Tripterygiidae
Creators: name: Holleman, Wouter
name: Bogorodsky, Sergey V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Tripterygiidae

description: Key to the males of Red Sea species of Tripterygiidae
1a. First dorsal fin with three spines; no scales on head...........................................................2
1b. First dorsal fin with four spines; head with scales........................................... Norfolkia brachylepis
2a. LL divided into anterior section of pored scales and posterior section of notched scales.............................. 4
2b. LL only of pored scales, ending below second or third dorsal fin................................................ 3
3a. Males red in life, head dark with broad, pale blue mark above lip and on lower preopercle; females translucent greenish; body with indistinct brownish-red bars and scattered blotches; membrane of first dorsal fin of both sexes cream with reddish mark- ings and many micro-melanophores; dentary pores 3 + 1–2 + 3; underwater males with indistinct brownish-red bars and scat- tered blotches........................................................................ Helcogramma steinitzi
3b. Males dark grey to dark red in life; lower half of head with many melanophores and bright blue line from corner of mouth, angling posteroventrally across cheek onto preopercle; both sexes with distinct, irregular bright red bars; first dorsal-fin mem- brane translucent with some iridescence; dentary pores 4 + 1 + 4; underwater with distinct irregular, bright red bars in both sexes, first dorsal-fin membrane translucent with some iridescence......................... Helcogramma obtusirostris
4a. Body and anal fin with bars.............................................................................. 5
4b. Body without bars; anal fin with narrow bars or without bars................................................... 6
5a. Body with four dark bars usually divided below LL and continuing onto anal fin, and two paler bars below pectoral fin; nape
and belly scaled; yellow and brown in life................................................ Enneapterygius clarkae 5b. Body with dark bars, darkest across peduncle, with black spots above and often below; anal fin with five oblique black bars, prominent subcutaneous black spots at base of anal fin, and black pre-anal spot; belly without scales; pinkish in life........................................................................................... Enneapterygius destai 6a. Anal fin with narrow bars............................................................................... 7
6b. Anal fin without bars................................................................................... 9
7a. First dorsal fin of males higher than second................................................................. 8
7b. First dorsal fin subequal to second; head of males dark olive, body olive green with white blotches, anal fin barred black and white....................................................................... Enneapterygius ventermaculus
8a. Third dorsal fin with 8–9 rays; supraoccipital sensory canal ‘C’-shaped (A); all pectoral-fin rays simple; in life base of ventral fins and fins white, head and body speckled with orange, first dorsal fin with crimson........... Enneapterygius altipinnis
8b. Third dorsal fin with 10–11 rays; supraoccipital sensory canal ‘U’-shaped (B); base of ventral fins and proximal part of rays black in males; some pectoral-fin rays divided; in life face red, first dorsal fin yellow and sometimes very tall............................................................................................... Enneapterygius pusillus
9a. Nape scaled, anal fin with fewer than 20 rays............................................................... 10
9b. Nape naked, anal fin with 21–22 rays................................................... Enneapterygius pallidus
10a. Dentary pores 2 + 2 + 2................................................................................ 11
10b. Dentary pores 3 + 1 + 3, males bright yellow in life, head with many melanophores to solid black, females with body scales edged in orange-brown, forming narrow irregular bars; orange bar below eye...................... Enneapterygius abeli
11a. Small black spot on upper caudal peduncle; no patch of melanophores on dorsum; anterior LL scales 10–12; males translucent and red in life, first dorsal fin white to cream, females translucent, scales edged in pink........... Enneapterygius obscurus
11b. No black spot on upper caudal peduncle; small oval patch of melanophores on dorsum between 3rd and 4th dorsal-fin spines; anterior LL scales 8–10; crimson in life, first dorsal fin crimson anteriorly with gold spots, and white posteriorly, males with rectangular blotch of melanophores on midside, below second dorsal fin................. Enneapterygius qirmiz sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Holleman, Wouter & Bogorodsky, Sergey V., 2012, A review of the blennioid fish family Tripterygiidae (Perciformes) in the Red Sea, with description of Enneapterygius qirmiz, and reinstatement of Enneapterygius altipinnis Clark, 1980, pp. 36-60 in Zootaxa 3152 on pages 38-39, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.279573