Helcogramma striata Hansen, 1986

Tashiro, Satokuni & Motomura, Hiroyuki, 2014, The Validity of Helcogramma ishigakiensis (Aoyagi, 1954) and a Synopsis of Species of Helcogramma from the Ryukyu Islands, Southern Japan (Perciformes: Tripterygiidae), Species Diversity 19, pp. 97-110 : 108-109

Helcogramma striata Hansen, 1986

[Standard Japanese name: Tatejima-hebigimpo] ( Figs 5I–J , 6E ; Table 2)

Helcogramma striata Hansen, 1986: 350 , fig. 18 (type locality: Miyake-jima island, Izu Islands, Japan; paratypes from Tokomasari Reef, Okinawa-jima island, Ryukyu Islands); Aizawa 1997: 559, unnumbered fig. (Iriomote-jima island, Ryukyu Islands); Hayashi 2000: 945 (south of Amami-oshima island, Ryukyu Islands); Sakai et al. 2005: 10 (Nakano-shima island, Ryukyu Islands); Watai et al. 2009: 129 (Tokashiki-jima island, Ryukyu Islands); Motomura et al. 2010: 189, fig. 437 (Yaku-shima island, Ryukyu Islands); Tashiro 2013: 297, unnumbered figs (Iou-jima and Take-shima islands, Ryukyu Islands).

Helcogramma striatum: Fricke 1997: 481 , fig. 98 (Ryukyu Islands); Senou et al. 2006: 84 (Ie-jima island, Ryukyu Islands); Senou et al. 2007: 64 (Miyako-jima island, Ryukyu Islands); Hayashi 2013: 1281, unnumbered fig. (Yakushima island and south of Amami-oshima island in the Ryukyu Islands).

Material examined. 29 specimens, 11.4–38.5 mm SL, from the Ryukyu Islands . TAKE-SHIMA ISLAND: KAUM –I . 29720, male, 18.9 mm SL, KAUM –I. 29721, 11.4 mm SL, off south coast of Ombozaki, 30°48′32″N, 130°24′33″E, 5–40 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 29 May 2010; KAUM –I . 30110, male, 37.1 mm SL, KAUM –I. 30111, male, 31.2 mm SL, KAUM –I. 30112, female, 20.3 mm SL, KAUM –I. 30113, male, 14.8 mm SL, off south coast of Ombozaki, 30°48′32″N, 130°24′33″E, 5–40 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 27 May 2010; KAUM –I . 37748, male, 38.5 mm SL, KAUM –I. 37749, male, 36.7 mm SL, KAUM –I. 37750, male, 35.8 mm SL, KAUM –I. 37751, 2 males, 30.7– 38.5 mm SL, 2 females, 28.8–29.3 mm SL, Take-shima Port, 30°48′59″N, 130°25′06″E, 3–5 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 11 May 2011 . IOU-JIMA ISLAND: KAUM –I . 29515, female, 33.5 mm SL, KAUM –I. 29516, male, 20.8 mm SL, off south coast, 30°46′32″N, 130°16′43″E, 10–60 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 25 May 2010; KAUM –I . 30049, male, 13.6 mm SL, off west coast, 30°47′04″N, 130°15′42″E, 5–20 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 28 May 2010; KAUM –I . 31713, male, 27.6 mm SL, KAUM –I. 31714, male, 25.7 mm SL, off west coast, 30°47′04″N, 130°15′42″E, 10–15 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 14 August 2010 . YAKU-SHIMA ISLAND: KAUM –I . 20174, male, 20.4 mm SL, tide pool at west side Yudomari Port, 30°13′58″N, 130°28′19″E, 0–3 m depth, KAUM Fish Team , 29 October 2008 . NAKANO- SHIMA ISLAND: KAUM –I. 63256, male, 24.4 mm SL, KAUM –I. 63289, female, 21.7 mm SL, KAUM –I. 63290, male, 20.1 mm SL, KAUM –I. 63291, male, 13.8 mm SL, Nakano-shima Port, 29°50′14″N, 129°50′56″E, 17–19 m depth, S. Tashiro et al., 30 August 2014; KAUM –I . 63265, male, 23.6 mm SL, south side of Nakano-shima Port, 29°50′13″N, 129°51′03″E, 5 m depth, S. Tashiro et al., 2 September 2014. AMAMI-OSHIMA ISLAND: YCM –P 26162, male, 25.5 mm SL, Sakinome , Setouchi, Amami Fish Team, 27 August 1991 . IE-JIMA ISLAND: KPM-NI 4110 , male, 34.7 mm SL, east of Nakanose , T . Nomura, 28 July 1997; KPM-NI 27124 , male, 26.2 mm SL, male, 36.9 mm SL, Nakanose , T . Nomura, 24 October 2010. TOKASHIKI-JIMA ISLAND: KPM-NI 22043 , female, 35.4 mm SL, off Tokashiku Beach , H . Gunji, 10 March . 2004; KPM-NI 22057 ,

female, 33.6 mm SL, off Tokashiku Beach, A. Murase, 10 March 2004.

Diagnosis. A species of Helcogramma with the following combination of characters: 13–15 (modally 14) second dorsal-fin spines; 3–4+2+3–4 mandibular pores; anterior nostril tentacle unbranched; orbital tentacle absent; nape scaled; three longitudinal stripes running from snout to caudal peduncle; row of 6 or 7 spots between middle and ventral stripes.

Distribution. Helcogramma striata is distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, where it ranges from Japan to Australia and from the Andaman Sea to Fiji and the Line Islands ( Hansen 1986; Fricke 1997; Holleman 2007). In Japan, this species occurs from Shizuoka Prefecture to the Ryukyu Islands, where it was collected from Take-shima, Iou-jima, Yaku-shima, Nakano-shima, Amami-oshima, Ie-jima, and Tokashiki-jima islands during the present study and had been recorded previously from Nakano-shima ( Sakai et al. 2005), Okinawa-jima ( Hansen 1986), Miyako-jima ( Senou et al. 2007), and Iriomote-jima ( Aizawa 1997) islands. It was also confirmed from Yonaguni-jima island (KPM-NR 12127) based on underwater photographs. Helcogramma striata usually inhabits the upper surface of rocks or corals, at depths of 3– 20 m.

Remarks. Helcogramma striata is similar to H. maldivensis Fricke and Randall, 1992 in coloration and in lacking both the orbital tentacle and scales on the nape anterior to the dorsal fin. Helcogramma striata can be easily distinguished from H. maldivensis by its having usually 14 second dorsal-fin spines (vs usually 13 in H. maldivensis ) and three longitudinal stripes in both sexes (vs three dotted lines). Mature males of H. striata have a dark-reddish body whereas females have a pale red body with a pale yellow area below the lowermost stripe.

Figures

Fig. 5. Color photographs of fresh (A, C–J) and preserved (B) specimens of Helcogramma in the Ryukyu Islands. Helcogramma aquila, A, HMNH-P 9144, male, 35.0mm SL, B, HMNH-P 4409, female, 32.5mm SL; H. fuscipectoris, C, KAUM–I. 63398, male, 22.6mm SL, D, KAUM–I. 63399, female, 24.2mm SL; H. inclinata, E, KAUM–I. 29669, male, 42.5mm SL, F, KAUM–I. 30625, female, 49.2mm SL; H. rhinoceros, G, KAUM–I. 51381, male, 27.2mm SL; H, KAUM–I. 63467, female, 29.4mm SL; H. striata, I, KAUM–I. 37748, male, 38.5mm SL, J, KAUM–I. 29515, female, 33.5mm SL.

Fig. 6. Mandibular sensory pore system of species of Helcogramma in the Ryukyu Islands. A, Helcogramma aquila (HMNH-P 9148, male, 34.4mm SL); B, H. fuscipectoris (KAUM–I. 24444, male, 28.7mm SL); C, H. inclinata (KAUM–I. 6522, male, 50.9mm SL); D. H. ishigakiensis (KAUM–I. 17519, male, 50.0mm SL); E, H. rhinoceros (KAUM–I. 32332, male, 26.9mm SL); F, H. striata (KAUM–I. 30110, male, 37.1mm SL). Scale bars 2mm.