The family Callanthiidae contains two genera, Grammatonotus (with ten nominal and a few putative species) and Callanthias (the Splendid Perches, with seven species). We provide characters that distinguish callanthiids from other percoids and that distinguish Grammatonotus from Callanthias. Also provided are descriptions of Grammatonotus and its species, a key to the species of Grammatonotus, and comments on other aspects of the biology of Grammatonotus.

MUSORSTOM 1

Symphysanodon mona, a new species of perciform fish, is described from a single specimen collected in Mona Passage off the west coast of Puerto Rico. It differs from all other species of Symphysanodon in having fewer gillrakers on the first gill arch (4 or 5 + 19-21 = 24 or 25 total vs. 8-14 + 20-29 = 28-42 total) and, additionally, from the other two Atlantic species of the genus (S. berryi and S. octoactinus) in two other features of gill-arch morphology, viz., in having a ventral branch of the obliquus dorsalis 3 muscle (vs. its absence in the other two species) and in having a posteriorly projecting extension of the cartilaginous lateral end of ceratobranchial 4 (vs. its absence in the other two species; S. berryi has a small accessory cartilage associated with the lateral end of ceratobranchial 4 which may also be present in S. octoactinus). Symphysanodon parini, new species, known from 10 specimens collected over Sala y Gomez Ridge in the eastern South Pacific, can be distinguished from all other species of Symphysanodon, except S. maunaloae from the central and western Pacific, by the following combination of characters: segmented anal-fin rays 7, tubed lateral-line scales 45-50, total gillrakers on first gill arch 31 34 ( 9 or 10 + 22-24), sum of lateral-line scales and gillrakers on individual specimens 77-84, depth of body 22.5-24.7% SL (4.0-4.4 times in SL), length of depressed anal fin 24.8-26.4% SL, hypurals 1&2 autogenous, hypurals 3&4 represented by a single plate, and first caudal vertebra without parapophyses. It is distinguished from S. maunaloae by differences in mean numbers of tubed lateral-line scales (mean = 47.89 for S. parini vs. mean = 44.94 for S. maunaloae) and pectoral-fin rays (mean = 16.90 for S. parini vs. mean = 16.13 for S. maunaloae) and by differences in a few morphometric characters. Symphysanodon rhax, new species, known from specimens collected off the Maldive Islands, northern Indian Ocean, is separable from all other species of Symphysanodon, except S. berryi from the Atlantic, by the following combination of characters: segmented rays in the anal fin 7, tubed lateral-line scales 50, gillrakers on the first gill arch 35-38 (10 or 11 + 25-27), sum of lateral-line scales and gillrakers on individual specimens 85 - 88, depth of body 20.6-24.8% SL (4.0-4.9 times in SL), length of depressed anal fin 21.8-23.9% SL, hypurals 1&2 autogenous, hypurals 3&4 represented by a single plate, and first caudal vertebra without parapophyses. It can be distinguished from S. berryi by its shorter second anal-fin spine and a suite of other morphometric characters. A key to Symphysanodon and a review of the other species of the genus are also presented.

MUSORSTOM 7

In May 2014, a group of ichthyologists from the California Academy of Sciences and the Bishop Museum collecting fishes off the coast of Batangas, Luzon, Philippine Islands, obtained, in a depth of ca. 150 meters, four specimens of a species of Grammatonotus previously unknown to science. This new species, Grammatonotus brianne, is distinguishable from its described congeners by the following combination of characters: short anal-fin spines, rhomboid shaped caudal fin, lateral line usually disjunct, and live coloration. Herein we provide characters that distinguish callanthiids from other percoids and that distinguish Grammatonotus from Callanthias, the other genus in the family Callanthiidae, along with the description of the new species and short accounts of two other Grammatonotus, G. crosnieri and G. roseus, from the Coral Triangle.

MUSORSTOM 2

We evaluated the relationships among species in the genus Gelidiella using 47 rbcL and 29 COI sequences, including those from 18 specimens collected in Madagascar. Molecular analyisis revealed the presence of three major lineages among Magalasy Gelidiella which were assigned, based on morpho-anatomical observation, to Gelidiella acerosa, G. ligulata and a so far not described species for which we here proposed the name G. incrassata. Both molecular and morphological data demonstrated the presence of three species in Madagascar: the G. acerosa complex, G. ligulata, and G. incrassata sp. nov., described here. Gelidiella incrassata was collected on small gravel from the intertidal down to a depth of 14 m on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is distinguished by its large size (up to 7 cm), opposite to alternate ramuli, thick-walled cortical and medullary cells, and stalked tetrasporangial stichidia with irregular arrangement of tetrasporangia. Phylogenetic analyses of rbcL and COI sequences revealed the sister relationship between G. incrassata and G. fanii from southeast Asia and Hawaii. Gelidiella acerosa comprised three genetic groups in Madagascar, each being genetically distinct (pairwise distances, 4.9–8.3% for COI and 1.2–2.3% for rbcL). Further sampling of G. acerosa is needed before taxonomic revisions can be proposed. The distribution of G. ligulata is expanded to include the southwest Indian Ocean.

ATIMO VATAE

ATIMO VATAE

The existence of massive cryptic diversity in algae makes linking DNA-based lineages to existing taxa exceedingly difficult. A better integration of historical collections into modern taxonomic research is therefore highly desirable. Using the brown algal genus Lobophora as a test case, we explore the feasibility of linking taxonomic names to clades in modern phylogenies. Despite Lobophora being a pantropical genus with probably more than 100 species, traditionally only a handful of species have been recognized. In this study we reevaluated the identity of 17 historical taxa thought to belong to Lobophora by attempting DNA amplification of herbarium material as well as specimens recently collected from the type localities (epitypes). In an attempt to assign them to Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units, the obtained sequences were integrated in a global Lobophora phylogeny based upon data derived from more than 650 specimens. Our results indicate that although five sequences were obtained from type specimens, exclusive reliance on information preserved in type specimens is problematic. Epitype material proved a more successful way forward, but this route often comes with a considerable degree of uncertainty, especially in tropical regions where the extent of sympatry among Lobophora lineages is often considerable. More problematic from a broader perspective is the fact that for 35% of historical taxa, either the type could not be traced or permission was not granted to extract DNA from the types. Such a low accessibility rate may reduce our reliance on type material and jeopardize future efforts to integrate historical taxa into a framework of a modern DNA-based taxonomy.

KAVIENG 2014, PAPUA NIUGINI