Parascombrops spinosus Schultz 1940
Creators: name: Schwarzhans, Werner W.
name: Prokofiev, Artem M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Acropomatidae
Parascombrops
Parascombrops spinosus

description: Parascombrops spinosus (Schultz, 1940)
Figs. 2E, 6C–D, 7L, 10D, 13L, 15 M – O, 29, 34, Tables 2–7
Synagrops spinosus Schultz 1940: 417 (holotype: USNM 74324; Gulf of Mexico, 28°38’3’’N, 85°52’3’’W, Albatross: stn 2401, 260 m).
Synagrops spinosus: Uyeno et al. 1983: 297; Mochizuki & Gultneth, 1989: 421; Mejia et al., 2001: 206.
Material examined (8 specimens): CAS 238018, 101 mm SL, 18°14’N, 67°50’W, 466 m; CAS 31997, 2 specimens, 66 and 106 mm SL, 36°36’N, 74°44’W, 87 m; MNHN 1989-0411, 82 mm SL, 21°34’S, 40°06’W, 248–262 m; NSMT-P 43995, 2 specimens, 56–68 mm SL, 07°32’N, 54°19’W; USNM 395230, 2 specimens, 89–95.5 mm SL, 26°46’N, 96°21’W, 376 m.
Diagnosis. Moderately elongate bodied, moderately large species with slightly convex dorsal head profile. Second spine of first dorsal fin, and second spine of anal fin serrated in addition to spine of pelvic fin. Anal fin II + 7. Pectoral fin with 14–16 rays, pectoral length 22.6–27.4% SL. Gill rakers 14–19. Pseudobranchial filaments 24–28. First anal-fin pterygiophore long, straight, with sharply pointed tip and not hollow. Ectopterygoid widened, with 3–4 rows of denticles. Orbital diameter 8.6–10.9% SL. Posterior edge of maxillary plate slightly concave. Preopercular lobe with 1–3 longitudinal ridges on. Otolith moderatley elongate (OL:OH = 1.75–1.8).
Description. Counts and measurements are summarized in Tables 2–7. Snout bluntly pointed; interorbital space slightly convex. Posterior edge of maxilla weakly concave with postero-dorsal and postero-ventral angles slightly sharpened and postero-ventral angle extended downward and slightly backward creating a slightly oblique posterior rim. Preopercular lobe with 1–3 longitudinal ridges; denticles of hind margin serration not extending into crests on preopercular lobe; inner edge of preopercle with 3–5 small denticles not extending along ventral branch. Second spine of first dorsal fin serrated. Two anal-fin spines, the second serrated. Pelvic-fin spine serrated along its outer edge. First anal-fin pterygiophore long, straight, with sharply pointed tip, solid, reaching last pair of pleural ribs. First haemal spine with a narrow posterior expansion.
Dentition. Premaxilla with a pair of strong canines near symphysis, followed posteriorly by a wide band of minute teeth. Dentary with a pair of strong canines and a band of small conical teeth near symphysis, followed posteriorly by a row of small conical teeth and 3 enlarged canines. Vomer V-shaped with small patch of granular teeth, occasionally 1 long tooth posteriorly on each side. Palatines narrow, with 1–2 rows of granular teeth. Ectopterygoid widened, with 3–4 rows of denticles. Tongue toothless.
Otolith morphology (n = 3). Otolith moderately elongate, thin, up to about 8 mm length. OL:OH = 1.75–1.8; OL:OT about 9 to 10. Dorsal rim with prominent, obtuse mid-dorsal angle and weaker, inferior postdorsal angle moderately close to posterior rim. Ventral rim moderately deep, deepest almost at its middle. Rostrum welldeveloped, long, sharply pointed; no or very weak excisura and antirostrum. Posterior rim angular, distinctly dorsally pronounced. All rims finely crenulated. Inner face slightly convex with slightly supramedian positioned sulcus. Sulcus shallow, with narrow, long, slightly deepened cauda and wide, shallow ostium. Ostium about twice as wide as cauda, with distinct colliculum. Cauda tapering, with very slightly downward bent at tip, terminating close to posterior tip of otolith. CaL:OsL = 1.15–1.2. Dorsal depression distinct, narrow. Ventral furrow distinct, slightly moving inwards and upwards posteriorly and approaching caudal tip. Outer face slightly concave, with many short radial furrows along the rims.
Size. Moderately large fishes, to about 110 mm SL.
Discussion. Together with P. serratospinosus and P. mochizukii n. sp., P. spinosus is the only species with additional serrated spines other than the pelvic spine. Parascombrops spinosus has one less serrated spine (second dorsal fin) than P. serratospinosus and differs further in the more slender body shape (maximal body depth 22.6–27.4% of SL vs 27.7–32.9%), the shape of the first anal-fin pterygiophore, the more slender snout and the more slender otoliths (Tables 4 and 7), which all suggest that both species in fact may not be closely related, and the higher degree of spine serration may represent a homoplasy. In contrast, P. spinosus closely resembles P. mochizukii n. sp. and all these characters suggesting that these species form a sister species pair in the West Atlantic and the Northwest Pacific. Previously they have originally been considered a single species by Mochizuki & Gultneh (1989) (for distinction of both species see P. mochizukii n. sp.).
Geographic and bathymetric distribution. Parascombrops spinosus is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic between 376 and 466 m, but does not appear to be common at any location.
description: Published as part of Schwarzhans, Werner W. & Prokofiev, Artem M., 2017, Reappraisal of Synagrops Günther, 1887 with rehabilitation and revision of Parascombrops Alcock, 1889 including description of seven new species and two new genera (Perciformes: Acropomatidae), pp. 1-74 in Zootaxa 4260 (1) on pages 53-54, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.571305