Liopropoma lemniscatum Randall & Taylor 1988

Koeda, Keita, Senou, Hiroshi, Chang, Chih-Wei & Ho, Hsuan-Ching, 2019, Redescription of Liopropoma aragai (Teleostei: Serranidae), with two new confirmed records of species of Liopropoma from Taiwan, Zootaxa 4702 (1), pp. 60-72 : 60-72

Liopropoma lemniscatum Randall & Taylor 1988

Figures 3 C–H, 4; tables 2, 3

Liopropoma lemniscatum Randall & Taylor 1988:23 , fig. 5 (holotype).

Liopropoma aragai (not of Randall & Taylor): Lee 1990:65, fig. 84 (Hengchun); Shao et al. 1992:86, fig. C (Kenting); Shen et al. 1993:295 (in part, Hengchun); Shen & Wu 2011:384, unnumbered fig.; Chen et al. 2010:133, fig. I; Lin & Chang 2012:104, pl. 28; Chiang et al. 2014:94, second top fig. (eastern Taiwan).

Material examined. All collected from off Kenting, southern Taiwan: ASIZP 56030, 142.2 mm SL, purchased at Hengchun market, 11 Sep. 1986, coll. K.-T. Shao ; ASIZP 58439, 122.3 mm SL, purchased at Hengchun market, 15 August 1993, coll. P.-L. Lin ; NMMB-P 9624, 118.2 mm SL, purchased at Houbihu fishing port, 4 May 2008, coll. C.-W. Chang ; NMMB-P 9784, 143.8 mm SL, purchased at Houbihu fishing port, 31 Aug. 2008, coll. C.-W. Chang ; NMMB-P 16502, 152.3 mm SL, purchased at Hengchun market, 11 Oct. 2010, coll. H.-C. Ho ; NMMB-P 25930, 154.7 mm SL, purchased at Houbihu fishing port, 2016, coll. H.-C. Ho ; NMMB-P 26102, 118.2 mm SL, NMMB- P 26103, 115.2 mm SL, purchased at Houbihu fishing port, 9 May 2010, coll. C.-W. Chang ; NMMB-P 26091, 169.3 mm SL, NMMB-P 26092, 137.4 mm SL, purchased at Houbihu fishing port, 24 May 3027, coll. H.-C. Ho.

Description. Counts and measurements are given in Tables 2 , 3.

Body moderately elongate, compressed; depth of caudal peduncle slightly less than half body depth. Head pointed, dorsal profile nearly straight; snout length 3.4–4.2 in HL; orbit diameter 4.5–5.5 in HL; interorbital space slightly convex, least bony width 5.0– 5.9 in HL. Posterior margin of preopercle with slight irregular curve, not obviously serrate. Anterior nostril a thin membranous tube set directly in front of eye on edge of groove separating front of snout from upper lip; posterior nostril with a low fleshy rim, above center of eye. Mouth large, slightly oblique; lower jaw projecting; posterior margin of maxilla not reaching vertical through posterior margin of orbit; upper jaw length 2.1–2.3 in HL. Teeth villiform in bands, with up to 16 irregular rows anteriorly on jaws, gradually narrower; with about 6 rows in a broad V-shaped patch on vomer; with a long narrow band on palatine in 4 or 5 rows wide at broadest point. Tongue slender, broadly rounded anteriorly; lips smooth.

Lateral line highly arched over pectoral fin from middle to tip; highest point below base of fifth dorsal-fin spine. Head fully scaled, except around nostrils and large pores on snout; 13 diagonal rows of scales on cheek between orbit and corner of preopercle; small scales on basal one-third of second dorsal, anal and caudal fins.

Origin of dorsal fin above seventh pored lateral-line scale; first dorsal-fin spine slender, its base close to that of second spine; third spine of dorsal fin longest, its length 2.9–3.8 in HL; seventh spine clearly visible above middle of distinct scaly ridge between first and second dorsal fins; fifth soft ray of dorsal fin longest, its length 1.8–2.2 in HL. Origin of anal fin below base of third soft ray of dorsal fin; first spine of anal fin shorter than second and third spines, its length 3.3–3.7 in HL; second soft ray of anal fin longest, its length 1.8–2.1 in HL. Pectoral fin pointed, length 1.2–1.5 in HL; fifth ray longest, reaching vertical through base of first soft ray in dorsal fin. Origin of pelvic fin slightly anterior to upper base of pectoral fin; pelvic fin length 1.6–1.9 in HL. Caudal fin emarginate, lobes pointed.

Color when fresh. Body bright red to dark red dorsally, red to pink ventrally. A yellow stripe from front of upper lip through eye, across upper operculum, becoming dusky and broadening onto base of caudal fin (lower edge of stripe just including straight peduncular portion of lateral line). Upper edge of broad posterior part of maxilla yellow; a patchy yellow stripe narrower than main yellow stripe, running from cheek to anterior of pectoral-fin base, becoming faintly diffuse on abdomen and continuing to lower part of caudal fin base. A dark yellow dorsal stripe usually present in smaller individuals. Dorsal fin red, a broad yellow basal band on spinous portion and anteriorly on soft-ray portion of fin. Anal fin pink, anteriorly with a broad yellow submarginal band. Caudal fin light red becoming pink distally on central portion; upper and lower lobes broadly yellow (yellow of lower lobe continuous with yellow stripe of lower part of caudal peduncle); pectoral fins light red; pelvic fins pink. Iris purple with yellow band laterally thorough pupil.

Color when preserved. Body pale with a blackish stripe about half to three-fourths orbit diameter in width passing from posterior margin of orbit to base of caudal fin (lower edge of stripe just overlapping straight peduncular portion of lateral line) and continuing to center of caudal fin; upper half of body a little darker due to slightly dusky edges of scales; blackish freckles retained from abdomen to lower caudal peduncle. Fins pale, except for extension of lateral stripe onto caudal fin.

Distribution. Liopropoma lemniscatum has been recorded from Izu-oshima Island, Sagami Bay, Suruga Bay, southern Wakayama Prefecture, Amami-oshima and Okinawa islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago ( Japan) ( Randall & Taylor 1988; Senou 1997, 2013; Ikeda & Nakabo 2015), and southern Taiwan (present study).

Remarks. Most of the morphological characters of the specimens examined here agreed well with the diagnosis of L. lemniscatum given by Randall & Taylor (1988): dorsal fin continuous, all spines and rays connected above their bases by membranes; dorsal-fin soft rays 12; eighth dorsal-fin spine longer than sixth and seventh; anal-fin soft rays 8; pectoral-fin rays 15–16 (usually 15); lateral-line scales 46–48; gill rakers 6 (upper) + 13 (lower); caudal fin deeply emarginate; head fully scaled; a dark stripe on body from upper end of gill opening nearly to center of caudal fin, lower end just overlapping lateral line on caudal peduncle.

Although L. lemniscatum has a broad dark lateral stripe on the body, similar to L. latifasciatum (Tanaka 1922) , the former is clearly distinguished from that species in having 12 dorsal-fin soft rays, 8 anal-fin soft rays, and the lower edge of the black stripe overlapping the straight peduncular portion of the lateral line (versus 13 dorsal-fin soft rays, 9 anal-fin soft rays, and the black stripe more elevated on the caudal peduncle, not overlapping the lateral line) ( Randall & Taylor 1988).

Liopropoma lemniscatum has been recorded only from Japanese waters, the southernmost record being Okinawa Island (26°10ʹN, 127°35ʹE) ( Randall & Taylor 1988; Senou 2013). Accordingly, the specimens collected from southern Taiwan represent the first record of L. lemniscatum in that region, extending the distribution range by ca. 800 km southwest into the South China Sea.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Preserved specimens of two species of genus Liopropoma from Taiwan. L. aragai: A: ASIZP 56826, 164.7 mm SL; B: NMMB-P9717, 116.7 mm SL; L. lemniscatum: C: ASIZP 56030, 142.2 mm SL; D: ASIZP 58439, 122.3 mm SL; E: NMMB-P9624, 118.2 mm SL; F: NMMB-P9784, 143.8 mm SL; G: NMMB-P16502, 152.3 mm SL; H: NMMB-P25930, 154.7 mm SL.

Tables

TABLE 3. Measurements (expressed as percentages of standard length) of three Liopropoma species from Japan and Taiwan (means in parentheses).

		L. aragai		L. lemniscatum	L. lunulatum
	n = 2	n = 3	Holotype	n = 10	n = 1
	Taiwan	Japan	Japan	Taiwan	Taiwan
Standard length	116.7–164.7	133.3–161.9	132.6	115.2–169.3	114.9
Body depth	33.8–33.9 (33.8)	32.9–34.1 (33.3)	31.0	31.2–34.4 (32.8)	30.5
Body width	16.5–17.1 (16.8)	17.0–18.5 (17.7)	14.2	14.3–18.8 (16.6)	15.2
Head length	39.0–41.0 (40.0)	38.1–40.5 (39.5)	39.0	37.5–40.8 (39.3)	39.4
Snout length	10.2–11.3 (10.7)	10.5–11.7 (11.2)	9.9	9.6–11.7 (10.3)	10.6
Orbit diameter	8.2–8.5 (8.3)	7.4–8.6 (8.1)	8.3	7.3–8.8 (8.1)	8.9
Bony interorbital width	6.9–8.1 (7.5)	6.1–6.5 (6.3)	7.3	6.8–7.7 (7.2)	6.1
Upper-jaw length	16.8–18.1 (17.5)	17.5–18.6 (18.1)	18.0	17.3–18.2 (17.5)	17.3
Caudal-peduncle depth	15.3–16.8 (16.1)	16.7–17.6 (17.1)	16.1	16.1–19.4 (16.9)	16.2
Caudal-peduncle length	18.4–20.3 (19.3)	16.9–18.2 (17.5)	18.3	16.4–20.6 (19.0)	20.8
Pre-dorsal-fin length	42.7–45.3 (44.0)	43.5–46.3 (44.7)	46.3	42.6–45.5 (43.9)	43.4
Pre-anal-fin length	68.7–71.9 (70.3)	69.8–72.0 (71.1)	68.6	67.4–71.2 (69.8)	73.5
Pre-pelvic-fin length	38.3–40.5 (39.4)	38.7–39.2 (39.0)	36.0	37.5–42.5 (38.3)	43.8
Length of dorsal-fin base	38.2–38.4 (38.3)	38.7–39.9 (39.4)	39.1	36.1–39.4 (38.3)	36.9
Length of 1st dorsal-fin spine	4.2–4.6 (4.4)	4.2–4.6 (4.4)	3.2	3.2–5.5 (4.1)	4.9
Length of 2nd dorsal-fin spine	9.5–11.8 (10.6)	11.0–11.8 (11.4)	13.7	10.2–12.8 (11.1)	11.9
Length of 3rd dorsal-fin spine	11.4–12.0 (11.7)	12.3–13.2 (12.6)	14.9	11.3–13.5 (12.4)	13.2
Length of 6th dorsal-fin spine	4.5–5.4 (4.9)	5.1–5.7 (5.4)	5.5	4.6–6.3 (5.3)	2.8
Length of 8th dorsal-fin spine	6.0–7.7 (6.9)	6.6–7.4 (7.1)	8.6	5.5–8.0 (7.1)	6.2
Length of longest dorsal-fin ray	20.4–21.0 (20.7)	19.8–22.9 (20.9)	19.2	18.9–21.0 (20.3)	19.4
Length of anal-fin base	13.2–13.5 (13.3)	13.7–15.4 (14.5)	12.1	12.7–14.9 (14.3)	12.1
Length of 1st anal-fin spine	3.2–4.3 (3.8)	4.6–5.0 (4.8)	4.6	3.4–5.7 (4.5)	4.1
Length of 2nd anal-fin spine	9.0–9.7 (9.4)	9.6–10.4 (9.9)	10.2	8.4–10.1 (9.1)	8.9
Length of 3rd anal-fin spine	10.3–11.2 (10.8)	11.3–11.5 (11.3)	11.1	10.4–12.1 (11.0)	10.6
Length of longest anal- fin ray	18.0–20.2 (19.1)	19.1–19.5 (19.3)	19.0	19.3–21.4 (20.3)	20.2
Caudal-fin length	26.4–27.8 (27.1)	25.6–31.4 (29.3)	Damaged	22.5–28.9 (26.3)	26.5
Depth of caudal concavity	10.1–11.0 (10.5)	10.1–11.0 (10.4)	Damaged	8.5–9.9 (9.1)	8.7
Pectoral-fin length	28.3–29.2 (28.7)	29.9–31.5 (30.7)	31.2	27.9–31.1 (29.6)	28.2
Pelvic-fin spine length	9.8–11.4 (10.6)	10.5–10.7 (10.6)	11.5	9.9–12.7 (11.0)	10.1
Pelvic-fin length	20.9–20.1 (20.5)	20.1–20.8 (20.5)	Damaged	20.2–24.5 (21.7)	20.1