Fresh Color Notes for Prillcanthus prolixus Starnes, 1988 from the West Coast of India(Perciformes: Priacanthidae)

Hiroyuki Motomura, Andi Iqbal Burhanuddin, Seishi Kimura and Yukio Iwatsuki

Reprinted from Biogeography
Vol.3, pp.1-1 00
Augu t 29, 2001

The Biogeographical Society of Japan

Biog eography 3.
77-81. Aug. 29.2001

Fresh Color Notes for Priacanthus prolix us Starnes, 1988 from the West Coast of India(Perciformes: Priacanthidae)

Hiroyuki Motomura'*, Andi Iqbal Burhan uddin', Seishi Kimura 1 a nd Yukio Iwa tsuki 3' Miyazaki Univer ity, the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kago hima
University, 1-1 Gakuen-kibanadai-nishi , Miyazaki 889-2192. Japan(e-mail: a02113u@cc.miyazaki-u.ac.jp)
2Fisheries Research Laboratory. Mie Uni er ity, P. 0 . Box 11 , Wagu, Shima, Mie 517-0703, Japan' Di vi ion of Fi heries Science , Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki Univer ity,
1-1 Gakuen-kibanadai-ni shi, Miyazaki 889-2192, JapanAb tract. The color of Priacantlzus proli.ws Starne . 1988. based on color photograph of freshpecimen . is de cribed for !he first time. The body coloration iimilar 10 that in related species. having ared tinge. However. !he pectoral fin of the former has a trong yellowi h tinge, P. prolixus being !he third

Priacamlms pecies with uch pectoral fin coloring (al o in P. tayemts Richard on. 1846 and P. :aiserae
Stame & Moyer. 1988).
Key wor ds: Priacanlhidae . Priacamlms proli.xus. fresh color.

Introduction

the basis for the color description of P. prolixus given
here.

The priacanthid fi sh, Priacanthus prolixus Starne ,Counts and measurement followed Hubbs and19 88. origi na lly de c ribed o n the ba sis of 12Lagler ( 1947) and Starnes ( 1988). Standard length ispecimen from the Arabian Sea. i endemic to thatabbreviated a SL. In titutional codes follow Leviton
eta/. ( 1985 ), with a n additi o nal institutional

area (St a rn e , 1988 ). Although St arne ( 1988 )provided a detailed morphological description of thepecie . uch wa ba ed on preserved pecimens only

abbreviation a follow : Di vision of Fi sherie
Science . Mi yazaki njversity, Japan (MUFS).

and therefore lacked any de cription of life color .

Priacanthus prolixus Starnes, 1988

During surveys of the Indian fi h fauna in 1998
and 2000. 9 examples of P. prolixus were collectedfrom Ma lpe a nd M anga lo re. Ka rn a taka, andTrivandrum, Kerala, on the we t coast of India. and(Fig. I)
Priacantlws prolixus Starnes. 1988: 175. fig. 23 (typelocal ity: off Somalia).

color photograph were taken before preservation inMaterial (11 = 9, 113-177 mm SL. all from we tformalin and alcohol. These photograph provided

coast of India, Arabian Sea). MUFS 16760. 16902,*Corre ponding author:
Hiroyuki Motomura (e-mail: a02113u@cc.miyazaki-u.ac.jp)16948-16949, 4 pecimen , 113- 165 mm SL. Malpe,
Kamataka. trawled le s than 80 m. coli. by lwat uki-77-Hiroyuki Motomura. Andi Iqbal Burhanuddin. Sei hi Kimura and Yukio lwatsuki

Table I. Count and proportional measurement of Priacamhus prolixus
expres ed a thousandth of tandard length.
Holotype

Stame ( 1988)

n=9

S M 290660

II= 10*113-177

20999-239

Dor al-fin ray

X. 13-14

X. 13

X. 13-l.t

Anal-finrays

Ill. 14-15Thi

tandard length (mm)tudyCounts
lll.l-l-15

Ill. 14

Pectoral-fin rays

18-19

19

I -21

Lateral-line cale

7 -82

75

75-82

9-11 I 37-40

II I 35

8-11 I 35--lO

5-6+ 22-24 = 27-30

7 + 24 = 31

6-7 + 22-24 =28-31

Body depth at ixth dor al pine

2 8-339315

289-343

Body depth at first anal pine

266-309

300

Scale above I below lateral line
Gill raker
Measurements

Body width102-134

1-lO

130-162

Head length30 -309297

29+305

Snout length

78-91

8771-91

Orbit diameter

112-12-115113-l.tl
66-79

Interorbital width

63-70

72

pper-jaw length135-171152

Predor al-fin length290-30229

Preanal-fin length520-536560

Prepel ic-fin length306-342329

Dar al-fin base length-66--93

585

First dorsal-fin pine length

5+6

brokenecond dor al-fin pine length

75-95

brokenThird dorsal-fin pine length103-12295

Longe t dorsal-fin spine length (6th)114-155

Il-l

115-1 2Longe 1 dorsal-fin ray length (2nd)155-192143

121-197

Fir t anal-fin spine length

82-96

78

Second anal-fin pine length102-11595

Third anal-fin pine length115-133

103

Longe 1 anal-fin ray (2nd)159-169

143

119-165

Longe 1 pectoral-fin ray length175-211196

163-195

Pelvic-fin pine length178-197

189

Longe 1 pelvic-fin ra length (2nd)233-266

281

24 -302

Caudal-peduncle length142-159152

121-157

Caudal-peduncle depth

62-75

72

Caudal-fin length238-268243* counts ba ed on II specimen (Starnes. 1988).

-79-Fre h Color otes for Priacamhus prolixus Stame . 19

and Motomura. 28ov. 1998; M FS 19084-19086.3

from the We t Coast of India

caudal finwithout melanophore (although a mall

pecimen . 160-173 mm SL. Mangalore central fish

number of melanophore appear in the dor aJ and analmarket. Mangalore. Kamataka. coli. by lwatsuki andfins of preserved specimens of P. prolixus I'S scattered

Motomura, 30 March 2000: M FS 19735-19736. 2

melanophores in the other : Starnes. 1988). Althoughpecimen . 165-177 mm SL. Trivandrum. Kerala.

the distributional ranges of P. hamrur and P. proli.xus

coli. by lwat uki and Motomura. 3 Apr. 2000.

in the Arabian Sea o erlap and the overall bodyappearances of the 2 pecies are very similar (Starne .

Color of fresh specimens.

Based on color1988), they can be confidently distingui hed fromtransparencie of M FS 16760 (I 18 mm SL) andeach other by the pectoral. dor al. anal and caudal fin

19735 ( 177 mm SL. Fig. I): upper ide of head andcoloration when fresh.

trunk tinged with dark red. becoming bright red on

All Priacanthus

lower sides: 7 indistinct darker red spot pre ent on

pecies except for P. tayenus

Richardson. 1846 and P. -aiserae Starne & Moyer.

lateral line from below 6th dorsal fin pine to below

1988. have been de cribed as having clear to pinki h

Ia t dor al fin oft ray: eye. except for pupil. brightpectoral fin (Stame . 1988). tho e in P. wyenus andred: interior of mouth blacki h-red; base of dor al fin

P. :.aiserae being clear or tinged lightly yellow. andtinged with red. becoming paler dor ally: upper parts

bright yellow. respectively (Starnes. 1988).

of dorsal fin without black margins; yellowi h patches

Accordingly, P. prolixus is now recognized as theon distal margin of membranes between dor al fin

third Priacamhus specie having a yellowish pectoral

ray ;

fin.

pectoralfin

reddi h-yellow.

withoutmelanophore : pelvic fin spine and rays whiti h: aComparatil'e material examined. Priacantlws

black spot on membranes at base of pel ic fin,remainder of membrane tinged with red; anal fin

prolixus:

uniformly tinged with deeper red than dor al fin:

Somalia (II o 21'narrow black margin on po terior of caudal fin.

G. J. Small.

S M 290660. holotype. 209 mm SL. off. 51 o 09' E). I May 1987. coli. byremainder of fin unifom1ly deep red.

Acknowledgments
Remarks. The charac ter of the specimen
examined in thi

tudy were consistent with those of

We are mo t grateful to G. S. Hard y (Thame .

the holotype and a given in the original de cription

ew Zealand) who read the initial manu cript andof Priacanrlws prolixus by Starnes ( 1988) ( ee Table

offered helpful comments. We greatly appreciate M .

I for countand proportional mea urements a. Yenugopal and A. Chakraborty (Department ofthousandths of SL). According to Stame ( 1988). P.

Fishery Biology. College of Fisheries. Mangalore.

prolixus is clo ely related to P. arenarus Cu ier.
1892, P. hamrur (Fors kal. 1775) and P. meeki

We thankS. L. Jewett. L. Palmer. S. J. Raredon andJenkins. 1904. the group being defined a

S. Smith ( S M) for opponunitie to examine thehavingIndi a) for their as istance during our visit to India.

ere centic caudal fin and higher count of dor al-fin

type of Priacanthus prolixus and Y. Motomuraand anal-fin rays.

(Miyazaki. Japan) for her assistance. Thi study wa

Detailed morphologicalde criptions and comparisons of the e pecie wereupponed in part b grant awarded to the first author

given by Starnes ( 1988).

by the Fujiwara

The fresh body color of P. prolixus was similar toatural Hi tory Foundation (Tokyo.

Japan), the Sasakawa Scientific Re earch Grant fromthat in the above 3 specie . having a tinge of red.

the Japan Science Society (Tokyo, Japan) and the ItoHowever. P. prolixus differs from the latter in having

Foundation for the Advancement of Ichthyology

a reddish-yellow pectoral fin (1•s clear or slightly pink

(Tokyo. Japan).

in the latter: Starnes. 19 8) and the dor al. anal and-80-Hiroyuki Mmomura. Andi Iqbal Burhanuddin. ei hi Kimura and Yukio Iwat uki

Literature Cited

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and ichthyology. Copeia. 1985: 02-832.

Hubb. C. L. & Lagler. K. F. 1947. Fi hes of theStarne ,Great Lakes region. Bull. Cranbrook In 1. Sci ..

(26): i-xii + 1-186.

marine percoid fi h family Priacanthidae. Bull.
Mar. ci .. 43: 117-203.

Leviton. A. E., Gibb . R. H.. Jr. Heal. E. & Daw on.
C. E. 1985.

Standard

ichthyology: Pan I.

. C. 1988. Re vi ion. phylogeny andbiogeographic comment on the circumtropicalin herpetology and(Accepted

tandard ymbolic code for-81-pri I 14. 200 I)