New Records of the Fish Genus Grammatonotus (Teleostei: Perciformes: Percoidei: Callanthiidae) from the Central Pacific, Including a Spectacular Species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

A second species of Grammatonotzts from the Hawaiian Islands, tentatively identified as G. macrophthalmus Katayama, Yamamoto & Yamakawa (Callanthiidae), is recorded from French Frigate Shoals and the Northampton Seamount based on observations from a research submersible. In the absence of collected specimens, identification was made by comparing characters visible in video images with previously published images and descriptions. The fish were observed from 340 to 440 m at or near rocky habitats with crevices. All of the observations were near current-swept areas that supported gold coral (Gerardia sp.) colonies, although the fish were never seen within the colonies. A habitat feature important for both Grammatonotus and Gerardia, such as current or planktonic food supply, may therefore influence distribution of the fish. Extensive fish surveys conducted in comparable depths at other areas of the archipelago have not encountered this species, with one poorly documented exception from trawling surveys. Two other range extensions of Grammatonotzts are included herein: Grammatonotzts laysanus Gilbert from the Line Islands with a specimen collected at Christmas Island at 274 m and an unidentified Grammatonotzts juvenile from the Tuamotu Archipelago at 705 m. Our examination of specimens and review of previous records of Grammatonotus indicate that this genus needs taxonomic revision.THE FISH FAUNA of the Hawaiian Islands is better known than that of any other Pacific island group. Despite this, species previously unrecorded from these Islands continue to be found. Many of these are small and/or deepwater species from poorly sampled habitats. In this paper, we document spectacularly col-

Diversity of deep-sea fishes of the Easter Island Ecoregion

“…The potential new species of Grammatonotus was observed at 277-281 m, where the habitat was rocky with an abundance of crevices in which the individuals would hide when the ROV approached. This habitat and depth range, the overall body and fin shape, and the relative size of the eyes are consistent with other species in this genus; however, genus-level diagnostic characters require specimens to be collected and this genus is believed to need taxonomic revision (Mundy and Parrish, 2004). Due to the scarcity of specimens and observations of species in this genus, living color of many species are unknown and new species reports have been made from comparisons of video observations to published descriptions and images (Mundy and Parrish, 2004;Prokofiev, 2006Prokofiev, , 2015.…”

“…This habitat and depth range, the overall body and fin shape, and the relative size of the eyes are consistent with other species in this genus; however, genus-level diagnostic characters require specimens to be collected and this genus is believed to need taxonomic revision (Mundy and Parrish, 2004). Due to the scarcity of specimens and observations of species in this genus, living color of many species are unknown and new species reports have been made from comparisons of video observations to published descriptions and images (Mundy and Parrish, 2004;Prokofiev, 2006Prokofiev, , 2015. Other species are known to have yellowish bodies and pink, blue, and /or lavender fins or markings; however, none of the reported color patterns are consistent with the individuals we observed (Katayama et al, 1982;Mundy and Parrish, 2004;Prokofiev, 2006Prokofiev, , 2015.…”

“…Due to the scarcity of specimens and observations of species in this genus, living color of many species are unknown and new species reports have been made from comparisons of video observations to published descriptions and images (Mundy and Parrish, 2004;Prokofiev, 2006Prokofiev, , 2015. Other species are known to have yellowish bodies and pink, blue, and /or lavender fins or markings; however, none of the reported color patterns are consistent with the individuals we observed (Katayama et al, 1982;Mundy and Parrish, 2004;Prokofiev, 2006Prokofiev, , 2015. This species has a bright yellow body and bright purple fins, with outer rays of the caudal fin produced into filaments.…”

Sailing through Time: A Historical Examination of the Explorations and Expeditions of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

“…To date, HURL has performed a total of 256 dives across the NWHI to depths exceeding 2000 m (Figure 4), and supported a myriad of research efforts. These recent HURL explorations have greatly enhanced our understanding on the deep-sea in the NWHI, by providing new information on the (1) physical habitat features and maps of the region (Evans et al, 2004;Miller et al, 2004;Miller et al, 2006;Smith and Kelley 2010), (2) foraging behavior and habitat use of Hawaiian monk seals (Parrish et al, 2002;Parrish 2009;Parrish et al, 2011), (3) bottomfish and other deep-sea fish assemblages (Kelley et al, 2004;Mundy and Parrish 2004;Kelley and Ikehara 2006;Parrish 2006), (4) scavenger communities on submarine canyons ; (5) taxonomy, systematics and biology of deep-sea corals (Cairns, 2005(Cairns, , 2009(Cairns, , 2010Parrish 2006;Roark et al, 2006;Baco 2007;Parrish and Baco 2007;Waller and Baco 2007;Cairns and Bayer 2008;Parrish and Roark 2009;Baco and Cairns 2012), and (6) geology and geomorphology of the region (Rooney et al, 2008, and references therein). Despite these important discoveries, the Monument's waters below standard SCUBA diving depths (>30 m) still remain poorly surveyed and documented, representing an enormous opportunity for future scientific research in a system that is largely undisturbed from human perturbations.…”