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A new species of scorpionfish, Ebosia vespertina (Scorpaenidae: Pteroinae), from the southwestern Indian Ocean

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Abstract

A new species of scorpaenid fish, Ebosia vespertina sp. nov., is described on the basis of 19 specimens from off Mozambique, South Africa, and Madagascar, southwestern Indian Ocean. The new species is most similar to Ebosia falcata and Ebosia saya, known from the northern and eastern Indian Ocean and Saya de Malha Bank, respectively, in having usually 8 anal-fin soft rays, usually more than 17 pectoral-fin rays, and the elongated parietal spine in males narrow and strongly curved posterodorsally. However, E. vespertina can be distinguished from the two latter species by the following combination of characters: pectoral-fin rays 17–18 (modally 18); scale rows above the lateral line 4–6 (5); scale rows between the last dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 4–5 (5); scale rows between the sixth dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 4–5 (5); postorbital length 17.4–20.3 (mean 18.7) % of standard length (SL); longest pectoral-fin ray length 54.6–73.9 (65.1) % of SL; longest pelvic-fin soft ray length 32.4–44.0 (37.6) % of SL. The remaining congener, Ebosia bleekeri, known from the western Pacific Ocean, usually has 7 anal-fin soft rays and 16 pectoral-fin rays, and the elongated parietal spine in males relatively broad and not so strongly curved.

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Acknowledgments

We are deeply grateful to R. Bills, O. Gon and E. Heemstra (SAIAB); M. Bougaardt and D. Clarke (SAM); M. McGrouther, A. Hay and S. Reader (AMS); K.-T. Shao, Y.-C. Liao and M.-Y. Lee (ASIZP); H. Endo, T. Yamakawa, N. Nakayama, R. Asaoka (BSKU), E. Katayama and R. Misawa (formerly BSKU); Y. Kai, A. Tokairin (FAKU), T. Nakabo and N. Muto (formerly FAKU); M. Yabe, H. Imamura and T. Kawai (HUMZ); R. Causse (MNHN); Y. Iwatsuki (MUFS), K. Hidaka and K. Miyamoto (formerly MUFS); M. Meister and M.-D. Wandhammer (MZS); Z. Arifin, R. Pratiwi, M. Adrim, I. Alhakim and K. Wibowo (NCIP); H.-C. Ho (NMMB); A. Palandacic (NMW); M. Gomon and D. Bray (NMV); K. Matsuura and G. Shinohara (NSMT); K.-Y. Wu (NTUM); T. Yoshino (formerly URM); K. Hoshino and M. Okamoto (SNFR); J. Williams (USNM); S. Morrison (WAM); R. Thiel and I. Eidus (ZMH); K. Gopi and S. Mishra (ZSI); and K. Sakamoto (ZUMT) for their kind hospitality during the first author’s visits to their institutions. We are especially grateful to E. Heemstra (SAIAB) for providing the photograph of the Madagascar specimen of E. vespertina which was taken by M. Lee during the 2010 Atimo Vatae expedition to south Madagascar [principal investigator, P. Bouchet (MNHN)]. We are also grateful to R. Feeney (LACM) for providing opportunities to examine specimens; H.-C. Ho (MNHB) and H. Endo, N. Nakayama, R. Misawa and other students of BSKU for donating specimens; and students and volunteers of KAUM for curatorial assistance. G. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand) read the manuscript and provided help with English. This study was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A: 26241027, B: 24370041, and C: 23580259 and 26450265) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan (JSPS), JSPS Asian Core Program ‘‘Establishment of Research and Education Network on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia’’, JSPS International Training Program ‘‘Protect Diversity of Bioresources in the Tropical Area’’, the Coastal Area Capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia Project of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan the ‘‘Biological Properties of Biodiversity Hotspots in Japan’’ project of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan, and by a grant awarded to the first author from the Mikimoto Fund for Marine Ecology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, 1551-8 Taira, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan

    Mizuki Matsunuma

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

    Hiroyuki Motomura

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  1. Mizuki Matsunuma
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  2. Hiroyuki Motomura
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Correspondence to Mizuki Matsunuma.

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This article was registered in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) as 685CE299-1C44-45A2-B99C-F4C9E6313EAE.

This article was published as an Online First article on the online publication date shown on this page. The article should be cited by using the doi number.

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Matsunuma, M., Motomura, H. A new species of scorpionfish, Ebosia vespertina (Scorpaenidae: Pteroinae), from the southwestern Indian Ocean. Ichthyol Res 63, 110–120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-015-0479-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-015-0479-2

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