Alloblennius frondiculus, Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Allen, Gerald R., 2012

Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Allen, Gerald R., 2012, Alloblennius frondiculus, a new species of blenny from the Andaman Islands (Teleostei: Blenniidae: Salariini), Zootaxa 3199, pp. 60-65 : 62-65

Alloblennius frondiculus new species

Figures 1‒3 , Table 2.

Holotype. WAM P.33265-004, 23.8 mm SL (27.9 TL), female, Andaman Islands, South Cinque I., SW coast, 11°16'N, 92°41'E, 0–3 m, in strong turbulent area near shore with algal-covered rocks, Mark V. Erdmann and Mercy Paine, sta. AND-10-029, 2 April 2010.

Diagnosis. A species of Alloblennius with pinnately branched, supraorbital cirrus about equal eye diameter in height; small nape cirrus; lower jaws with relatively large, heavily pigmented labial flap on either side of chin; and innermost (third), segmented pelvic-fin ray obvious externally.

Description. Dorsal fin XII, 18, terminal ray bound by membrane to caudal peduncle. Anal fin II, 20, terminal ray bound by membrane to caudal peduncle. Caudal fin: segmented rays 13 (7+6), three dorsal most and three ventral most rays simple, other rays branched once; procurrent rays 5+5; ventral hypural plate and hypural 5 autogenous; epurals 2. Pectoral-fin rays 14. Pelvic fin I, 3; innermost ray readily apparent. Vertebrae: precaudal 10 + caudal 27. Posteriormost epineurals and pleural ribs on vertebra 11. Infraorbital bones 5 (dissected, right side only). Dentary and premaxillary incisiform teeth immovable or nearly so, numbering 20 total in lower jaw (no posterior canines) and 31 total in upper jaw. Lateral line tubular, continuous, with short, paired side branches each with a single pore (type B anterior pattern of Bath, 2004), and terminating below vertical between VII–VIII or VIII (right side) dorsal-fin spines. Median supratemporal commissural pores 16. Anterior (first) preopercular pore position with a vertical pair of pores. Upper lip with shallow free dorsal margin anteriorly. Lower lip incomplete, not continuous across chin, with relatively large labial flap on each side of chin. Gill membranes forming free fold across isthmus (gill opening not restricted to side of head).

Color pattern in preservation ( Fig. 1 ): Sides of body with six, evenly spaced, poorly defined bands that extend to base of dorsal fin and a dusky blotch on dorsal half of caudal peduncle; area between bands speckled with melanophores. Venter immaculate; pre-pectoral area and chest adjacent to and under gill membrane margin heavily pigmented. Head tan with pale spots and dark speckles and a wedge-shaped, broad bar extending from lower front corner of eye across middle of upper jaw (posterior third of jaw immaculate); head strongly mottled ventrally with lower jaws pale except for conspicuously dark labial flaps. Dorsal fin with submarginal black spot between first two spines; remainder of fin pale except some spines heavily pigmented and a few dark spots on segmented rays. Anal and pectoral fins pale except for some scattered dark spots on rays. Pelvic fin with middle third of inner two segmented rays brown. Caudal fin with three dusky bands.

Color in life ( Fig. 2 ): Sides of body with six evenly spaced, brown bands, weakly connected to olive saddles, including an olive blotch on dorsal half of caudal peduncle; remainder of sides pale olive becoming white ventrally with dense sprinkling of small white spots, replaced by irregular, double row of orange-brown spots ventrally. Head pale white to olive with a few irregular dusky blotches and a narrow, reddish postorbital bar. Dark bar, wider ventrally, extending from lower front corner of eye across middle of upper jaw; posterior end of upper jaw white. Iris yellow with about six reddish-orange bars radiating from pupil. Dorsal fin with black submarginal spot between first two spines, remainder of fin pale with scattered white spots and small brown spots or dashes centered on rays, forming diagonal rows posteriorly. Caudal fin mostly pale with several rows of brown bands alternating with narrower white spots on rays.

Characters frondiculus parvus pictus jugularis anuchalis

Maximum known size 23.8 mm SL 25.7 mm SL 32.6 mm SL 48.8 mm SL 32.9 mm SL

(N) (1) (37) (104) (50) (5) Eye with ring of spots absent, in life short present, at least in life; absent present absent at least dorsally bars radiate from pupil see Springer et al. well developed (1998, Figs. 5-6)

Pectoral fin with distinct yes no no no no small dark spots

Comparisons. All species of Alloblennius are briefly compared in Table 2. Some of this information was taken from Smith-Vaniz and Springer (1971), Springer and Spreitzer (1978) and Springer et al. (1998). These publications should be consulted for more detailed descriptions, especially of color patterns. Externally, the most obvious distinguishing feature of A. fondiculus is the relatively large, pinnately branched supraorbital cirrus, which in other species of Alloblennius is either absent or minute ( A. anuchalis ) or typically simple and short (occasionally absent in A. jugularis ). The new species is also exceptional in having only 20 total dentary teeth (27–29 in four A. anuchalis , 23.5–31.2 mm SL), each side of the lower lip terminating in a broad labial flap with the intervening space between the flaps relatively narrow (versus labial flaps scarcely developed and widely separated in other species of Alloblennius ), and the anterior (first) preopercular pore position with a vertical pair of pores (versus a single pore).

Habitat. The type locality was situated next to shore along a wave-exposed coast in 0–3 m depth. The bottom consisted of large algal-covered boulders in an area of very strong surge.

Etymology. From the Latin frondiculus (a small leaf) in reference to the shape of the orbital cirrus. The name is here treated as an appositional noun.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Alloblennius frondiculus, holotype (right side reversed) WAM P. 33265 - 004, 23.8 mm SL, female, Andaman Islands; insert is slightly enlarged ventral view of head. Photographs by S. R. Raredon.

FIGURE 2. Alloblennius frondiculus, holotype. Photograph by G. R. Allen.

FIGURE 3. Alloblennius frondiculus, holotype, showing cephalic sensory pores (lateral line pores not shown).