. vertical through posterior nostril; teeth small, lan- ceolate, in 5-6 rows in jaws, outermost row of teeth largest; tiny crescent-shaped patch of vomerine teeth; two pair of nostrils, anterior pair with fleshy tentaculate flaps on anteroventral margin and posteroventral margin; opercle with broad flat spine which does not extend to the fleshy margin; scales small, cycloid, embedded, extending onto cheeks and opercles, and form- ing a sheath along base of spinous dorsal fin. Colour when fresh: body brown or slatey-grey, with 6 dark saddles above lateral line, these giv- ing way below to irregular bars that extend to ven- tral midline; interspaces between saddles and bars pale brown or whitish (some specimens with in- terspaces reduced or coalesced to form pale mot- tles); numerous pale brown or whitish spots, about diameter of pupil, mostly on head and un- paired fins. Pattern on body fades quickly on capture, and colour in alcohol is dark brownish with paler mottling and spots. Some specimens with black blotch on opercle near posterodorsal margin. Distribution. Western Australia, from Rottnest Is- land to Twilight Cove, Great Australian Bight (B. Hutchins, pers. comm); South Australia, Sten- house Bay, York Peninsula (B. Hutchins, pers. comm). Common in weedy reef areas down to about 20 m. Etymology. Westralis, alluding to its distribution in south-western Australia. Remarks. Aplodactylus westralis has previously been misidentified in Western Australia as Crino- dus lophodon (Mees, 1960) and as Dactylosargus (= Aplodactylus) arctidens Hutchins, 1979). It closely resembles C. lophodon in colour pattern but the monotypic Crinodus is separable from species of Aplodactylus by its 2-3 rows of jaw teeth (versus 5-6 rows in Aplodactylus), its lack of vomerine teeth, and its larger scales (lateral- line scales 72-74, versus 80 in Aplodactylus). Other Australian species of Aplodactylus are readily distinguishable from A. westralis on the basis of colour pattern: 4. arctidens has a retic- ulate pattern of pale markings on the body and fins; while A. etheridgii has numerous small spots (less than diameter of pupil) over the entire body. A NEW SPECIES OF APLODACTYLUS 87 Aplodactylus westralis can also be separated from other Australian species of the genus in hav- ing lanceolate teeth (versus multicuspid in A. etheridgii, and tricuspid in A. arctidens), a dis- tinctly convex interorbital space (versus concave in A. etheridgii), and a distinctly obtuse head pro- file (versus more evenly rounded in A. arctidens). This species was illustrated in colour by Hut- chins (1979: pl. 47) and Hutchins and Swainson (1986). Hutchins and Thompson (1983: fig. 216). References Hutchins, B., 1979. 4 Guide to the Marine Fishes of Rott- nest Island. Creative Research: Perth. Hutchins, B. and Swainston, R., 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Swainston Publishing: Perth. Hutchins, B. and Thompson, M., 1983. The Marine and Es- tuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Western Aus- tralian Museum: Perth. Mees, G.F., 1960. Additions to the fish fauna of Western Aus- tralia-2. Fisheries Department, Western Australia, Fish- eries Bulletin 9(2): 13-21. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 48(1): 89-90 (1987) ISSN 0814-1827 NEW AUSTRALIAN FISHES. PART 21. A NEW SPECIES OF CENTROBERYX (BERYCIDAE) By T.SHIMIZU! AND J. B. HUTCHINS? 14-12, Komone 4-chome, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173, Japan 2Department of Ichthyology, Western Australian Museum, Francis St, Perth, Western Australia 6000 Abstract Shimizu, T. and Hutchins, J. B., 1987. New Australian fishes. Part 21. A new species of Cen- troberyx (Berycidae). Mem. Mus. Vict. 48: 89-90. Centroberyx australis is described as new from south-western Australian seas. It is distinguished from the closely related C. gerrardi (Giinther) by a higher lateral line count (39-41 vs 36-38), coarser body scales, different nostril configuration, and eye coloration (yellow ys red). Introduction Hutchins and Thompson (1983) illustrated a spe- cies of Centroberyx from south-western Austra- lia similar in general appearance to C. gerrardi (Günther), but differing in having a yellow rather than a red eye. This paper describes the species as new. The methods are those used by Hubbs and La- gler (1947). Material is lodged in the Western Aus- tralian Museum, Perth (WAM), Hokkaido University, Laboratory of Marine Zoology, Hokodate (HUMZ), and the National Science Museum, Tokyo (NSMT). Centroberyx australis sp. nov. Figure 1 Centroberyx species Hutchins & Thompson, 1983: 24, 77, fig. 83. Material examined. Holotype: Western Australia, off Ocean Reef (31°47'S, 115°20’E), K. Bentley, handline, 18 Sep 1982, WAM P.27720-001 (202 mm SL). Paratypes: Western Australia. 30-50 km off Ocean Reef, J.B. Hutchins, handline at 60-120 m, 30 Sep 1982, WAM P.27732-002 (3 specimens, 175-191 mm SL), NSMT-P 44392 (208 mm SL); off Ocean Reef, K. Bentley, handline at 90- 100 m, 16 May 1982, WAM P.27607-002 (2 specimens, 185- 209 mm SL); off Marmion (31°50'S, 15°20’E), K. Bentley, handline at 86 m, 18 Sep 1982, WAM P.28238-001 (201 mm SL); Great Australian Bight (33°16'S, 128°02'E), bottom trawl, 115 m, 24 Dec 1965, HUMZ 21044 (275 mm SL), 89 Description. Dorsal fin rays VI, 13-14; anal fin rays IV, 12-13; pectoral fin rays 13-15; pelvic fin rays I, 7; caudal fin rays iv, 1, 10, 9, 1, iv; bran- chiostegal rays 8; gill rakers 6-7/16-18; scale rows around caudal peduncle 18-19; lateral line scales 39-41; scales above lateral line 8-9; scales below lateral line 13-14; scales from pelvic base to anus 7-9; vertebrae 10/14. Body ovate, depth 46.0-49.7% SL; head large, length 38.8-41.3% SL; body com- pressed, width 45.6-49.3% SL. Snout length 23.4- 26.6% of head length, 60.8-72.6% of eye di- ameter. Upper jaw long, posterior end almost reaching postorbital margin, length 55.4-61.5% head length. Eye large, diameter 33.0-39.8% head length. Interorbital convex, width 19.5-26.9% head length. Caudal peduncle rather long, depth 33.4-35.3% head length. Pectoral fin long and triangular, length 73.9-77.2, and pelvic fin length 55.4-65.1, both % head length. Nostrils large and close together, distance separating them subequal to diameter of rim of anterior one posterior nos- tril without rim; small bony knob on rear mar- gin of anterior nostril. Body scales with long spinules on posterior margin, spinules on central portion more slender; scales across breast with short spinules; scales on dorsal and anal fin bases enlarged, forming a shallow scaly sheath; small scales extend on to caudal fin; axil of pectoral fin scaleless; pelvic fin with long axillary scale. V-shaped scales along pelvic fin base to anus, 90 T. SHIMIZU AND J. B. HUTCHINS Figure 1. Centroberyx australis, holotype, WAM P.27720-001, 202 mm SL. forming a sharp ventral ridge (each scale has a large central spinule on posterior margin). Scale pad present in two rows along dorsal midline, being more distinct anteriorly. Colour in life: Head and body reddish orange, more silvery ventrally; each scale row appearing as a whitish longitudinal line; spines and rays of all fins pale reddish orange (noticeably darker in caudal), spine tips white, fin membranes trans- parent; posterior margin of caudal fin transpar- ent; eye golden yellow, pupil black. Colour in ethanol: pale yellowish brown, more silvery on ventral half; eye yellowish to dusky. Distribution. Great Australian Bight to the Mui- ron Islands, off North West Cape, Western Australia. Etymology. From the Latin australis (southern) with reference to its distribution in southern Aus- tralian waters. Remarks. Centroberyx australis is closely related to C. gerrardi, with which it occurs sympatrically, differing in the higher lateral line count (39-41 vs 36-38), in the nostril configuration (in C. ger- rardi the nostrils are separated by a distance far greater than the diameter of the anterior nostril), in coloration (lacks the latter's prominent white stripe along the lateral line, and has a yellow eye vs a red one), in maximum size (32 cm vs 66 cm) and has coarser body scales. C. affinis (Gúnther) has a higher dorsal spine count (7 vs 6) and a red eye. In addition, the nostrils of C. affinis are con- siderably larger in size and almost touching one another. C. australis has never been collected at depths shallower than 50 m. It apparently occurs in schools off the bottom. References Hubbs, C.L. and Lagler, K.F., 1947. Fishes of the Great Lakes Region. Bull. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. 26: 1-186. Hutchins, J.B. and Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Es- tuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum: Perth. CONTENTS New Australian fishes. Part 1. Introduction. Mo, FoQGOMOITERO P R LOSE ¿Qu ee O A IS n Om Oa l New Australian fishes. Part 2. Four new species of Apogonidae DR AR e A a EEE RE O a O i a 3 New Australian fishes. Part 3. A new species of Pomacentrus (Pomacentridae) ARQUERO RIA A ON CN 9 New Australian fishes. Part 4. A new species of Steeneichthys (Plesiopidae) CORA Vo yqa Li o A EEE, ir, O SS pp 13 New Australian fishes. Part 5. A new species of Acanthurus (Acanthuridae) GR Re Allen CARAS. Ma PAVIA A man Ba A A AA PA 15 New Australian fishes. Part 6. New species of Lepidotrigla (Triglidae), Choerodon (Labridae) and Zebrias (Soleidiac) NA FORD Mo ERA A A E 17 New Australian fishes. Part 7. A new species of Choerodon (Labridae) MERA ZO MORIR RE ALBA miia a AAA A IO HER HERNE Vor, E AO 25 New Australian fishes. Part 8. A new species of Aulotrachichthys (Trachichthyidae) NEMEC QPO MN UNG alee Pis ISU TLOE nenn A A NE En AO 27 New Australian fishes. Part 9. A new species of Kathetostoma (Uranoscopidae) NEE GOIN ANA LAS N Wa A TN O 31 New Australian fishes. Part 10. A new genus and two new species of freshwater eleotridid fishes (Gobioidei) from the Kimberley region of Western Australia DIR AOS ANACO REACTOR ROA 35 New Australian fishes. Part 11. A new genus and species of eleotridid (Gobioidei) from southern Australia with a discussion of relationships IA TOES EAN LAI: REC ESOIOA N San l b. A A AN RS AT 43 New Australian fishes. Part 12, A new species of Eubalichthys (Monacanthidae) E A ECHT A A IA OEE A As a O A RER 51 New Australian fishes. Part 13. Two new species of Platycephalidae AON FE shots) A O O NE a s ss 53 New Australian fishes. Part 14. Two new species of Dasyatis (Dasyatididae) PERN LUSE NN es oe LOA A er er TE O I New Australian fishes. Part 15. New species of Trygonoptera and Urolophus (Urolophidae) PEASY INCE NN AS ASOMO Uist tn bet eat 6.5, IAS PE RE NS NN 63 New Australian fishes. Part 16. A new species of Crapatalus (Leptoscopidae) POR: LOSE ON Ge Oecd tO ad ck ok EEE as Le On O eee EEE 73 New Australian fishes. Part 17. New species of Gadella and Physiculus (Moridae) ge TN A te P QO C y e pp aW a A S LS R wl eR Uk oe 13 New Australian fishes. Part 18. A new species of Cocotropus (Aploactinidae) OO te A G rc ie BE PË an RT ehe 79 New Australian fishes. Part 19. A new species of Lepidoperca (Serranidae) AS ROBES. N ee re RE a td IRRE HEHE 83 New Australian fishes. Part 20. A new species of Aplodactylus (Aplodactylidae) BACA RUSSO ali k aa ve tog a PO A AO CARL EEE 85 New Australian fishes, Part 21. A new species of Centroberyx (Berycidae) D DULL ana: dB: UIC. ern eS A S AE ASS EE AI 89