Poropuntius normani Smith 1931

Muhammad-Rasul, Abdullah Halim, Ramli, Rosli, Low, Van Lun, Ahmad, Amirrudin, Grudpan, Chaiwut, Koolkalya, Sontaya & Khaironizam, Md. Zain, 2018, Taxonomic revision of the genus Poropuntius (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in Peninsular Malaysia, Zootaxa 4472 (2), pp. 327-342 : 335-338

Poropuntius normani Smith 1931

( Fig. 4B )

Poropuntius normani Smith 1931: 15 (type locality Pliew waterfall, Kao Sabap, near Chanthaburi, southeastern Thailand).

Lissochilus smedleyi de Beaufort 1933: 34 (type locality Johor, southern Malay Peninsula ).

Acrossocheilus deauratus: Menon 1954: 25 ; Bishop 1973; Mohsin & Ambak 1983: 216.

Poropuntius deauratus: Lim, Kottelat , & Ng 1990: 315; Lim, Ng, & Kottelat 1990: 38; Ng & Tan 1999: 38; Shah et al. 2009: 20; Hashim et al. 2012: 8; Sah et al. 2012: 64.

Poropuntius smedleyi: Ismail & Fatimah 2005 ; Roberts & Khaironizam 2008: 56; Hashim et al. 2012: 8; Ismail et al. 2013: 65; Amirrudin & Ismail 2014: 66.

Poropuntius normani: Miyazaki et al. 2013: 9 .

Diagnosis. Poropuntius normani is distinguished from all other species of Poropuntius except for P. deauratus and P. laoensis by having a bright lemon yellow caudal fin, with bold submarginal dark stripes on the upper and lower lobes. Poropuntius normani is distinguished from P. deauratus by having its last simple dorsal-fin ray robust and strongly serrated along its posterior margin (vs. slender and very weakly serrated). Poropuntius normani can be distinguished from P. laoensis by having 22 to 31 (mode = 26) pored lateral-line scales (vs. 32 to 36 [mode = 33] for P. laoensis ).

Description. Morphometric and meristic data of 281 specimens of P. normani given in Tables 3 and 4. Body moderately deep; dorsal profile rising gently from tip of snout to origin of dorsal fin, sloping gently ventrally from origin of dorsal fin to end of caudal peduncle. Body depth approximately 3.1 times in SL; caudal peduncle slender and moderately long, about 1.5–1.8 times longer than deep. Dorsal-fin origin above or posterior to vertical through pelvic-fin insertion. Distance between pelvic-fin and pectoral-fin insertions slightly greater than distance between pelvic-fin insertion and anal-fin origin. Pelvic fin shorter than pectoral fin length, about 1.3 times in HL.

Head moderately compressed, snout slightly pointed, longer than eye diameter. Prenostril length about 4.8 times in HL. Tip of snout with 2–3 irregular transverse rows of tubercles. Mouth subterminal, lower lips always covered with yellowish horny sheath and post-labial groove always interrupted. Rostral and maxillary barbels almost equal in length, both longer than eye diameter.

Dorsal-fin rays iv, 8 and last branched ray always split at base; anal-fin rays iii, 5 last branched ray always split to base; pelvic-fin rays i, 7–8; pectoral-fin rays i, 12–15. Dorsal-fin height lower than dorsal-fin depressed length.

First simple dorsal-fin ray short, always embedded into the skin. Last simple ray ossified and serrated posteriorly, bearing 16–25 denticles. Dorsal-fin base length longer than anal-fin base length. First and second simple anal-fin rays short, always attached to third and longest simple rays with distal margin concave when fin erect. Caudal fin forked with convex distal margin of each lobe. Upper and lower lobes nearly equal in length.

Characters All (n = 281)

Dorsal-fin spines and rays iv, 8

Anal-fin spines and rays iii, 5

Pectoral-fin spines and rays i, 12–15 (mode = 13)

Pelvic-fin spines and rays i, 8

Perforated lateral-line scales 22–31 (mode = 26)

Perforated scales in lateral line on hypural plates 2–5 (mode = 3)

Transverse scales rows above perforated lateral-line 5–7 (mode = 6)

Transverse scales rows below perforated lateral-line 3–4 (mode = 3)

Circumferential scale rows 18–24 (mode = 22) Circumpeduncular scale rows 11–15 (mode = 14)

Predorsal scales 9–13 (mode = 10)

Scales from end of dorsal-fin base to origin of caudal-fin base 8–14 (mode = 11)

Scales at dorsal-fin base 5–8 (mode = 6)

Scales from isthmus to pelvic-fin base 13–18 (mode = 14)

Scales from end of pelvic-fin base to origin of anal-fin base 6–8 (mode = 7)

Scales from end of anal-fin base to origin of caudal-fin base 5–7 (mode = 6)

Scales at anal-fin base 5–7 (mode = 5)

Total gill rakers 8–15 (mode = 10)

Gill rakers on upper arm 2–4 (mode = 3)

Gill rakers on lower arm 5–10 (mode = 7)

Serration number on last simple dorsal-fin ray 16–24 (mode = 22)

Entire body covered by moderately large scales. Number of pored scales on lateral-line 22–31; pored scales on caudal fin 2–5; predorsal scales 9–13; 5–7/1/3–4 scales in transverse row origin of dorsal-fin to anterior anal-fin insertion; circumferential scales rows 18–24; circumpeduncular scales rows 12–14. Total gill rakers on first gill arch 8–15.

Coloration. In live specimens, dorsum and upper half of side of body varies from silvery to light greenish coloration. Lower half of side and ventrum silvery-white. Pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins vary from yellowish to some darkening on first simple rays, other unbranched rays hyaline. Caudal fin bright lemon yellow, with submarginal black stripes on upper and lower lobes. Iris silvery blue. Preserved specimens silvery to yellowishbrown on body and fins.

Ecological notes. Poropuntius normani is collected in benthic habitats of small to large rivers, typically in streams with swift currents and good water quality ( Zakaria-Ismail & Fatimah 2002). In Peninsular Malaysia, this species is frequently syntopic with Neolissochilus soroides .

Distribution. Currently, P. normani is known from the Mekong basin in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam and in the Mae Khlong basin in Thailand. In Malay Peninsula, P. normani is found from the headwaters of the Tapi River basin in Surat Thani and Nakhorn Srithammarat southward into the Narathiwat province to the southern tip of the Peninsular Malaysia ( Fig. 1 ).

Remarks. Usually in P. normani , the size of tubercles on the tips and sides of the snout are larger and more prominent in males ( Figs. 5A and B ). Sometimes during the breeding season, (from November to January), which coincides with the wet season in Peninsular Malaysia, the males show extensive breeding tuberculation on the snout, dorsum of the head, posterior half of the body, and the anal fin ( Fig. 5C ). This character is also observed in other species of Poropuntius ( Roberts 1998) .

Note: Asterisk (*) mark indicates specimens collected from similar drainage of type locality.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of known localities of Poropuntius normani in Peninsular Malaysia and several localities in Southeast Asia (black dots), and the type locality of P. normani in Pliew Waterfall, Kao Sabap, Chanthaburi, Thailand (black star). Map made with QGIS Development Team (2018) (Accessed on 11 January 2018).

FIGURE 4. Poropuntius normani; A) Holotype, USNM 90297, Chanthaburi, Thailand. Photo by Sandra J. Raredon, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; B) UMKL 12006, 109.85 mm SL, Gunung Ledang, Johor, Malaysia.

FIGURE 5. A) Large tubercles on snout in reproductive males (UMKL 12234); B) Small tubercles on snout in females (UMKL 12290); and C) heavily tuberculation on posterior half of the body, anal fin and caudal fin in reproductive males (UMKL 12234) of Poropuntius normani.