Chelidoperca stella, a new species of perchlet (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the Andaman Sea, eastern Indian Ocean

Abstract

A new species of serranid fish, Chelidoperca stella, is described on the basis of five specimens from the Andaman Sea in the eastern Indian Ocean. The species can be readily distinguished from all valid congeners by having fewer pored lateral-line scales (34 or 35 vs. 40-45 in the latter) and the pelvic fin white with several small yellow spots (vs. spots absent). The species is also characterized by having relatively high counts of small serrae on the posterior margins of the preopercle (33-43 serrae), interopercle (7-10) and subopercle (18-28), despite the small body size (51.7-61.8 mm SL). Although Chelidoperca stella resembles C. margaritifera in having 2.5 scale rows between lateral line and the sixth dorsal-fin spine base, a relatively wider interorbital region, and the interorbital scales not reaching a vertical through the orbit anterior margin, but differs by having the above-mentioned diagnostic characters plus a slightly shorter longest anal-fin soft ray [17.4-18.7 (mean 18.1) % SL vs. 22.6-26.4 (24.4) % SL in C. margaritifera].

Records of <i>Chelidoperca maculicauda</i> and <i>C. occipitalis</i> (Serranidae) from the Arabian Sea, with Comments on Diagnostic Characters

“…As noted by Bineesh et al (2013), C. maculicauda possesses unique caudal fin markings: 1 or 2 dark spots (grey in fresh condition; Bineesh et al 2013) on the upper lobe and several rows of numerous small, semi-translucent spots (bluish-white in fresh condition; Bineesh et al 2013), while congeners lack this combination of markings (Bineesh et al 2014;Williams and Carpenter 2015;Matsunuma and Motomura 2016;this study). Chelidoperca maculicauda is also distinguished from its congeners in having the upper caudal fin lobe expanded posteriorly with a well-rounded contour, in contrast to a truncated fin with the upper lobe elongated and pointed in other species (Alcock 1894: pl.…”

“…Counts and measurements follow Williams and Carpenter (2015) and Matsunuma and Motomura (2016), with the following additions: upper caudal-peduncle length-the direct distance from the last dorsal-fin soft ray base to the mid-point of the caudal-fin base; and circumpeduncular scales-the total number of transverse scale rows around the narrowest portion of the caudal peduncle. The last two soft rays of the dorsal and anal fins were counted as single rays, each pair being associated with a single pterygiophore.…”

“…The dorsal-most scale in the transverse row beneath the dorsal-fin spine base was much smaller than the lower adjacent scales (about half their size) and was counted as 0.5. Counts of preopercular, interopercular, subopercular, and posttemporal serrae follow Matsunuma and Motomura (2016). Counts and measurements were made on the left side wherever possible, except for counts of the pectoralfin rays and head serrae (counted on both sides).…”

“…The Indo-West Pacific serranid fish genus Chelidoperca Boulenger, 1895 comprises small, bottom-dwelling fishes usually collected in benthic trawls. The genus includes nine nominal species, all currently recognized as valid (Bineesh et al 2013;Williams and Carpenter 2015;Matsunuma and Motomura 2016): C. hirundinacea (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831), C. pleurospilus (Günther, 1880), C. investigatoris (Alcock, 1890), C. margaritifera Weber, 1913, C. occipitalis Kotthaus, 1973, C. lecromi Fourmanoir, 1982 Bineesh and Akhilesh in Bineesh et al, 2013, C. santosi Williams andCarpenter, 2015, andC. stella Matsunuma andMotomura, 2016.…”

“…The genus includes nine nominal species, all currently recognized as valid (Bineesh et al 2013;Williams and Carpenter 2015;Matsunuma and Motomura 2016): C. hirundinacea (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831), C. pleurospilus (Günther, 1880), C. investigatoris (Alcock, 1890), C. margaritifera Weber, 1913, C. occipitalis Kotthaus, 1973, C. lecromi Fourmanoir, 1982 Bineesh and Akhilesh in Bineesh et al, 2013, C. santosi Williams andCarpenter, 2015, andC. stella Matsunuma andMotomura, 2016. Among these, C. maculicauda was originally described by Bineesh et al (2013) on the basis of three specimens collected off Kollam, southwest coast of India facing the eastern Arabian Sea, but has not been recorded since.…”