Gerald R. Allen, Mark V.
Erdmann, and Muhammad Dailami
Abstract
A new species of labrid,
Cirrhilabrus marinda, is described from 29
type specimens, 17.4–45.9 mm SL, collected at Ayau
Atoll, West Papua Province, Indonesia and 7 non-type
specimens, 32.0–67.0 mm SL, from Halmahera, Indonesia
and the vicinity of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. The new
taxon is closely related to Cirrhilabrus condei
of Indonesia (West Papua), Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands, Coral Sea, and the northern Great Barrier
Reef, mainly differing in the shape and colouration
of the male dorsal fin. The spinous dorsal fin of
C. marinda is mostly black and noticeably taller
than the soft portion in comparison with C. condei,
which has a more uniform fin profile with black colouration
restricted to the outer fin margin. The population
of C. marinda from Ayau Atoll differs from
conspecific populations in other regions and from
C. condei in having an exceptionally small maximum
size of approximately 46 mm SL, with mature females
as small as 30.4 mm SL. The two species are broadly
sympatric, but do not share the same habitat; C.
marinda prefer deeper offshore sand habitats.
The barcode (COI) mitochondrial DNA sequences of the
new species are the same as C. condei, apparently
a case of phenotypic divergence outpacing changes
in mitochondrial genotype. As in other reported cases
of this phenomenon, the phenotypic differences are
in the male mating display, which would be expected
in the early stages of species divergence.
Full Paper can be downloaded from this link
No comments:
Post a Comment