Helcogramma fuscipectoris (Fowler, 1946)

Chiang, Min-Chia & Chen, I-Shiung, 2012, A new species of the genus Helcogramma (Blenniiformes, Tripterygiidae) from Taiwan, ZooKeys 216, pp. 57-72 : 62-63

Helcogramma fuscipectoris (Fowler, 1946) Fig. 3a

Enneapterygius fuscipectoris Fowler 1946: 186 (Type locality: Aguni shima, Riu kiu Island).

Enneapterygius personatus : Fowler 1946: 185.

Enneapterygius quadrimaculatus : Fowler 1946: 189.

Helcogramma obtusirostris (non Klunzinger 1871): Hansen 1986: 341 (part: Japan; Taiwan).

Helcogramma obtusirostris (non Klunzinger 1871): Shen and Wu 1994: 21.

Helcogramma fuscipectoris : Fricke 1997: 429.

Material Examined for Description.

NTOU-P 2009-06-058, male, 22.1 mm SL, Chenggong Township, Taitung County, Taiwan, intertidal rock pools, J. H. Huang, 6 June 2006; NTOU-P 2009-06-059, male, 22.3 mm SL, Chenggong Township, Tai tung County, Taiwan, intertidal rock pools, M. C. Chiang and J. H. Huang, 19 Aug 2006; NTOU-P 2009-06-060, male, 22.0 mm SL, San-diao-jiao, Gongliao Township, Taipei County, Taiwan, J. T. Chen, 18 Aug 2006; NTOU-P 2009-06-61, male, 21.2 mm SL, Feng-chui-sha, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan, 6-12 m depth, M. C. Chiang and J. H. Huang., 20 July 2007; NTOU-P 2009-06-062, male, 21.8 mm SL, Ba-dou-zi, Keelung City, Taiwan, intertidal pools, M. C. Chiang and W. H. Li, 27 Aug 2008; NTOU-P 2009-06-063, male, 20.8 mm SL, Chenggong Township, Taitung County, Taiwan, intertidal pools, M. C. Chiang and J. H. Huang, 31 May 2008; NTOU-P 2009-06-064, male, 25.1 mm SL, Chenggong Township, Taitung County, Taiwan, intertidal pools, M. C. Chiang, 25 April 2009; NTOU-P 2009-06-065, 3 specimens, 20.0-23.3 mm SL, Da-bai-sha, Lyutao Township, Taitung County, Taiwan, 12 m depth, M. C. Chiang, 27 April 2009; NTOU-P 2009-06-066, female, 24.5 mm SL, Chenggong Township, Taitung County, Taiwan, intertidal pools, M. C. Chiang et al., 7 April 2007.

Description.

D III, XIII-XIV (modally XIV), 9-11 (modally 10). A I, 19-20. Lateral line with 21-22 pored scales (usually 22). Dentary pore pattern 3-4+1+3-4 (modally 4+1+4). Supraorbital cirrus simple and minute, sometimes too small to find. Nasal cirrus leaf-like and slender. First dorsal fin lower in height than second in both sexes. Vertebrae 10+26-27. Males with black mask on lower half of head below eye, black area extending onto base of pectoral-fin rays; fresh males with narrow, horizontal bright blue stripe extending from corner of mouth onto the preopercle, and a whitish blue dashed line on lower pectoral-fin base may be present. Fresh male specimens orange to red generally, series of pale marks and black or dark brown tiny dots along midline and back; females white or pale yellow with orange to red or brown markings extending from dorsum to midline or below, in which red to brown chromatophores are concentrated along lateral line. Dorsal-fin elements red. Anal fin with four, sometimes five or six, basal dusky red to black blotches. (Note. The orange/red body colouration described above is apparent after fresh specimens have been immersed in ice; when first captured, the head and body are pale olive to green or brownish green.)

Distribution.

The specimens described herein were collected at depths of 0-3 m from eastern and northeastern Taiwan. This species previously has been recorded from the eastern and southern coasts of Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, Izu Islands (Japan), China, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vanuatu ( Fricke 1997).

Remarks.

Helcogramma fuscipectoris , Enneapterygius personatus Fowler (1946) and Enneapterygius quadrimaculatus Fowler (1946), which were described in the same paper, were subsequently placed in the synonymy of Helcogramma obtusirostre ( Klunzinger 1871) by Hansen (1986). However, Helcogramma fuscipectoris was recognized by Fricke (1997) as a valid species, and he determined that Enneapterygius personatus and Enneapterygius quadrimaculatus were junior synonyms. Helcogramma obtusirostre is distinguished from Helcogramma fuscipectoris by geographical distribution, body colouration, anal fin colour pattern, and other characters ( Fricke 1997).