This study redescribes Bregmaceros mcclellandi Thompson, 1840, based on one specimen (74.4 mm SL) from the Bay of Bengal and 66 specimens (30.0-84.7 mm SL) from Mumbai (Bombay), India, because the type specimens have apparently been lost. The present specimens are characterized by having black dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins and show the following morphology: caudal fin slightly forked; body chromatophores present mainly at the dorsal part; no scales on cheek; vertebrae 52-55 (13-15 ϩ 38-41); dorsal rays 52-59; anal rays 54-60; pectoral rays 18-20; caudal rays 27-31 (principal rays 14); transverse scales 14-15. In the 66 Mumbai specimens, it was confirmed that the distinctive black fin pigmentation developed sequentially with growth, with complete pigmentation first on the anterior lobe of the dorsal fin, then simultaneously on the posterior lobe of the dorsal fin, the caudal fin, and the pectoral fin, and last, on the anal fin. This species is known only from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Gulf of Thailand. A review of 16 nominal Bregmaceros species indicates that, besides B. mcclellandi, the distinctive dark fin pigmentation is found in B. atripinnis (Tickell), B. atlanticus Goode and Bean, B. japonicus Tanaka, and B. lanceolatus Shen. B. atripinnis is considered a junior synonym of B. mcclellandi, and the others are clearly distinct from B. mcclellandi. Comments are made on some of the characters to more fully characterize the species and for reference in future revisionary and phylogenetic studies.
Based on our reexamination of the 9 specimens including the neotype, Bregmaceros lanceolatus is recharacterized and diagnosed by the following combination of features: caudal fin rounded; scales present on gill cover; dorsal surface of snout unpigmented or with a few chromatophores; isthmus pigmented with punctate chromatophores; two parapophyses on abdominal vertebrae; dorsal rays (D) 65-74; anal rays (A) 67-74; vertebrae (V) 58-61; longitudinal scales (LS) ca. 82-88; principal caudal rays (PC) 16-18; head length (HL)/standard length (SL) 14.0-15.5%; caudal peduncle depth/SL 3.2-4.2%. Based on 27 specimens, B. pseudolanceolatus sp. nov. is described. This species is closely similar to B. lanceolatus, but is diagnosed by the following combination of features: caudal fin rounded; scales present on gill cover; dense concentration of chromatophores on dorsal surface of snout; isthmus colorless; one board-like parapophysis on the last three abdominal vertebrae; D 58-64; A 58-67; V 52-55; LS ca. 68-77; PC 14-16; HL 15.5-18.4% SL; caudal peduncle depth 4.1-5.2% SL. Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus is known from around the Taiwan Strait, southern East China Sea, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, and eastern Bay of Bengal.Key words Bregmacerotidae · Morphology · Bregmaceros lanceolatus · Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus sp. nov. not been described in most nominal species inclusive of B. lanceolatus. During a survey of those characters, we examined the B. lanceolatus specimens referred to by Shen and Wang (1991) and found them to comprise two distinct species, one being B. lanceolatus sensu stricto and the other a similar, but distinct, undescribed species. We have located other specimens of the undescribed species from the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, and the eastern Bay of Bengal. In this article, the morphology of B. lanceolatus is reviewed and updated, and the new species is described as Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus.
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