Aplodactylus westralis Russell, 1987

Russell, Barry C., 2000, Review of the southern temperate ® sh family Aplodactylidae (Pisces: Perciformes), Journal of Natural History 34 (11), pp. 2157-2171 : 2167-2169

Aplodactylus westralis Russell

(®gures 2, 6)

Crinodus lophodon: Mees, 1960: 16 (non GuÈnther).

Dactylosargus arctidens: Hutchins, 1979 ; 62, 97, pl. 47 (non Richardson).

Dactylosargus sp. : Hutchins and Thompson, 1983: 48, 83, ®gure 216.

Aplodactylus westralis Russell, 1987: 85 , ®gure 1 (type locality, south-western Australia).

Material examined. Six specimens. AustraliaÐWestern Australia, Cape Naturaliste, Canal Rocks, AMS I.20233-012, 325 mm (HOLOTYPE of Aplodactylus westralis ); Wilsons Inlet, WAM P.4728-001, 235 mm (PARATYPE of A. westralis ); Cheynes Beach, WAM P.21799-001, 300 mm (PARATYPE of A. westralis ); Busselton, WAM P.5877-001, 530 mm (PARATYPE of A. westralis ); Geographe Bay, WAM P.25931-001, 347 mm (PARATYPE of A. westralis ); Fremantle, WAM P.25930-001, 335.2 mm (PARATYPE of A. westralis ).

Description. Dorsal-®n rays XVII, 18±XVIII, 19; anal-®n rays III, 7; pectoral- ®n rays i, 13±14; lateral-line scales 92±100; gill rakers 6±9 1 14±18 5 21±25; vertebrae 16 1 18 5 34; epipleural ribs on ®rst 11±3 vertebrae.

Body elongate, greatest depth 3.7±4.7 in SL; greatest width 5.4±7.6 in SL; head length 4.3±4.5 in SL; snout short, 2.6±2.8 in head; dorsal pro®le of head obtusely angled in front of eye, snout and nape subtending an angle of about 135ss; orbital diameter 4.8±6.5 in head; interorbital space convex medially, least width of interorbital 3.6±4.5 in head; least depth of caudal peduncle 1.9±2.4 in head; peduncle length 2.0± 2.6 in head; base of dorsal ®n long, with elongate notch between spinous and soft parts of ®n, basal length of soft dorsal ® n 1.2 ±1.4 in length of spinous part; anal ®n short, basal length 2.0± 2.5 in head; pectoral ®n length 1.1±1.2 in head, ventral-most ®ve to six rays simple, ¯eshy; pelvic ®n length 1.3±1.5 in head, rays ¯eshy.

Mouth small, somewhat ventral on head; lips ¯eshy, upper lip projecting, maxilla reaching a vertical through posterior nostril; teeth small, lanceolate, in ®ve to six rows in jaws, outermost row of teeth largest; tiny crescent-shaped patch of vomerine teeth; two pairs of nostrils, anterior pair with ¯eshy tentaculate ¯aps on anteroventra l margin and posteroventral margin; opercle with broad ¯at spine which does not extend to the ¯eshy margin; scales small, cycloid, embedded, extending on to cheeks and opercles, and forming a sheath along base of spinous dorsal ®n.

Colour in alcohol. Dark brownish with paler mottling and spots. Some specimens with black blotch on opercle near posterodorsal margin.

Colour in life. Body brown or slatey grey, with six dark saddles above lateral line, these giving way below to irregular bars that extend to ventral midline; interspaces between saddles and bars pale brown or whitish (some specimens with interfaces reduced or coalesced to form pale mottles); numerous pale brown or whitish spots, about diameter of pupil, mostly on head and unpaired ®ns. Patterns on body fade quickly on capture (for colour illustration see Russell in Gomon et al., 1994; ®gure 565).

Distribution. Western Australia, from Rottnest Island to Twilight Cove, Great Australian Bight (J. B. Hutchins, personal communication); South Australia, Stenhouse Bay, York Peninsula (J. B. Hutchins, personal communication). Common in weedy reef areas down to about 20 m.

Remarks. Aplodactylus westralis has previously been misidenti®ed in Western Australia as Crinodus (5 Aplodactylus ) lophodon ( Mees, 1960) and as A. arctidens ( Hutchins, 1979) . Aplodactylus westralis closely resembles A. lophodon in colour pattern, but the latter is separable from other species of Aplodactylus by its lack of vomerine teeth and larger scales (lateral-line scales 72±82 versus 83±120). Other Australian species of Aplodactylus are readily distinguishable from A. westralis on the basis of colour pattern: A. arctidens has a reticulate pattern of pale markings on the body and ®ns; while A. etheridgii has numerous small spots (less than diameter of pupil) over the entire body. A. westralis can also be separated from other Australian species of Aplodactylus in having lanceolate teeth (versus tricuspid or multicuspid in A. etheridgii , tricuspid in A. arctidens and mainly tricuspid in A. lophodon ), a distinctly convex interorbital space (versus concave in A. etheridgii ), and a distinctly obtuse head pro®le (versus more evenly rounded in A. arctidens ).

This species was illustrated in colour by Hutchins (1979: pl. 47), Hutchins and Thompson (1983: ®gure 216) and Hutchins and Swainston (1986). Commonly known as Western seacarp.