Priolepis formosa Chen, Chen & Harefa 2024, new species
Creators: name: Chen, I-Shiung
name: Chen, Jie-Ting
name: Harefa, Tonisman
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Perciformes
Gobiidae
Priolepis
Priolepis formosa

description: Priolepis formosa Chen, Chen & Harefa, new species
(Figs. 1‒2)
Materials examined
Holotype: NTOUP-2008-04-220, male (19.3 mm SL), Huapingyan, Liociou Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. 15 m depth. Coll. J.T. Chen et al., 08 July 2007.
Paratypes
NTOUP-2008-04-222 (18.7 mm SL), NTOUP-2008-04-223 (18.2 mm SL), NTOUP-2008-04-224 (15.7 mm SL), all above 3 specimens collected same as holotype:
NTOUP-2008-04-225 (15.2 mm SL), NTOUP-2008-04-226 (17.2 mm SL), NTOUP-2008-04-227 (10.9 mm SL), all above 3 specimens collected from Houshih fringing reef, Liouciou Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan, 5 m depth, coll. J.T. Chen et al., July 9, 2007.
NTOUP-2008-04-228, 14.32 mm SL, Meirendong, Liouciou Township, Pingtung County, 10 m, coll. J.T. Chen et al.
NTOUP-2008-04-229, 16.9 mm SL, Yufu Village, Liouciou Township, Pingtung County, 25 m, coll. M-J Jiang et al., November 9, 2007.
NTOUP-2008-04-230, 17.1 mm SL, Huapingyan, Liouciou Township, Pingtung County, 15 m, coll. M.J. Jiang et al., November 10, 2007.
NTOUP-2008-08-411, 16.5 mm SL, Shanhai, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, 10 m, coll. J.T. Chen et al., July 16, 2008.
NTOUP-2008-08-412, 14.0mm SL, Shanhai, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, 10m, coll. J.T. Chen et al., July 16, 2008.
NTOUP-2020-07-174, 16.4 mm SL, Dongji Island, WangAn Township, Penghu County, Taiwan, depth 8–10 m, coll. T. Harefa et al., July 07, 2020.
NTOUP-2022-01-034, 15.8 mm SL, Shanhai, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan, depth 8–9 m, coll. T. Harefa et al., January 23, 2022.
Diagnosis
The new species Priolepis formosa can be distinguished from its congeners by the following unique combination of characters: (1) fin counts D2 I/9, A I/7–8 (modally 8), P 17–19 (modally 18); (2) Squamation 25–27 (modally 26), TR 7–8 (modally 8), PreD 6–8 (modally 8); having no scales on cheek, opercle; (3) Head with reduced transverse papillae; and (4) distinctive coloration: body light brown with scale pockets strongly outlined with melanophores, middle opercle with a vague reddish-pink pupil-sized blotch.
Description
Body proportions were listed in Table 1. Body moderately elongated, slightly compressed posteriorly. Head slightly depressed. Mouth oblique, maxilla extending posteriorly to vertical drawn middle orbit. Lower jaw slightly protruding. Anterior nasal with a short tapering tube reaching anteriorly to above anterior margin of upper lip, posterior opening pore-like with low raised rim. Eyes large, dorsolateral. Interorbital with deep trenches extending posteriorly behind the eye. Cheek slightly fleshy. Gill opening on each side large, extending anteroventrally to vertical drawn through posterior edge of mid-pupil.
Fins. —D1 VI, D2 I/9–10 (modally 9), A I/7–8 (modally 8), P 17–19 (modally 18), V I/5. Second to fourth spine of D1 equal in length reaching between origin to first ray of D2, when adpressed. D2 all rays branched and last ray always two rays with one branched.A origin located below first ray of D2, all rays branched and last ray always two rays with one branched. One or two uppermost and lowermost rays of P usually unbranched, longest fin ray reaching vertically fourth rays of D2. V no fraenum, full basal membrane; fifth ray branched, 70-95% length of fourth ray; first to fourth rays with two to five branch points and fifth rays branched one or two dichotomous branch points; fourth segmented ray longest reaching only anus. Caudal-fin rounded.
Scales. —LR 25–27 (modally 26), TR 7–8 (modally 8), PreD 6–8 (modally 8) absent in small specimens, SDP 3–5 (modally 4); no scales on cheek and opercle. pectoral-fin base scaled. cycloid scales on breast, pelvic-fin base and belly.
Head lateral-line system.—(Fig. 2)
Canals: No canal and pore on head.
Sensory papillae: Sensory papillae or free neuromast distributed as follows, with counts and ranges shown in parentheses: Row a (5) long, extending from posterior to anterior of orbit; rows b and d (5–6 and 6–7 respectively); row c (5) present longitudinally below infraorbital; single cp pappilla (1); rows e and i (25–26 and 16, respectively) on preoperculo-mandibular; row f (8 paired papillae) on rostral mandibular; rows n (2) anteriodorsal; rows ot, oi and os (10–11, 4 and 5–6, respectively) on opercular; p papillae (6, paired) longitudinally on interorbital; rows r and s (2 and 1, respectively, all paired) flanking midline in preorbital area; rows u, x and z (5, 6 and 5, respectively) on oculoscapular.
Colouration while fresh.—(Fig. 1)
Head and body with light brown background, scale pockets strongly outlined with brown melanophores. Head with alternating vague white (one third diameter to two third pupil-diameter sized) and reddish-orange or yellowish-orange bands, scattered with spots of brown melanophores: first vague white band extending from anteroventral margin of pupil to middle upper lip, followed by darker reddish-orange band, a pupil-diameter sized, extending from midventral margin of pupil to posterior end jaw; second vague white band extending from posteroventral margin of pupil to cheek, followed by large, two third eye-diameter sized, yellowish orange band extending from posterior margin of eye to cheek; third vague white band extending from posteriormost margin of eye to posteroventral of cheek, followed by yellowish-orange band, running along preopercular margin; fourth vague white band somewhat narrow, extending from upper mid-opercle to middle opercle, followed by yellowish-orange band, running along posterior margin of opercle. Middle opercle with a vague reddish-pink pupil-sized blotch. Nape with three vague white bands: first band connecting eyes just middle behind of eyes; second band curved, connected with third white band on cheek from posteriormost margin of eyes; the third band located in front of first dorsal-fin, running vertically straight, through pectoral fin-base. Snout reddish-orange, scattered with brown melanophores. Iris black. Pupil surrounded by reddish-white margin. Body with three narrow vague white bands: first band in anterior of first dorsal-fin; second band below between spine 5 and 6 of first dorsal-fin; third band in origin of second dorsal-fin.
Dorsal-fin spine and rays with 5–6 rows of reddish-orange spots; membrane with brown melanophores basally and whitish spots distally. Anal-fin brownish-yellow scattered with brown melanophores basally, outer margin whitish. Pectoral- and pelvic-fins semi-translucent pinkish. Caudal-fin with six to seven wavy rows of reddish-orange spots, grading posteriorly.
Distribution. Currently known from the coastal regions of northern to southeastern Taiwan, including southern islands of Penghu Archipelago.
Etymology. The specific name, formosa derived meaning the type locality of Tawan (classical name also called Formosa).
Remarks
The new species Priolepis formosa belong to Group III of Priolepis that shares similar characteristic by having reduced transverse papillae and has predorsal scales reviewed by Winterbottom & Burridge (1989, 1992, 1993a, b). This group including Indo-Pacific Ocean species, namely P. agrena Winterbottom & Burridge 1993b, P. aureoviridis (Gosline, 1959), P. cinctus (Regan, 1908), P. eugenius (Jordan & Evermann, 1903), P. inhaca (Smith, 1949), P. limbatosquamis (Gosline, 1959), P. pallidicincta Winterbottom & Burridge 1993b, Priolepis psygmophilia Winterbottom & Burridge 1993c, P. squamogena Winterbottom & Burridge, 1989, P. triops Winterbottom & Burridge 1993b and Caribean and Antlantic species, namely P. ascensionis (Dawson & Edwards, 1987), P. dawsoni Greenfield, 1989, P. hipolitii Metzelaar, 1922 and P. robinsi Garzón-Ferreira & Acero, 1991. The new species P. formosa is characterized by strong outlined of scale pockets with brown melanophores, a distinctive feature that distinguishes it from P. ascensionis, P. aureoviridis, P. cinctus, P. dawsoni, P. eugenius, P. hipoliti, P. pallidicincta, P. robinsi, P. triops, and P. squamogena. Four other species of the Priolepis group, including P. agrena, P. inhaca, P. limbatosquamis, and P. psygmophylia, share this characteristic of well-defined pocket outlines. P. formosa can be distinguished from P. agrena and P. psygmophylia by having fewer rays of second dorsal-fin (9 vs 10). It differs further from P. agrena by having lower count of predorsal scale and transverse scale rows (modally 8 vs 12–15 and 7–8 vs 10–11, respectively).
P. formosa is most similar color patterns with P. limbatosquamis and P. inhaca. They also shares similar characters in having same count rays of second dorsal-fin and anal-fin. However, the new species immidiatelly separable from these species by having no scales on opercle (vs possesing scales on opercle). Furthermore, P. limbatosquamis differs from current new species P. formosa by having six dark vertical vague bands on body (vs three narrow vague white bands). The new species also differs further from P. inhaca by having having more pectoral fin rays (17–19, modally 18 vs 15–17, modally 16); lower count transverse scale (7–8 vs 10–12 and), lower count predorsal scales (0–8, modally 8 vs 12–17, modally 15) and lower count longitudinal scales rows (25–27, modally 26 vs 26–28, modally 27).
description: Published as part of Chen, I-Shiung, Chen, Jie-Ting & Harefa, Tonisman, 2024, A new species of the gobiid genus Priolepis (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from Taiwan, pp. 66-77 in Zootaxa 5550 (1) on pages 67-73, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5550.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/14389752