Aphredoderus gibbosus Lesueur, 1833

Muller, Tyler A. & Simons, Andrew M., 2024, Taxonomic revision of the Pirate Perches, Aphredoderus, (Percopsiformes: Aphredoderidae) with descriptions of two new species, Zootaxa 5415 (1), pp. 77-105 : 85-88

Aphredoderus gibbosus Lesueur in Cuvier and Valenciennes 1833

Western Pirate Perch

Figures 5 , 11 ; Tables 3 , 5

Aphredoderus gibbosus Lesueur 1833 . Holotype: BHMH A-3109. Loc. Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Sternotremia isolepis ( Nelson 1876) . Lectotype: INHS 26952 Paralectotypes: INHS 37830 (2), MCZ 8576 (1), USNM 17853 (1). Loc. Small streams in Southern Illinois and Calumet River near Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Aphrodedirus [sic] cookianus ( Jordan 1877b). No type specimen indicated. Loc: St. Joseph River in the Maumee River basin, Indiana, U.S.A.

Aphredoderus sayanus gibbosus Boltz & Stauffer 1993

Holotype: MNHN A-3019, 67 mm SL, Lake Pontchartrain , Louisiana, U.S.A., 1833.

Other material: (368 specimens, 22–86.5 mm SL).

Alabama: Baldwin County: JFBM 50215 (5), JFBM 50216 (3), JFBM 50217 (1), UAIC 34527 (2). Bullock County: UAIC 34540 (5), UAIC 49240.01 (1). Choctaw County: UAIC 13011.17 (2), UAIC 34592.01 (2), UAIC 6103.15 (1). Clarke County: UAIC 12705.1 (1). Dallas County: UAIC 38266 (1). Elmore County: UAIC 14686.05 (5). Fayette County: UAIC 11295.14 (1), UAIC 48915.01 (2). Greene County: JFBM 50212 (6). Lamar County: UAIC 34534.01 (1), UAIC 34547.01 (1). Lauderdale County: NCSM 107668 (1). Macon County: UAIC 9695.11 (1). Marengo County: UAIC 6072.17 (1). Mobile County: JFBM 50213 (6), JFBM 50214 (1), UAIC 2489.03 (7), UAIC 34556 (1), UAIC 34561.01 (4), UAIC 38168.01 (2). Sumter County: UAIC 6034.09 (1), UAIC 6057.14 (1). Tuscaloosa County: JFBM 50559 (1), UAIC 13483.15 (1), UAIC 13690.1 (1), UAIC 13826.03 (4), UAIC 13833.07 (2), UAIC 13847.09 (5), UAIC 34572.01 (3), UAIC 34576.01 (3), UAIC 34585 (1). Arkansas: Garland County: JFBM 42244 (2). Saline County: JFBM 41078 (1), JFBM 45775 (1), JFBM 49941 (4), JFBM 49944 (6). Florida: Broward County: UF 248373 (1). DeSoto County: UF 186494 (1), UF 240547 (1). Hardee County: UF 163690 (1). Hernando/Sumter County: JFBM 50268 (8). Highlands County: UF 104449 (4), UF 137733 (1). Jefferson County: UAIC 12717 (1), UF 144567 (1), UF 183663 (1), UF 236319 (1), UF 57660 (3). Jefferson-Taylor County: UF 166488 (2). Lafayette County: JFBM 50263 (7), UF 238015 (1). Levy County: UF 144520 (4). Manatee County: UF 180947 (1). Marion County: UF 160401 (16). Miami-Dade County: UF 174360 (2), UF 174368 (1), UF 175642 (1), UF 242792 (1). Okaloosa County: UF 102113 (1). Okeechobee County: UF 168905 (1). Osceola County: JFBM 50270 (2). Pasco County: JFBM 50269 (2). Polk County: UF 162729 (1). Taylor County: JFBM 50264 (10). Volusia County: JFBM 50271 (6). Illinois: Iroquois County: UF 168653 (8). Moultrie County: UF 168150 (1). Sangamon County: JFBM 50120 (9). Indiana: Newton County: UF 65835 (6). Louisiana: Rapides Parish: JFBM 49959 (20). St. Tammany Parish: JFBM 22697 (2). Vernon Parish: JFBM 49973 (8), JFBM 49997 (15). Washington Parish: JFBM 25155 (3). Michigan: Berrien County: OSUM 104322 (2). Midland County: OSUM 102974 (2). Minnesota: Houston County: JFBM 30169 (3), JFBM 30203 (1), JFBM 37527 (1), JFBM 49879 (1).

Mississippi: Amite County: JFBM 22775 (1). Choctaw County: JFBM 49958 (15). Lafayette County: JFBM 17187 (3). Lauderdale County: JFBM 50460 (1). Lawrence County: JFBM 49947 (4). Lincoln County: JFBM 22773 (3). Lowndes County: UAIC 4357.16 (1), UAIC 4401.17 (1). Monroe County: UAIC 4373.12 (1). Montgomery County: JFBM 49954 (3). Oktibbeha County: UAIC 4328.04 (1). Warren County: JFBM 37355 (1). New York: Jefferson County: JFBM 50411 (8). Ohio: Allen County: OSUM 113499 (1), OSUM 3777 (15). Tennessee: Chester County: JFBM 42704 (2). Fayette County: JFBM 37477 (1), JFBM 42314 (3), JFBM 43227 (7). Hardeman County: JFBM 42729 (1), JFBM 47322 (5). Texas: Marion County: JFBM 49934 (16), JFBM 49940 (5). Wisconsin: La Crosse County: JFBM 28165 (1), JFBM 41334 (1), JFBM 41336 (1).

Diagnosis: A. gibbosus differs from all Aphredoderus by having the smallest size eye (mean 23.9% HL vs. 25.1%–28%). From A. ornatus and A. sayanus this species differs by having higher mean scale counts; in lateral series 47 vs. 41–44, rows above lateral line 9 vs. 8, caudal peduncle 35 vs. 29–33 and three vs. four dorsal spines. From A. mesotrema this species can be diagnosed by a longer postorbit (mean 16.4% SL vs. 13.9%), broader interorbital area (mean 77.8% of orbit vs. 91.9%) and two round or triangular caudal markings rather than a single caudal bar. From A. retrodorsalis this species can be distinguished by a broad interorbital area (mean 77.8% of orbit vs. 92.9%) and caudal spots rather than a tall caudal stripe. In Florida drainages where A. retrodorsalis and A. gibbosus are present, caudal pigment patterns are rarely ambiguous and the orbit to interorbit ratio tends to be lower in A. gibbosus ( Fig. 11 ).

Description: Dorsal, III:11 (III:11/12). Anal, III:6 (II/III:6:7). Pectoral Rays 11 (11–12). Lateral scales 47 (44–50), scale rows above lateral line 9 (9–10), caudal peduncle scales 35 (33–38). Average body depth, head length, postorbital length and predorsal lengths when compared to standard length at 31%, 33%, 16% and 46% respectively. Caudal peduncle depth usually deep nearly 16% of standard length. Eye small, around 24% of head length. Interorbital space broad, orbit approximately 78% of interorbital size.

Coloration: Dark to light brown most common. Occasionally with a purple hue. Caudal peduncle usually contains two vertically oriented black spots, bars or chevrons over the hypural plate ( Fig. 11 ).

Distribution: Lower Great Lakes tributaries (absent in Superior and Huron), Mississippi River valley North to Southeastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin; Gulf of Mexico streams from East Texas to Mobile River basin extending East nearly to Georgia through the Tallapoosa River system ( Fig. 9 ). This species is absent from the Escambia River to the Ochlockonee River. In Florida the species occurs from the Aucilla River (Apalachee Bay) and extends South to the Everglades and East to the St. John’s River. This species appears to be absent South of tributaries to the Myakka River except for Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

Populations in the Northern United States tend to be fragmented particularly in Iowa, Minnesota, and New York. In Ohio, A. gibbosus had been considered extirpated but has since been reintroduced, likely from an Ohio River tributary in Indiana (Brian Zimmerman, pers. comm. Nov 7, 2022). In New York, repeated sampling has suggested extirpation from the South shore of Lake Ontario where this species was most prevalent, though a new population was recently found over 75 miles away in a tributary to the Eastern Shore of the lake (Douglas Carlson, pers. comm. Feb 18, 2022). It is possible that these species are underrepresented in surveys due to unique habitat occupation and low susceptibility to many sampling methods. In estimating range of this species, we include the most reasonable routes between isolated populations in regions with poor collection data, or recent range expansion records.

Remarks: Lesueur used a specimen from Lake Pontchartrain to place S. sayanus into a new genus, Aphredoderus . Lesueur then described the genus in further detail using his new specimen which he designated A. gibbosus . There was no suggestion that Lesueur had found a different species than Gilliams and instead the new name was implied for both species in violation of the principle of priority. This was first noted by De Kay (1842) and the name had not been ignored though through widespread and longstanding use of this junior synonym in place of the more appropriate name A. isolepis has granted this name priority under ICZN 23.9.1. Nelson described Sternotremia isolepis from specimens in Southern Illinois and the Calumet River near Chicago, IL. Nelson’s description focuses on vent placement between ventral fins in an immature specimen, though it excludes A. sayanus by small scale size and lower fin spine counts. We examined a photograph of INHS 26952 which largely agrees with Nelson’s measurements and find no evidence that this species is different from A. gibbosus . In A. cookianus , Jordan describes the eye as going into the snout 4.5 and 1.5 times respectively. The former is likely erroneous, and we attribute this measurement as eye size relative to head length of the specimen. In that case, this would exclude all Aphredoderus besides A. gibbosus and agrees with specimens observed from the St. Joseph River and Great Lakes region. We consider A. cookianus as a synonym of A. gibbosus . The genus Aphrodedirus was treated as Aphredoderus in Jordan’s description and is a misspelling.

Figures

FIGURE 5. A) Aphredoderus gibbosus, MHNH A-3019, holotype, Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, U.S.A. B) A. gibbosus, Wacissa River, Florida, C) A. gibbosus, tributary to the Pearl River, Mississippi, D) A. gibbosus, tributary to the Pearl River in Mississippi, E) A. gibbosus, tributary to the Ouachita River in Arkansas. Photo credits: A—Jonathan Pfliger (MHNH), B: D—Tyler Muller, E—Faith Kelly (JFBM).

FIGURE 9. Range and sampling locations of Aphredoderus sayanus, A. gibbosus and A. ornatus specimens used in this study. Sampling locations with black outlines indicate genetic sampling. Type localities from A. sayanus georeferenced to the River Wards section of Philadelphia, PA (pers. comm. Mark Sabaj-Perez, pers. comm. Feb 8, 2022), A. gibbosus to the center of Lake Pontchartrain, LA.

FIGURE 11. Morphological Diagnosis of Aphredoderus within the Southeastern United States: A) Principal component analysis of specimens from within the Southeastern Contact Zone from Pensacola Bay tributaries in Florida to the Ogeechee River in Georgia showing complete separation of A. ornatus (+) and strong separation of A. mesotrema (△) from A. gibbosus (O) and A. retrodorsalis (X). B) Southeastern contact zone in Aphredoderus. C) Contrast adjusted images (+ 0–30% brightness, + 40% contrast) to clearly display black pigmentation on caudal peduncle and the ventrolateral stripe present in A. ornatus. From top to bottom: A. gibbosus from Wacissa River in Florida, A. retrodorsalis from the Ogeechee River in GA, A. mesotrema from Choctawhatchee River, FL, A. ornatus from New River, in Florida. D) Characters to identify Southeastern Aphredoderus: Top; Separation of A. retrodorsalis from commonly sympatric A. mesotrema and A. ornatus by postorbital length, Bottom; Separation of A. gibbosus from potentially sympatric A. retrodorsalis by interorbital width and eye size.