Aulopus bajacali Aulopus sp. Aulopus chirichignoae, a new flagfin from the eastern Pacific Ocean (Teleostei, Aulopiformes, Aulopidae) Béarez, Philippe Zavalaga, Fabiola Miranda, Junior Mennesson, Marion I. Campos-León, Sarita Jiménez-Prado, Pedro Zootaxa 2024 2024-05-27 5458 1 108 118 Béarez & Zavalaga & Miranda & Mennesson & Campos-León & Jiménez-Prado, 2024 Béarez & Zavalaga & Miranda & Mennesson & Campos-León & Jiménez-Prado 2024 [151,428,916,943] Aulopidae Aulopus Animalia Aulopiformes 2 110 Chordata species chirichignoae sp. nov.  Spanish vernacular name: Lagarto real del Pacífico French vernacular name: Limbert royal du Pacifique ( Fig. 2, Tables 2–3)    Aulopus bajacali(non Parin & Kotlyar)— Ambrose (1996)in part, description; Thompson (1998)in part, description, Fig. 1 A–C, and distribution; Nakaya et al.(2009: 133), description, Fig. 88.   Aulopussp.—Chrichigno et al.(2001: 21).    Aulopus n. sp.—Jiménez-Prado and Béarez (2004: 25).     Holotype.IMARPE-19082, mature male, 301 mmSL, Pacific Ocean, Cabo Blanco, Peru( 4°13’46.50”S, 81°14’37.39”W),  91.4 m, jigging, coll. J. Miranda,  22 May 2022( Fig. 2A).    Paratypes.MNHN-IC-1997-3820, mature female, 236 mmSL, Puerto López, Ecuador( 1°33’S, 80°49’W), bottom longlining, coll. P. Béarez,  13 Dec. 1996; MNHN-IC-1999-0963 mature male, 335 mmSL, Puerto López, Ecuador, bottom longlining, coll. J. Vera,  15 Nov. 1998; IMARPE-19086, mature female, 325 mmSL ( Fig. 2B) and IMARPE-19087, mature male, 308 mmSL, Cabo Blanco, Peru( 4°15’S, 81°14’W),  73 m, jigging, coll. J. Miranda,  29 May 2022;  MEPN-I 19659, mature male, 300 mmSL and MECN-DP 5536, female, 188 mmSL, Puerto López, Ecuador, bottom longlining, coll. P. Béarez,  24 June 2000.  Other specimens examinedbut not designated as paratypes: MNHN-IC-2001-1364 ( three specimens, males and females, ranging from 176 to 280 mmSL) collected with paratypes from Ecuador; IMARPE-19083 (female, 262 mmSL) collected with the holotype; IMARPE-19084 (male, 252 mmSL), IMARPE-19085 (male, 290 mmSL), IMARPE-19088 (male, 307 mmSL), IMARPE-19089 (male, 317 mmSL), IMARPE-19090 (male, 313 mmSL), collected with paratypes from Peru.   Diagnosis.A species of  Aulopusas defined by Thompson (1998), characterized by the following combination of characters: adult males possessing elongate filaments on dorsal rays 2–4 with females lacking these filaments; small (29.4–31.4% SL) head length; narrow (4.8–5.5% SL) bony interorbital width; dorsal and anal fin rays counts modally 15 and 11, respectively, and 50–51 vertebrae ( Tables 2and 3). A large species for the genus, largest specimen examined 335 mmSL.  Molecular analysis.Among the five paratypesused for DNA barcoding, only two sequences of the COI gene (623 bp) from IMARPE-19086 and 19087 were obtained. The two sequences were deposited in the BOLD under process numbers ACHIR001-24 and ACHIR002-24. The maximum likelihood tree supported the recognition of a new species of  Aulopusnear the coasts of Peruand Ecuador( Fig. 3), which differs from  Aulopus filamentosus( Italy, Portugal, Cape Verdeand Bermuda) and  A. bajacali( Mexico) with a 4.2% and 2.8% divergence, respectively. A sequence of an  Aulopussp.collected in the TEP (MPD-2008, Paramount) matches the new species with a 0.4% divergence ( Table 4).   Description—Head length 30.2% (29.4–31.4%) of SL; body width at pectoral fin 13.6% (12.0–16.3%) of SL; big and rounded eyes, horizontal diameter about 6.6% (6.6–8%) of SL; bony interorbital width about 5.5% (4.8– 5.5%) of SL. Large, slightly oblique mouth, extending almost to the rear edge of the eye. Dorsal fin rays 15 (14–15, modally 15); anal fin rays 10 (10–12, modally 11); caudal fin rays 20 (18–20, modally 10+9); pectoral fin rays 12 (12–14, modally 13); pelvic fin rays 9, the fourth being the longest. Lateral line scales 52 (49–52). Predorsal scales 18 (14–18). Total gill rakers on first arch 11 (10–12, modally 11): 2–3 on upper limb, 1 at the junction, 7–8 on lower limb. Branchiostegal rays 15 (12–15, modally 15). Body covered with strong ctenoid scales. Total vertebral number 51 (50–51: 30 + 20–21). See Tables 2and 3 for additional meristic and morphometric values. Sagitta (saccular otolith) oblong with regularly rounded ventral margin ( Fig. 4); rostrum long, pointed, dorsally flexed; dorsal margin irregular, antirostrum poorly developed; sulcus almost straight, slightly curved posteriorly, ending close to the postero-ventral corner; posterior region irregular, more prolonged dorsally than ventrally.   FIGURE 3.Maximum likelihood tree of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of aulopid and paraulopid species.  Aulopusclade in bold. Numbers at each node represent bootstraps. Fresh colors: Body dark brown dorsally, with darker greenish patches, gray ventrally. Dorsal fin whitish with irregular-shape orange and yellow spots. Pelvic fin yellowish with yellow and orange markings distally. Translucent pectoral fin with no markings. Whitish anal fin with two more or less visible longitudinal yellow stripes, one at the base of the fin and the other more or less in the middle. Adipose fin with orange spot. Caudal fin brownish at base, becoming paler distally, with alternating transverse orange mottling. Color pattern scarcely varies between males and females, but males seem to have more pronounced yellow and orange markings on their fins.   TABLE 2.Frequency distributions of fin rays, lateral-line scales, and vertebrae counts for Aulopus bajacali* and Aulopus chirichignoaesp. nov.    Dorsal rays Number of specimens  14 15    Aulopus bajacali 27 2 29    Aulopus chirichignoae 4 12 16  Anal rays  10 11 12 13    Aulopus bajacali - 2 21 7 30    Aulopus chirichignoae 2 10 4 - 16  Pectoral rays  12 13 14    Aulopus bajacali - 27 3 30    Aulopus chirichignoae 3 12 1 16  Lateral-line scales  48 49 50 51 52    Aulopus bajacali 5 17 6 1 - 29    Aulopus chirichignoae - 7 1 6 2 16  Vertebrae  47 48 49 50 51 52    Aulopus bajacali 1 24 4 - - - 29    Aulopus chirichignoae - - - 1 12 3 16  *The data for  Aulopus bajacaliconsidered herein were taken from Thompson (1998), though only the information referring to specimens from Baja Californiawas used.   TABLE 3.Morphometric and meristic data of  Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov.from Ecuador and Peru.    Museum catalogue N° IMARPE-19082 (holotype) MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype) IMARPE-19086 (paratype) IMARPE-19087 (paratype) MEPN-I 19659 (paratype) MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype) MECN-DP 5536 (paratype) Non type material (n=9) Ranges   Body measurements (mm)  Total length 350 400 383 365 355 288 227 216–330  Standard length 301 335 325 308 300 236 188 176–317   Measurements (% SL)  Head length 30.2 31.3 31.4 29.4 29.5 29.9 29.7 29.2–31.9  Snout length 8.6 9.2 9.2 8.4 8.1 8.1 8.2 7.8–9.0  Postorbital head length 13.6 15.0 15.1 14.3 14.0 14.9 13.8 13.8–15.1  Horizontal eye diameter 6.6 6.9 8.0 6.8 6.7 7.7 7.7 6.7–9.1  Vertical eye diameter 5.6 6.4 6.2 6.3 5.8 5.9 6.5 5.4–7.3  ......continued on the next page   TABLE 3.(Continued)    Museum catalogue N° IMARPE-19082 (holotype) MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype) IMARPE-19086 (paratype) IMARPE-19087 (paratype) MEPN-I 19659 (paratype) MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype) MECN-DP 5536 (paratype) Non type material (n=9) Ranges  Bony interorbital width 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.4–5.5  Upper jaw length 14.8 16.7 16.0 15.3 15.4 15.1 15.3 14.5–15.8  Body depth at dorsal fin origin 17.1 17.4 15.4 17.5 17.4 16.1 18.3 15.3–19.2  Body depth at adipose fin 9.0 10.1 9.5 9.1 9.3 10.0 9.6 8.8–10.1  Body width at pectoral fin 13.6 16.3 14.5 14.3 14.7 12.0 13.9 12.1–16.3  Caudal peduncle depth 6.3 6.7 6.5 6.0 6.2 6.7 5.9 6.0–6.9  Caudal peduncle length 17.3 15.1 16.3 16.9 16.8 17.1 16.2 12.1–17.9  Distance from tip of snout to dorsal corner of gill slit 21.1 22.9 23.8 21.1 21.3 22.0 21.9 20.6–22.5  Length of anal fin base 10.3 12.0 10.8 11.0 10.7 11.4 10.3 10.3–11.9  Length of dorsal fin base 20.4 19.5 21.2 20.3 18.5 21.7 21.2 19.2–22.8  Predorsal length 36.5 37.7 38.5 35.7 36.1 36.7 37.2 36.4–39.4  Prepectoral length 30.2 32.6 32.0 31.7 31.8 31.8 31.5 30.9–32.8  Prepelvic length 35.5 37.9 37.4 36.7 37.5 36.2 35.3 34.1–37.5  Preanal length* 71.4 74.0 73.8 72.4 70.7 69.5 72.3 71.0–75.0  Distance between dorsal and adipose fins 23.4 24.4 23.4 24.0 18.2 22.1 21.9 18.6–25.2   Counts  Number of vertebrae 51 51 51 51 51 51 50 51–52  Number of predorsal scales 18 16 17 16 16 14 15 14–19  Number of lateral line scales 52 52 49 49 51 51 51 49–51  Number of branchiostegal rays 15 12 15 15 15 14 10* 14–16  Number of gill rakers 8+1+2 8+1+3 7+1+2 8+1+2 8+1+2 8+1+2 8+1+2 8+1+2  Number of dorsal fin rays 15 14 15 14 14 15 15 14–15  Number of anal fin rays 10 11 12 11 11 11 11 10–12  Number of pectoral fin rays 12 14 13 13 13 13 13 12–13  ......continued on the next page   TABLE 3.(Continued)    Museum catalogue N° IMARPE-19082 (holotype) MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype) IMARPE-19086 (paratype) IMARPE-19087 (paratype) MEPN-I 19659 (paratype) MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype) MECN-DP 5536 (paratype) Non type material (n=9) Ranges  Number of pelvic fin rays 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9  Number of caudal fin rays 20 19 18 19 20 19 19 18–19  *This count is incomplete because the specimen was damaged.   TABLE 4.Pairwise distance matrix (percentage of divergence) between the  Aulopussequences used in this study based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Intraspecific divergence is indicated in italic bold.    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11  1   Aulopus_filamentosus_CSFOM013-10_Italy  2   Aulopus_filamentosus_MLFPI76_Portugal 0.5  3   Aulopus_filamentosus_CDFOM-103_Italy 0.5 0.4  4   Aulopus_filamentosus_USNM405132_Cape_Verde 0.5 0.4 0  5   Aulopus_filamentosus_KU3816_Bermuda 3.4 3.3 2.9 2.9  6   Aulopus_filamentosus_USNM_Unknown 2.7 2.6 2.2 2.2 0.7  7   Aulopus_chirichignoae_IMARPE-19086_Peru 3.9 3.3 3.7 3.7 5.5 4.7  8   Aulopus_sp._MPD-2008_Paramount_Seamount 4.1 3.5 3.9 3.9 5.6 4.9  0.6  9   Aulopus_chirichignoae_IMARPE-19087_Peru 3.9 3.3 3.7 3.7 5.5 4.7  0.4  0.2  10   Aulopus_bajacali_b23_Mexico 4.5 4.1 4.3 4.3 5.3 4.9 2.8 2.9 2.8  11   Hime_curtirostris_AMSF177-09_Australia 21 20.6 20.6 20.6 22.3 21.8 20.2 19.8 19.8 19.4   FIGURE 4.Inner view of left (A) and right (B) sagittae of  Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov.(IMARPE-019088)  Size.The largest specimen of  A. chirichignoaeis a mature male 400 mmTL, 335 mmSL (MNHN-IC-1999- 0963, paratypefrom Ecuador). It is larger than the largest known  A. bajacalisensu Thompson (1998), a 191 mmSL female (NB—Several large  A. bajacalilisted in Thompson (1998)are probably  A. chirichignoae).   Distribution.  Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov.is known from the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean along mainland Ecuadorand northern Perucoasts, at depths between 70 and  150 m.However, the specimen MPD-2008 caught in 2002 on the Paramount Seamount ( 3°20.35’N, 90°47.88’W) genetically corresponding to  Aulopus chirichognae sp. nov., indicates that the species probably has a much larger distribution.   Etymology.This species is named for Norma Chirichigno Fonseca in recognition of her research on Peruvian marine fishes and for her first mention of an  Aulopusspeciesin Peru( Chirichigno, 1976; Chirichigno & Cornejo, 2001). 4867550303 2022-05-22 J. Miranda Peru 91 -4.2295833 Pacific Ocean 1 -81.24371 Cabo Blanco 2 110 1 holotype 4867550301 1996-12-13 P. Bearez Ecuador -1.55 Puerto Lopez 1308 -80.816666 2 110 1 paratype 4867550304 1998-11-15 J. Vera Ecuador Puerto Lopez 2 110 1 paratype 4867550307 2022-05-29 J. Miranda Peru 73 -4.25 Cabo Blanco 1306 -81.23333 2 110 1 paratype 4867550305 2000-06-24 Puerto Lopez & P. Bearez Ecuador Ecuador 2 110 MEPN-I 19659, MECN-DP 5536 1 paratype 4867550302 Ecuador 2 110 3 4867550306 Peru 2 110 1