Cheilodactylidae Regan

Ludt, William B., Burridge, Christopher P. & Chakrabarty, Prosanta, 2019, A taxonomic revision of Cheilodactylidae and Latridae (Centrarchiformes: Cirrhitoidei) using morphological and genomic characters, Zootaxa 4585 (1), pp. 121-141 : 126

Family Cheilodactylidae Regan

Diagnosis. Diagnosis follows that of Kimura et al. (2018) and Smith (1980) for Cheilodactylus . The family can be diagnosed by the following combination of characters: body compressed and ovoid, with small, terminal to subterminal mouth with large lips; eyes moderate size; two pairs of nostrils with cirri on the lower pair of nostrils; no bony processes on frontal bone or maxilla; teeth small, villiform in several rows, absent from vomer and palatines. Dorsal-fin elements XVII–XX, 19–25; anal-fin elements III, 9–11; pectoral-fin rays 14 with ventral 4–5 thickened and unbranched. Dorsal-fin continuous with no division between spinous and soft portions; spines increasing in length to sixth spine, and decreasing thereafter; second dorsal ray longest. Gas bladder absent; three supraneurals, with first supraneural preceding first neural spine and second and third supraneural between first and second neural spines in the arrangement of 0/0+0/2+1/1/1 ( Fig. 2 ). Lateral-line scales 78–85; scales small and cycloid; scaly sheath present at base of dorsal and anal-fins. Cheilodactylidae can be further differentiated from Cirrhitidae by dorsal spines lacking cirri (versus present), and from both Chironemidae and Aplodactylidae by higher anal-fin ray counts and a more laterally compressed, deeper body. Cheilodactylidae can be further differentiated from Latridae by the absence of a gas bladder, by late-stage larvae lacking a ‘paperfish’ stage ( Dudnik 1977), and by the arrangement of supraneurals with the first neural spine (see family diagnosis for Latridae below).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Radiographs highlighting the arrangement of supraneurals and neural spines that can differentiate the Cheilodactylidae and Latridae. All genera of these two families are shown. a) Cheilodactylus fasciatus ROM 50995, b) Goniistius plessisi USNM 226553, c) ‘Goniistius’ brachydactylus USNM 153508, d) ‘Goniistius’ fuscus CAS 20803, e) ‘Goniistius’ nigripes YPM 5957, f) Nemadactylus macropterus USNM 39674, g) Latris lineata USNM 176770, h) Latridopsis forsteri USMN 84370, i) Dactylophora nigricans USNM 440480, j) Mendosoma lineatum CSIRO 1119. All scale bars represent 5mm.