Starksia weigti Baldwin & Castillo

Baldwin, Carole C., Castillo, Cristina I., Weigt, Lee A. & Benjamin C., Victor, 2011, Seven new species within western Atlantic Starksia atlantica, S. lepicoelia, and S. sluiteri (Teleostei, Labrisomidae), with comments on congruence of DNA barcodes and species, ZooKeys 79, pp. 21-72 : 32-35

Starksia weigti Baldwin & Castillo sp. n. Figs 171011Table 2

Type Locality:

Belize, Central America

Holotype.

USNM 399648, BLZ 5010, male, 20.5 mm SL, sta. CB05-01, spur and groove, Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, 6-8 m, 21 Apr 2005, C. Baldwin, D. Smith, L. Weigt, J. Mounts (small fillet removed from right side for DNA tissue sampling).

Paratypes (all Belize).

USNM 399649, BLZ 5164, female, 19.0 mm SL, sta. CB05-12, Curlew Cay, 21-25 m, 27 Apr 2005, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 399653, BLZ 8026, female, 17.5 mm SL, sta. CB08-02, sand bottom and coral heads, Curlew Cay, 16°47'24.1"N, 88°04'41.0"W, 5-8 m, 15 May 2008, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 399652, BLZ 8025, female, 18.0 mm SL, sta. CB08-02, same collection information as above, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 399651, BLZ 8024, female, 19.0 mm SL, sta. CB08-02, same collection information as above, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 399654, CB08-2, 2 specimens: (1) 19.5 mm SL female, (1) 19.0 mm SL female (not DNA vouchers), same collection information as above. USNM 399656, BLZ 8123, juvenile, 9.5 mm SL, sta. CB08-10, east wall drop off, Glovers Cay, 16°42'36.1"N, 87°51'05.3"W, 11-23 m, 18 May 2008, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 399655, BLZ 8122, female, 18.0 mm SL, sta. CB08-10, same collection information as above, (posterior portion of body destroyed for DNA tissue sampling). USNM 274922, Sta. K-103, 2 females, 20.0 and 24.0 mm SL, spur and groove, Carrie Bow Cay, 6-8 m, 10 June 1981. USNM 276063, Sta. GDJ 84-8, 2 males, 20.5 and 23.0 mm SL, Carrie Bow Cay, 24-30 m, 5 Nov 1984.

Additional Material (not DNA vouchers, all Belize).

USNM 399650, BLZ 5193, 1 specimen; USNM 365517, 4; USNM 274941, 1; USNM 328251, 2; USNM 276048, 2; USNM 327608, 1.

Diagnosis.

A species of Starksia distinguished by the following combination of characters: orbital cirrus present; belly scaled; trunk pale (pale red in life), without distinct bars or other markings; lips peppered with white spots in life; lacrimal region with single row of small white spots in life; jaws usually with lightly scattered melanophores in preserved specimens, without distinct banding or dark bars; entire gular region usually covered with scattered melanophores; total dorsal elements usually 27; total vertebrae usually 32; dorsal spines + anal soft rays + vertebrae modally 75.

Description.

See Table 2. Dorsal spines XIX–XX, usually XX (XX in holotype); segmented dorsal rays 7-8, usually 8 (7); total dorsal elements 27-28, usually 27 (27); anal spines II; segmented anal rays 16-17 (16); dorsal segmented caudal-fin rays (7); ventral segmented caudal-fin rays (6); dorsal procurrent caudal-fin rays 5-6, rarely 6 (6); ventral procurrent caudal-fin rays 4-5, rarely 4 (5); obvious segmented pelvic-fin rays 2; pectoral-fin rays 12-13, rarely12 (13); vertebrae 10+21-23= 31-33, usually 32 (10+22=32); infraorbital pores usually unpaired (one pair present at 3 o’clock); orbital cirri present; nape cirri present; anterior nostril cirri present; belly and pectoral-fin base completely scaled.

Specimens examined ranging from 9.5 mm to 24.0 mm SL; HL 30-36% SL; length of male genital papilla two-thirds to equal length of first anal spine, papilla 1.0-1.8 mm and free from spine.

Pigment.

Both males and females with pale red to reddish brown trunk; indistinct vertical bars, if present, more prominent dorsally; two small (less than half pupil diameter) dark spots on posterior portion of trunk, one at posterior end of dorsal fin and one at posterior base of anal fin. Both sexes with pale red heads, scattered small white spots on anterior portions of lips, and single row of white spots beneath eye on lacrimal region; white spots representing absence of chromatophores in areas otherwise covered with pale orange to red pigment; eye with six or seven white spots around pupil, spots separated by darker areas (effectively a candy-stripe pattern). Males with prominent dark blotch on cheek and with small white spots extending from anterior portions of lips to posterior portions of jaws; females without dark cheek blotch and usually with larger white spots, blotches, or bands on posterior portions of jaws. Males with red pigment on dorsal fin confined to blotches at base and little red pigment on rest of fin and other median fins (but with scattered melanophores on dorsal, caudal, and anal fins); females with red pigment extending onto entire dorsal fin and with prominent orange/red pigment on caudal and anal fins (but without prominent melanophores); males with yellowish brown pectoral fin, females with pale orange to orange pectoral fin; pelvic fin clear.

Juvenile (BLZ 8123) color pattern: trunk pale orange, with some yellow mixed in; head with dark bar from anterior portion of eye to upper and lower lips; black triangle of pigment beneath eye; and black cap of pigment on head that extends anteriorly to vertical through middle of eye. Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins pale orange; bases of several dorsal-fin elements with darker blotches of orange pigment; most anal-fin elements with melanophore at base (typical of blennioid larvae), bases of about half of anal-fin elements also with prominent orange spot.

Color in preservative.

Males mostly pale, except with very dark blotch on cheek; trunk, belly, jaws, gular region, branchiostegals, operculum, top of head, nape, and all fins except pelvics with scattered melanophores, pigment on trunk fairly heavy in one male. Some females very pale, with only a few melanophores on gular region, cheek, branchiostegals, and on all fins except pelvics; other females with poorly formed dark blotch on cheek, fairly heavy pigment on gular region, branchiostegals, belly, dorsal fin, and anal fin; and lightly scattered melanophores on trunk, jaws, operculum, top of head, nape, caudal fin, and pectoral fin; pigment on head and nape usually lighter in females than in males.

Only anterior portion of body remains in juvenile voucher specimen (BZE 8123): body mostly pale; black cap of pigment on head, dark bar from anterior portion of eye to upper and lower lips, and black triangle of pigment beneath eye present in preservative.

Etymology.

The species name is in honor of Lee A. Weigt, Head of the Smithsonian’s Laboratories of Analytical Biology, in recognition of his contributions to the DNA barcoding of fishes and his contributions to fish-collecting efforts in Belize, Curacao, Florida, Tobago, and Turks & Caicos Islands.

Distribution.

Known only from Belize, Central America.