Caraibops trispinosus Mochizuki & Sano 1984
Creators: name: Schwarzhans, Werner W.
name: Prokofiev, Artem M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Acropomatidae
Caraibops
Caraibops trispinosus

description: Caraibops trispinosus (Mochizuki & Sano, 1984)
Figs. 2B, 4, 7N, 10G, 13N, 15 V – X, 34, Tables 2–7
Synagrops trispinosus Mochizuki & Sano 1984: fig. 1 (holotype: USNM 232321; type-location off Venezuela, 10°45’N, 66°37’W, 230 m).
Synagrops trispinosus: Garzon & Acero 1986: 316; Mejia et al. 2001: 207; Heemstra & Yamanoue 2002: 1302; Ruiz-Carus et al. 2004: 151.
Material examined (13 specimens). CAS 61035, 5 specimens, 80–119 mm SL, CAS 61040, 97.5 mm SL, CAS 61041, 4 specimens, 81–104 mm SL, off Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 18°13’N, 67°18’W, 356–384 m; USNM 407745, 78 mm SL, off Honduras; USNM 407771, 16 °04’N, 87°14’W, off Honduras, 240–277 m; USNM 436690, 62.5 mm SL, western Caribbean off Panama, 247– 256 m.
Description. Counts and measurements are given in Tables 2–7. Body slender, gracile. Snout long, pointed; interorbital space almost flat. Posterior edge of maxillary almost straight with postero-dorsal and postero-ventral angles rounded. Anterior and posterior nasal openings roundish, almost of equal size; posterior opening being closer to anterior one than to anterior rim of orbit. Preopercle without denticles along inner edge, except the smallest specimen examined (62.5 mm SL) which has up to 9 minute denticles or crenulations, and which disappear in larger fishes; preopercular lobe lacking cross-ridges; denticles of hind margin serration very weak, not extending onto preopercular lobe. Cranial crests W-shaped, very weak. D1 with 8 visible spines, 9th spine reduced to a minute bump-like element, visible on radiographs only; D2 with 1 spine and 10 branched rays; anal fin with 3 spines of similar thickness and 9 branched rays. Anterior laminar bony extension of first dorsal-fin pterygiophore two-thirds very broad in proximal abruptly decreasing distally. Proximal-middle radial of first anal-fin pterygiophore straight and sharply pointed, lacking a groove at anterior edge, reaching first haemal spine. Pelvicfin spine serrated along its outer edge; all other fin spines smooth. Last pair of pleural ribs very long. First haemal spine moderately expanded. Tip of first haemal spine closely-set to the anterior margin of second haemal spine at its midlength. Three epurals, the first curved anteriorly, with a wide space between the neural processes of the 2nd and 3rd preural vertebrae. Scales highly deciduous; 46–51 scales along lateral line (Mochizuki & Sano 1984).
Dentition. Premaxillary with two pairs of strong canines near symphysis, followed posteriorly by a wide band of tiny, conical teeth. Dentary with pair of canines and band of minute conical teeth near symphysis, followed posteriorly by row of several small conical teeth, and two to three enlarged canine-like teeth on each side. Vomer with reduced dentition: narrow V-shaped ridge with few granular teeth anteriorly and two to three rather long, canine-like teeth posteriorly on each side. Palatines with single row of sharp conical teeth. No teeth on ectopterygoid. Tongue toothless.
Otolith morphology (n = 8). Otolith elongate, thin; OL:OH = 1.85–2.05; OL:OT about 4. Dorsal rim shallow, nearly straight, with rounded postdorsal angle located far backward near posterior tip of otolith. Ventral rim deeply curved, deepest anterior of the middle, distinctly upward bent anterior and posterior. Anterior tip with blunt rostrum positioned dorsal of otolith axis; no antirostrum or excisura. Posterior rim rounded, distinctly shifted dorsally. Rims smooth or slightly undulating. Inner face slightly convex with shallow, distinctly supramedian sulcus. Ostium shallow, about twice as wide as cauda, oval in shape, with distinct colliculum, tip of rostrum being in level with dorsal rim of ostium. Cauda slightly deepened, narrow, slightly bent downwards posteriorly. CaL:OsL = 1.1–1.2. Dorsal depression shallow and indistinct. Ventral furrow distinct, markedly turned upward posteriorly and terminating close to the ventral turn of the cauda. Outer face flat, rather smooth.
Size. To 12 cm according Heemstra & Yamanoue (2002). Largest specimen in our materials attains 104 mm SL.
Geographic and bathymetric distribution. As given for the genus.
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 13-15, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.571305