Abstract
The poorly known scorpionfish, Scorpaena taeniophrys, originally described from two specimens from the Philippines, is redescribed as a valid species of Sebastapistes. Sebastapistes taeniophrys differs from all other congeners in having a combination of 15 pectoral-fin rays, 31–33 scale rows in longitudinal series, 11–14 pored lateral-line scales, 3 predorsal scale rows, 12 gill rakers, 3 suborbital spines, absence of coronal spines, lower opercular spine with a median ridge and not covered with scales, ctenoid body scales, several dark transverse bands on ventral surface of mandible, a distinct elongate black blotch distally between the second or third and seventh dorsal-fin spines, and no black blotch on the nape.
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Acknowledgments
I am especially grateful to J. Williams and the staff of the Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center (USNM) in Suitland, and C. Roberts, A. Stewart, and C. Struthers (NMNZ) for their kind hospitality during my stay at their museums. I thank J. Williams (USNM), K. Kuriiwa (NSMT), and Y. Sakurai (Okinawa Environmental Research Co. Ltd.) for kindly donating specimens of Sebastapistes strongia to my museum, and S. Raredon (USNM) for taking photographs for Fig. 1. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (19770067) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and by the Biosystematics of New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone Fishes Program (New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science, and Technology contract MNZX0203).
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Motomura, H. Sebastapistes taeniophrys (Fowler 1943): a valid scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae) from the Philippines. Ichthyol Res 56, 62–68 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0084-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0084-8