Copus et al. 2019

Prognathodes geminus, a new species of butterflyfish (Teleostei, Chaetodontidae) from Palau

Copus JM, Pyle RL, Greene BD, Randall JE

scientific article Zookeys Open Access
Abstract

A new species of the butterflyfish genus Prognathodes (Chaetodontidae) is described from two specimens collected at a depth of 116 m off Ngemelis Island, Palau. Prognathodesgeminussp. n. is similar to P.basabei Pyle & Kosaki, 2016 from the Hawaiian archipelago, and P.guezei (Maugé & Bauchot, 1976) from the western Indian Ocean, but differs from these species in the number of soft dorsal-fin rays, size of head, body width, and body depth. There are also subtle differences in life color, and substantial differences in the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I sequence (d ≈ 0.08). Although genetic comparisons with P.guezei are unavailable, it is expected that the genetic divergence between P.guezei and P.geminus will be even greater than that between P.geminus and P.basabei. It is named for the strikingly similar color pattern it shares with P.basabei.

Keywords
Metadata (pending validation)
Depth Range
116–116 m
Mesophotic Mentions
6 × (total of 3455 words)
Classification
  • Presents original data
  • Reports new species
  • Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
Focusgroups
Fishes
Locations
Republic of Palau
Platforms
Rebreather
Author Profiles