Owstonia merensis, Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Johnson, David, 2016

Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Johnson, David, 2016, Hidden diversity in deep-water bandfishes: review of Owstonia with descriptions of twenty-one new species (Teleostei: Cepolidae: Owstoniinae), Zootaxa 4187 (1), pp. 1-103 : 67-68

Owstonia merensis new species

( Figure 55 )

Holotype. QM I.20664, 57 mm SL, E. of Murray Isles, 9°51'S, 144°26'E– 9°53'S, 144°23'E, trawled in 480 m, C. Jones, Queensland Fisheries Service, 28 May 1983.

Diagnosis. A species of Owstonia with LL pattern type 1; anal fin II, 11; dorsal fin between 2nd spine and 3rd soft ray conspicuously black and with melanophores extending from base of fin to distal margin, and with interradial membrane between 3rd and 4th soft rays clear.

Description. A species of Owstonia with LL pattern type 1, consisting of a simple lateral line that originates from posttemporal sensory canal near anterodorsal margin of gill opening, curves upward and backward then continues posteriorly just below dorsal-fin base to soft rays 12 or 14. Dorsal fin III, 20; anal fin II, 11 (one spine lost during examination but clearly seen on digital radiograph); pectoral fin 20; gill rakers 13 + 24. Vertebrae: precaudal 11, caudal 17, total 28; anal-fin pterygiophores anterior to 1st haemal spine 2. Oblique body scale rows in mid-lateral series about 45; nape scaly and cheek scale rows 6. Lower limb margin of preopercle without spines. Papillae in slight depression behind tip of premaxillary ascending processes 4, arranged in 2 almost equally spaced pairs. Teeth in outer row of each premaxilla 9/14, with several of the anterior ones relatively elongate; no inner teeth anteriorly. Teeth in lateral row of each dentary 9/8; symphyseal teeth 3−4, spike-like, and with 1 inner tooth anteriorly. Depressed pelvic fin extending to anal-fin origin. Caudal fin lanceolate. Caudal fin (broken off); head 3.0 times in SL; body depth at anal-fin origin 3.7 times in SL.

Color pattern in alcohol: Dorsal fin between 2nd spine and 3rd soft ray conspicuously black and with melanophores extending from base of fin to distal margin, and with interradial membrane between 3rd and 4th soft rays clear; membrane connecting maxilla and premaxilla with weak dark stripe (perhaps due to fading), and inner membrane covering posterior part of dentary unpigmented. Life coloration unknown.

Proportions of 57 mm SL holotype as percentages of SL: predorsal length 32.4; preanal length 57.0; dorsal-fin base 59.1; anal-fin base 29.2; pelvic-fin length 24.1; caudal-fin length (broken off); body depth at anal-fin origin 26.7; head length 33.6; upper jaw length 19.1; upper jaw depth 9.0; orbit diameter 14.5. As percentages of head length: upper jaw length 56.8; orbit diameter 43.2.

Comparisons. No other species of Owstonia has the same combination of anal-fin rays as O. merensis (see Table 4); other species with II anal-fin spines have at least 14 soft rays (vs. 11 soft rays) and do not have small individuals with dorsal-fin pigmentation identical to that of the holotype (see above description).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a combination of "mer" the name used by Torres Strait islanders for Murray Island, the nearest island to the type locality, and the Latin suffix ensis (meaning belonging to).

Distribution. ( Fig. 24 ) Known only from the type locality east of Murray Island, Australia in Torres Strait where trawled in 480 m.

Remarks. The small first spine of the anal fin became detached and lost while examining the holotype but two anal-fin spines can be clearly seen on a digital radiograph of the specimen.

Figures

FIGURE 24. Distributions of selected species of Owstonia based on specimens examined, except records of O. mundyi from Kingman Reef based solely on submersible videos, and possibly could have been misidentifications of O. hawaiiensis.

FIGURE 55. Owstonia merensis, holotype, QM I. 20664, 57 mm SL, Torres Strait, Murray Island vicinity. Photograph by Sandra J. Raredon.