Diodon liturosus Shaw, 1804

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 : 57-58

Diodon liturosus Shaw, 1804

(Figs. 9,10,11)

Diodon Liturosus Shaw, 1804: 436 (type locality, Indian Seas).

Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays 14–16; anal-fin rays 14–16; pectoral-fin rays 21–25 rays; transverse rows of spines dorsally on head and body anterior to origin of anal fin 16–21; spines on forehead much shorter than longest spines posterior to pectoral fins; caudal peduncle without spines; a short, downward-pointing spine below front of eye; a pair of short tentacles usually present on chin; head broad, the width 3.3-4.2 in standard length; posterior rays of anal fin nearly reaching a vertical at caudal-fin base; yellowish brown to olivaceous dorsally, shading to white ventrally; small black spots associated with spines on side of body; a broad dark brown bar extending ventrally from eye, and a short distance above; a broad, transverse, dark brown bar across occipital part of head, and one in line with it across operculum; a large, irregular, dark brown spot above pectoral fin, one on back before dorsal fin, and one at base of dorsal fin; a dark brown transverse band at front of chin; large dark markings on head and body paleedged (usually white); fins yellowish (dark-spotted in the Red Sea). Attains 50 cm TL.

Distribution. Indo-Pacific from the Society Islands ( Leis, 2006) to the east coast of Africa from Algoa Bay, South Africa (Leis in Smith & Heemstra, 1986) north to the Gulf of Aden (record based on Fig. 9 taken Rhounda Komaytu, Seven Brothers Islands) and the southern Red Sea from a video record ( Randall, 1994). We extend the range north in the Red Sea to Marsa Alam, Egypt ( Fig. 10 ) and to Ras Mohammed at the southern end of the Sinai Peninsula from observation in the Ras Mohammed National Park by Jean Michel Rose (pers. comm.) and Tania Malkerova kindly provided her underwater photo of Diodon liturosus ( Fig. 11 ) taken at Dahab on the west coast of Sinai at 28.5°N that clearly shows small black spots on the fins.

Remarks. Two adult individuals were photographed by the first author in 2006 in Brayka Bay and Marsa Shagra in the Marsa Alam region of Egypt (identification confirmed by Jeffrey M. Leis) at a depth of 2–5 m in coral reefs of a bay and a semi-enclosed deep lagoon; both fish were close to shelter, one near a large cave. They are unusual in having dark-spotted fins. Leis (1977), in his review of the genus Diodon , described the fins of D. liturosus as unmarked, except at the base, and he presently knows of no specimens or photographs extralimital to the Red Sea with dark spots on fins.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Diodon liturosus, Seven Brothers Islands, Gulf of Aden (J. E. Randall).

FIGURE 10. Diodon liturosus, Marsa Shagra, Marsa Alam, Egypt (S. V. Bogorodsky).

FIGURE 11. Diodon liturosus, Dahab, Gulfof Aqaba (T. Malkerova)