Chromis mirationis Tanaka, 1917

Tea, Yi-Kai, Gill, Anthony C. & Senou, Hiroshi, 2019, Chromis tingting, a new species of damselfish from mesophotic coral ecosystems of southern Japan, with notes on C. mirationis Tanaka (Teleostei: Pomacentridae), Zootaxa 4586 (2), pp. 249-260 : 251

Identity of Chromis mirationis Tanaka

Tanaka (1917) described Chromis mirationis from the holotype collected off Goto Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The original description of C. mirationis is brief, and not accompanied by an illustration. Two nominal species are currently regarded as synonyms of C. mirationis : C. fraenatus Araga & Yoshino (in Masuda et al., 1975), type locality off Minabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan; Chromis megalopsis Allen 1976 , type locality west of Bernier Island, Western Australia. Tanaka’s holotype of C. mirationis is currently listed as lost by Fricke et al. (2019). However, we located the holotype in the Department of Zoology, University Museum, University of Tokyo, Tokyo (ZUMT 3627; Figure 1 ). Conversely, the holotype and paratype of C. fraenatus (SMBL 72067 and SMBL 73391, respectively) could not be located at in the collection of the Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto University (Dr Y. Kai, pers. comm.). Morphometric data for the holotype of C. mirationis are provided in Table 1 . The holotypes of both C. mirationis and C. fraenatus were examined by Randall et al. (1981) who concluded that they were conspecific. We concur with this assessment, thus the name C. mirationis should be applied to that species rather than to the species herein newly described. Diagnostic characters that clearly differentiate the two species are apparent in the holotype, particularly the absence of a conspicuous large dark spot in the pectoral axil ( Figure 1B ), and more expansive free margin of the suborbital (extending well beyond vertical through posterior margin of pupil versus to vertical through middle of pupil; Figures 1C and 3 ). Although Tanaka did not mention the lateral stripe that characterizes C. mirationis , this may be weakly developed in large adults (such as Araga & Yoshino’s 91.0 mm SL paratype of C. fraenatus ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Chromis mirationis, ZUMT 3627, 74.3 mm SL, holotype. A: left lateral view; B: right pectoral axil; C: lower part of head showing posterior extent of free suborbital margin (indicated by arrow). Photos by H. Senou.

FIGURE 3. Chromis tingting sp. nov., KPM-NI 30479, 53.6 mm SL, holotype, diagram of head. AN, anterior nostril; CSO, crescent opening of supraorbital canal; PN, posterior nostril. Arrow indicates posterior extent of free margin of suborbital. Exposed scales shown in grey.