Parupeneus heptacanthus ( Lacepéde, 1802 ), Lacepede, 1802

Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Randall, John E. & Golani, Daniel, 2011, Four new records of shore fishes for the Red Sea, with notes on Parupeneus heptacanthus and Diodon liturosus, Zootaxa 3057, pp. 49-60 : 54-56

Parupeneus heptacanthus ( Lacepéde, 1802)

Figures 6–8

Sciaena heptacanthus Lacepède, 1802: 308 , 311 (no type locality given).

Parupeneus heptacanthus Randall, 2004: 30 , fig. 6, pl. V C, XIII A–C (Indo-Pacific).

Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays VIII + 9; anal-fin rays 7; pectoral-fin rays 16 (rarely 15 or 17); gill rakers 6 or 7 + 19–23 (total 26–30); body depth 2.95–3.55 in SL; head length 2.95–3.25 in SL; snout length 1.75–2.1 in head length; barbel length 1.15–1.35 in head length; longest dorsal spine 1.45–1.75 in head length; pectoral-fins long, 1.25–1.4 in head length; pelvic-fin length 1.4–1.6 in head length; tan to light red dorsally (deeper-dwelling fish more red), suffused with pink dorsally on head; the edges of scales darker, shading to pale yellowish or white ventrally; adults with a small red to blackish spot on side of body on lower part of eighth lateral-line scale and adjacent ventroanterior scale; dorsal body scales often with a pale blue or pearly spot, faint and more diffuse below lateral line; pale blue to lavender lines extending anteriorly and posteriorly from eye, and small spots on interorbital; second dorsal and anal fins with faint pale blue or pink bands, alternating with pale yellow; peritoneum pale. Largest specimen examined, 37 cm TL.

Distribution. Red Sea south to Eastern Cape, South Africa, east to the Samoa Islands and the islands of Micronesia; in the western Pacific from southern Queensland to Japan.

Remarks. Figure 6 is an underwater photograph of a typical adult of Parupeneus heptacanthus , actively feeding in the Gulf of Aqaba, with the diagnostic spot on the lower part of the eighth lateral-line scale. The individual photographed in the Gulf of Aqaba ( Fig. 7 ) is also larger (estimated 32 cm TL) and a little more colorful. The goatfish of Figure 8 from Brayka Bay, Marsa Alam, Egypt, however, is much more colorful than any known for P. h e p - tacanthus and lacks the diagnostic spot on the lateral line. It was first identified by us as P. procerigena Kim & Amaoka, 2001 , type locality Saya de Malha Bank in the Western Indian Ocean, and otherwise known only from the Seychelles. This identification was largely due to the similarity in color to an underwater photograph of P. procerigena in Taquet & Diringer (2007: 262) from 20 m in the Seychelles, misidentified as P. chrysopleuron , a similar western Pacific species. Noting a faint smudge where the lateral-line spot should be on Figure 8 , and more carefully comparing the rest of the color pattern, we have reidentified it as P. heptacanthus .

Parupeneus heptacanthus is usually found on silty sand or seagrass substrata at depths greater than 15 m. Lieske & Myers (2004) gave a maximum depth of 350 m. Parupeneus cinnabarinus (Cuvier) and P. pleurospilos (Bleeker) are commonly used synonyms.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Parupeneus heptacanthus, Eilat (J. E. Randall).

FIGURE 7. Parupeneus heptacanthus, Eilat (J. E. Randall).

FIGURE 8. Parupeneus heptacanthus, Brayka Bay Marsa Alam, Egypt (S. V. Bogorodsky).