Pseudogramma xantha Randall, Baldwin & Williams, 2002

Williams, Jeffrey T. & Viviani, Jeremie, 2016, Pseudogramma polyacantha complex (Serranidae, tribe Grammistini): DNA barcoding results lead to the discovery of three cryptic species, including two new species from French Polynesia, Zootaxa 4111 (3), pp. 246-260 : 258

Pseudogramma xantha Randall, Baldwin & Williams, 2002

Yellow Podge

Figure 10

Pseudogramma xanthum Randall, Baldwin & Williams, 2002 (type locality Temoe Atoll) Pseudogramma australis australis (in part) Randall and Baldwin, 1997

Remarks. Randall et al. (2002) discussed the taxonomic history and confusion related to this species. They described P. xantha as a new species for the non-Easter Island specimens previously referred to as P. australis australis . Our genetic analysis ( Fig. 4 ) shows P. xantha to be highly divergent from its congeners.

Pseudogramma xantha was previously known only from four localities, Temoe Atoll, Pitcairn Island, Rarotonga, and Tonga. One of us (JTW) subsequently collected specimens of this species from outer reef slopes around 30 m depth at small islets of the Gambier archipelago and from outer reef slopes at Maria Atoll in the Austral Islands. These cryptic fishes are undoubtedly more widespread, but their depth of occurrence and cryptic habits make them difficult to collect. It appears to be a subtropical species with no specimens yet collected north of about 20 degrees S latitude. Like other members of Pseudogramma , they have only been seen and/or collected after the application of a rotenone solution used for sampling cryptic species.

Additional material examined: GAMBIER: USNM 400617, 41.0 mm; 400622, 34.4 mm; 400624, 31.8 mm; 400626, 33.1 mm; 411811, 4 spec. AUSTRAL ISLANDS, Maria Atoll: USNM 422907, 17.5 mm; USNM 423287, 34.3 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Neighbor-Joining tree based on K 2 P model of sequence evolution (with 1,000 bootstrap replicates) for available members of the genus Pseudogramma. The scale bar at left represents a 2 % sequence divergence.

FIGURE 10. Pseudogramma xantha, USNM 400622, 35.4 mm SL, Austral Islands. Photo: J. T. Williams.