Odontanthias randalli White, 2011, new species
Creators: name: White, William T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Serranidae
Odontanthias
Odontanthias randalli

description: Odontanthias randalli new species
Figs 1 and 2, Table 1
Holotype. MZB 20010, 209 mm TL, 121 mm SL, Tanjung Luar fish landing site, Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia (08°45' S, 116°35' E), collected by W. White and Dharmadi, 24 Jan. 2011.
Paratypes. 10 specimens: MZB 20011, 190 mm TL, 118 mm SL; MZB 20012, 180 mm TL, 115 mm SL; MZB 20013, 155 mm TL, 100 mm SL; MZB 20014, 200 mm TL, 126 mm SL; CSIRO H 7217–01, 212 mm TL, 126 mm SL, CSIRO H 7218–01, 186 mm TL, 115 mm SL; CSIRO H 7219–01, 158 mm TL, 101 mm SL; CSIRO H 7219– 0 2, 131 mm TL, 91 mm SL; CSIRO H 7220–01, 155 mm TL, 103 mm SL; CSIRO H 7221–01, 190 mm TL, 110 mm SL; collected at same locality as holotype.
Diagnosis. Dorsal rays X, 16–17; anal rays III, 7; pectoral rays 15–16; lateral-line scales 37–39; gill rakers 10– 13 + 21–27 (total = 32–39); body depth 2.2–2.5 in SL; spine at angle of preopercle moderately long, extending about half distance to margin of subopercle; vomerine tooth patch arrowhead-shaped; no teeth on mesopterygoids; scales dorsally on snout nearly reaching upper lip; 3rd dorsal spine elongate, 1.36–2.32 in head length; 3rd ray of dorsal fin the longest, greatly produced as a long filament; 2nd anal spine subequal to third, 2.32–2.78 in head length; caudal fin lunate, the lobes very long and filamentous, fin length 1.37–2.01 in SL. Colour when fresh mostly pink; scales on upper half of body each with a bright yellow spot; head pinkish with a vivid yellow, horizontal V-shaped marking originating on snout tip and extending posteriorly as two stripes; lower stripe running posteroventrally below eye to edge of opercle; upper stripe running posterodorsally through about the middle of eye to edge of the opercle just above primary opercular spine; nape yellowish; four pale pinkish blotches present below dorsal fin base; dorsal fin mostly yellow with some pink areas; anal fin pinkish with yellow pigment between second and third spines extending on to posterior portion of posteriorly adjacent fin membranes; caudal fin mostly pink with yellow pigment basally and extending along centre of filamentous lobes; pectoral fins pinkish with yellow stripe on anterior third extending from base of fin to about one-third distance of longest rays; pelvic fin mostly pink with yellow pigment on membrane between first and second soft rays.
Description. Dorsal rays X, 16 (16–17); anal rays III, 7; all dorsal and anal soft rays branched, the last to bases; pectoral rays 15 (15–16), all except uppermost branched; pelvic rays I, 5, all soft rays branched; principal caudal rays 15 (14 in one paratype), middle 13 (12 in one paratype) branched; upper procurrent caudal rays 7 (6–8), posteriormost 3 segmented; 7 (6–7) lower procurrent caudal rays, posteriormost 3 segmented; lateral-line scales 37–39; scales above lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 5; full-size scales above lateral line to base of middle dorsal spines 1; scales below lateral line to origin of anal fin 18 (17-19); circumpeduncular scales 18 (18–19); gill rakers 12+24 (10–13 + 21–27), total 32–39; vertebrae 10+16; supraneural (predorsal) bones 2.
Body moderately deep, depth 2.3 (2.2–2.5) in SL; body compressed, width 2.5 (2.2–2.5) in body depth; head length 2.63 (2.63–2.84) in SL; eye large, orbit diameter 3.17 (3.11–3.65) in head length; snout short, 4.99 (4.53– 5.16) in head length; interorbital region convex, least width 3.80 (3.40–3.95) in head length; caudal-peduncle depth 2.79 (2.61–2.89) in head length; caudal-peduncle length 2.21 (1.77–2.11) in head length.
Mouth moderately large, maxilla extending posterior to vertical through posterior third of pupil, upper-jaw length 2.17 (2.05–2.34) in head length; mouth oblique, forming an angle of about 50° to horizontal axis of head and body, lower jaw projecting; upper jaw with band of about six or seven rows of villiform teeth anteriorly, narrowing to two or three rows posteriorly, inner teeth (three on each side) enlarged and retrorse; point of greatest curvature on each maxilla with two (one lost on left side of holotype based on socket evidence) stout, anteriorly directed canine teeth, much longer than adjacent teeth; outer row of 22–24 teeth laterally on upper jaw posterior to canine longer, stouter, and more widely spaced than remaining band of teeth, those posterior to third to sixth tooth antrorse; lower jaw with slightly narrower band of villiform teeth, in about five rows anteriorly, narrowing to two posteriorly, several enlarged inner teeth near symphysis; point of greatest curvature on each dentary with a short, relatively stout canine tooth jutting forward and laterally; a second similar-sized canine present almost halfway to back of jaw from symphysis (lost on left side of jaw in holotype); patch of villiform teeth on vomer arrowheadshaped (Fig. 2); patch of villiform teeth on palatines relatively long, broad anteriorly, narrowing posteriorly; no separate patch of teeth on mesopterygoids; no teeth on tongue.
Nostrils situated anterior to orbit at level of midline of pupil, anterior opening at end of small membranous tube; tube with short, rounded posterior flap that reaches aperture of much larger, comma-shaped posterior nostril (partly hidden by margin of infraorbital series); large sensory pore present just above internarial space.
Opercle with three flat spines; middle spine clearly largest and equidistant from other two, its tip nearly reaching almost two thirds distance to tip of pointed opercular flap; upper opercular spine blunt and covered by a scale; posterior margin of preopercle with 18–31 strong serrae; angle of preopercle with large flat spine extending about half the distance to margin of subopercle; three to five serrae on ventral edge of preopercle next to spine at angle; posttemporal with two or three, very short, stout serrae.
Scales ctenoid; no accessory scales; scales progressively smaller anteriorly on head, those dorsally on snout nearly reaching base of upper lip; preorbital region naked; mandible mostly scaled; small scales basally on soft portions of dorsal and anal fins; progressively smaller scales on caudal fin extending about three quarters distance to posterior margin; small scales on about basal fifth of pectoral fins; pelvic fin without axillary scale; small patch of scales of variable size present between bases of pelvic fins. Lateral line continuous, highly arched over pectoral fin, forming an angle as it joins straight peduncular portion.
Origin of dorsal fin about level with upper end of preopercular margin; first dorsal spine slightly more than half length of second dorsal spine; third dorsal spine longest, 1.36 (1.36–2.32) in head length; tip of third ray of soft dorsal fin longest, 1.22 (0.89–1.52) in head length, produced and filamentous; origin of anal fin below base of second to third dorsal soft rays; first anal spine short, about half length of second; second anal spine subequal in length to third, often slightly longer, 2.66 (2.32–2.78) in head length; second anal soft ray longest, 1.41 (0.97–1.52) in head length; caudal fin lunate, lobes very long and pointed, fin length 1.39 (1.37–2.01) in SL; caudal concavity 0.65 (0.61–1.06) in head length; pectoral fins pointed, ninth ray longest and reaching vertical through origin of anal fin; ninth ray 1.28 (1.16–1.31) in head length; second ray of pelvic fins longest.
Colour (when fresh). Body pinkish, shading to pale pinkish ventrally; scales on upper half of body each with a bright yellow spot; head pinkish with a vivid yellow V-shaped marking originating from snout tip with the lower stripe running posteroventrally below the eye to edge of opercle and the upper stripe running posterodorsally through about the middle of the eye to the edge of the opercle just above the primary opercular spine; jaws and chin pinkish; nape and interorbital area yellowish; four pale pinkish blotches below dorsal fin base, third blotch at level of junction of last dorsal spine and first ray palest and most obvious; spinous dorsal fin mostly yellow, with pink pigment on anterior spines and on membrane between spines in posterior portion of fin; soft dorsal fin mostly yellow with pink pigment defining each ray; anal fin pinkish with yellow pigment on membrane between second and third spines and some yellow on membranes between other anal-fin elements; anterior edges of distal portions of first and second rays bright pink; caudal fin mostly pink with yellow pigment basally and extending along centre of filamentous lobes; pectoral fins pinkish with yellow stripe on anterior third extending from base of fin to about one-third distance of longest rays; pelvic fin mostly pink with yellow pigment on membrane between first and second soft rays.
Paratypes (n=10)
Distribution. Currently known only from East Lombok in the Nusa Tenggara region of Indonesia. All type specimens were collected from the fish market at Tanjung Luar from handline fishers operating in local waters.
Etymology. Named after John E. Randall, who has made such a significant contribution to the knowledge of anthiine fishes, and Indo –Pacific fishes in general. The review of the Odontanthias genus he co-authored provided detailed description of the nominal species and their relationships with closely related genera. Proposed vernacular name: Lombok Swallowtail
Comparisons. Odontanthias randalli can be separated from the other 13 nominal species of this genus by a combination of coloration, morphology and meristics.
Odontanthias randalli is distinguishable from O. rhodopeplus, O. grahami, O. dorsomaculatus, O. unimaculatus, O. elizabethae and O. caudicinctus in having 16–17 dorsal soft rays (vs. 12–14). It can be separated from O. chrysostictus and O. katayamai in having very long caudal fin lobes (vs. short, rounded caudal fin lobes) and the third dorsal spine longer than other spines (vs. subequal in length). It differs from O. fuscipinnis, O. flagris, O. tapui and O. wassi in having very long, filamentous caudal-fin lobes (vs. short or long, broadly rounded or paddlelike caudal lobes). Odontanthias randalli also differs from O. tapui in having the third dorsal spine longer than other dorsal spines. It differs from O. borbonius in modal number of dorsal soft rays of 16 (vs. 17), coloration and body depth.
The third dorsal soft ray is extremely long and filamentous in O. randalli, but no other dorsal rays are filamentous. In contrast, most of the other nominal species (except O. flagris and O. wassi) have nearly half of the anterior dorsal soft rays produced as filaments. Odontanthias randalli has more lateral-line scales than O. rhodopeplus (37– 39 vs. 30–33), and fewer than O. borbonius (39–43), O. caudicinctus (46–51), O. flagris (40–46), O. fuscipinnis (42–47) and O. wassi (42). The new species has fewer gill rakers (32–39) than most of the other nominal species, i.e. 44 or more in O. elizabethae, O. wassi and O. fuscipinnis; 39 or more in O. chrysostictus, O. dorsomaculatus, O. grahami, O. katayamai, O. rhodopeplus, O. tapui and O. unimaculatus. Odontanthias randalli has a low number of pectoral-fin rays, i.e. 15–16 (modally 15), compared to 18 or more in O. caudicinctus, O. dorsomaculatus and O. unimaculatus; strongly modally 17 in O. borbonius and O. fuscipinnis; and strongly modally 16 in O. tapui. The vomerine tooth patch in O. randalli is elongate and somewhat arrowhead-shaped; it is most similar to that of O. tapui (see Fig. 1 in Randall & Heemstra, 2006).
The colour patterns of Odontanthias species are very distinctive (see Randall & Heemstra, 2006 for fresh specimen images of 13 of the nominal species). The body colour pattern of O. randalli is closest to O. tapui and O. chrysostictus in being pinkish with a bright yellow spot on each scale of the upper half of body. The body colour differs from these species in having four pale pink blotches below the dorsal-fin base. The caudal-fin shape is also very distinctive in O. randalli, i.e. lunate with very long filamentous lobes. Among Odontanthias species, only O. elizabethae possesses similarly long and filamentous caudal-fin lobes.
Three species of Odontanthias have been previously recorded from Indonesia, O. borbonius, O. chrysostictus and O. rhodopeplus, all from northern Sulawesi in the north portion of the archipelago. Odontanthias randalli is one of the first two species of Odontanthias to be recorded from southern Indonesia (Lombok), with a single specimen of O. borbonius (Fig. 3) taken at the same site. Lombok represents a new locality record for O. borbonius.
description: Published as part of White, William T., 2011, Odontanthias randalli n. sp., a new anthiine fish (Serranidae: Anthiinae) from Indonesia, pp. 21-28 in Zootaxa 3015 on pages 22-27, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.205614