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Two new species of the deepwater scorpionfish genus Lioscorpius (Setarchidae) from the southwestern Pacific Ocean

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Abstract

Two new deepwater scorpionfishes, Lioscorpius brevirostris sp. nov. and Lioscorpius vermiculatus sp. nov., are described on the basis of 20 and 11 specimens from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, respectively. Both species are similar to the southwestern Pacific species Lioscorpius trifasciatus Last, Yearsley and Motomura 2005, all three species being distinguishable from Lioscorpius longiceps Günther 1880, the only other valid species of Lioscorpius Günther 1880, by the following characters: III, 5 anal-fin rays, relatively long dorsal-fin spines, and a strongly contrasted reddish caudal-fin margin when fresh. Lioscorpius brevirostris differs from L. trifasciatus and L. vermiculatus in having 15–18 (mode 17) scale rows between the lateral line and first dorsal-fin spine base [vs. 19–21 (20) in L. trifasciatus, 20–22 (21) in L. vermiculatus], 7–10 (8) predorsal scale rows [vs. 11–13 (12) in L. trifasciatus, 10–12 (11) in L. vermiculatus], a short snout, its length 27.7–31.6 (mean 29.9)% of head length (HL) [vs. 32.5–34.8 (33.3)% in L. trifasciatus, 30.8–34.1 (32.7)% in L. vermiculatus], long third anal-fin spine, its length 15.4–18.7 (16.5)% of standard length (SL) [vs. 10.6–14.1% in L. trifasciatus, 11.8–14.5 (13.4)% in L. vermiculatus], short pectoral fin, its length 74.5–84.1 (78.8)% of HL [vs. 83.8–90.6 (88.6)% in L. trifasciatus, 86.0–97.0 (92.5)% in L. vermiculatus], the second anal proximal pterygiophore tip inserted between both parapophyses of the last abdominal vertebra [vs. located just in front of the first caudal vertebra hemal spine in L. trifasciatus and L. vermiculatus], and a single scarlet band on the posterior half of the pectoral fin (vs. three bands in L. trifasciatus). Lioscorpius vermiculatus differs from L. trifasciatus in having a relatively deep body, its depth at the pelvic-fin origin 22.7–25.3 (mean 24.0)% of SL (vs. 20.6–22.8% in the latter), deep maxilla, its depth 15.0–16.2 (15.5)% of HL (vs. 14.0–14.9%, mean 14.6%), the dorsal-fin spines relatively long, fourth spine length 44.4–50.7 (46.3)% of HL (vs. 41.3–44.1%, mean 42.6%), and a vermiculated pattern of about 200 irregular dark blotches covering the dorsal surface in preserved specimens (vs. without remarkable pattern).

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Acknowledgments

We are especially grateful to A. Hay, S. Reader, and M. McGrouther (AMS), S.-P. Huang (ASIZP), T. Peristiwady (LBRC), A. Graham and J. Pogonoski (CSIRO), K. Wibowo (LIPI), P. Pruvost, R. Causse, Z. Gabsi, J. Pfliger, and P. Béarez (MNHN), and G. Shinohara, M. Nakae, and H. Hata (NSMT) for opportunities to examine specimens; T. Hashimoto and R. Furuhashi (KAUM) and H. Senou (KPM) for taking X-ray radiographs of the specimens; G. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand) for reading the manuscript and providing help with English; and Y. Kai (managing editor of Ichthyological Research), Y. Hibino (editor of Ichthyological Research), and two anonymous referees for reading the manuscript and providing valuable comments. The Vietnamese specimens were collected with the support of the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources (Haiphone) and the Ha Long Bay Management Department (Ha Long), with permission for their use granted by the Biodiversity Conservation Agency, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Hanoi). LBRC specimens used in this study were obtained during the SJADES 2018 expedition, co-organized by Chief Scientists D. L. Rahayu (LIPI) and P. Ng (LKCNHM), funded by the National University of Singapore and LIPI, and subject to a research permit from RISTEKDIKTI 80/SIP/FRP/E5/Dit.KI/III/2018. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for JSPS Fellows (PD:21J01755); the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society (2019-4105); JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP23580259, JP26450265, 20H03311, and 21H03651; the JSPS Core-to-Core CREPSUM JPJSCCB20200009; the “Biological Properties of Biodiversity Hotspots in Japan” project of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan; and the “Establishment of Glocal Research and Education Network in the Amami Islands” project of Kagoshima University, adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

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  1. Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, 499 Iryuda, Odawara, Kanagawa, 250-0031, Japan

    Hidetoshi Wada

  2. The Kagoshima University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan

    Hiroyuki Motomura

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  1. Hidetoshi Wada
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Correspondence to Hidetoshi Wada.

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Wada, H., Motomura, H. Two new species of the deepwater scorpionfish genus Lioscorpius (Setarchidae) from the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Ichthyol Res 70, 67–81 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-022-00860-7

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