Plectranthias Bleeker
- Dataset
- Review of Australian species of Plectranthias Bleeker and Selenanthias Tanaka (Teleostei: Serranidae: Anthiadinae), with descriptions of four new species
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Actinopterygii
- order
- Perciformes
- family
- Serranidae
- genus
- Plectranthias
diagnosis
Diagnosis. The following combination of characters distinguishes Plectranthias from other serranid genera: dorsal fin with 10 (rarely 9) spines and 13 – 20 segmented rays, incised between the spinous and soft portions; pectoral rays 12 – 18; lateral line with 8 – 46 tubed scales; no auxiliary scales on head or body; scales with or without basal cteni; teeth on vomer in a V- or U-shaped patch; no teeth on tongue; gill rakers 3 – 10 + 7 – 22 = 12 – 31; total vertebrae 26 (rarely 27).
discussion
Remarks. We follow Randall (1980) in including Sayonara Jordan & Seale, 1906, lsobuna Jordan in Jordan & Herre, 1907, Xenanthias Regan, 1908, Zalanthias Jordan & Richardson, 1910, Pteranthias Weber, 1913, Serranops Regan, 1914, Pelontrus Smith, 1961 and Zacallanthias Katayama, 1964 in the synonymy of Plectranthias. This is despite the lack of evidence for monophyly of the genus, and results from preliminary molecular studies that suggest the genus is not only non-monophyletic, but that some species are more closely related to the Serraninae than the Anthiadinae (Smith & Craig 2007, but see Smith et al. 2018). We further note that some characters used to diagnose other anthiadine genera, such as presence or absence of basal cteni on scales, lateral-line development and pectoral-ray branching, vary among Plectranthias species. Although some authors have recognised Zalanthias as a valid genus (e. g. Smith & Craig 2007; Kharin & Balanov 2013), we feel that more extensive sampling of species and characters is needed before any classification changes are made. The genus Hypoplectrodes Gill, 1862 is well represented in southern Australian waters and is easily confused with Plectranthias. Heemstra & Anderson (1983) distinguished Hypoplectrodes (as Ellerkeldia Whitley, 1927, a junior synonym; see Anderson & Heemstra 1989) from Plectranthias solely on the basis of vertebral counts, with Hypoplectrodes typically having one more vertebra (27 versus 26 in Plectranthias). The monotypic Australian genera Epinephelides Ogilby, 1899 and Othos Castelnau, 1875 also resemble Plectranthias but were not considered by Heemstra & Anderson (1983). We confirm counts of 10 + 17 vertebrae for all Australian Hypoplectrodes, Othos and Epinephelides based on the examination of radiographs of the following specimens (number of specimens in parentheses): E. armatus (Castelnau, 1875), AMS I. 20233 - 011 (4), AMS I. 20233 - 071 (1), AMS I. 20245 - 015 (1); H. annulatus (G ̹ nther, 1859), AMS I. 17234 - 001 (1), AMS I. 19901 - 034 (1), AMS I. 22559 - 001 (1); H. cardinalis Allen & Randall, 1990, AMS E. 2492 (1), AMS I. 12403 (1), AMS I. 18476 - 001 (1 paratype), CSIRO H 6381 - 07 (1), CSIRO H 6381 - 08 (1); H. jamesoni Ogilby, 1908, AMS I. 17773 - 001 (1), AMS I. 19237 - 002 (1), AMS I. 19246 - 001 (1), CSIRO H 6727 - 04 (1), CSIRO H 7678 - 03 (1), CSIRO H 7679 - 02 (1); H. maccullochi (Whitley, 1929), AMS I. 19700 - 016 (4), CSIRO CA 680 (1); H. nigrorubrum (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1828), AMS I. 19103 - 024 (2), AMS I. 20239 – 015 (1); H. wilsoni (Allen & Moyer, 1980), AMS I. 20233 - 010 (3 paratypes); H. sp. nov. (C. D. Roberts ms), AMS I. 17260 - 001 (1), AMS I. 18428 - 001 (1), AMS I. 20774 - 001 (1), AMS I. 22756 - 001 (1), CSIRO H 8032 - 01 (1); and Othos dentex (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1828), WAM P. 4136 - 001 (2), WAM P. 4071 - 001 (1), USNM 177012 (1). Most other anthiadines have 26 vertebrae, the typical count for Plectranthias species. Aside from Epinephelides, Othos and Hypoplectrodes, a count of 27 has been otherwise recorded from one species of the genus Caprodon Temminck & Schlegel, 1843 by Kharin & Dudarev (1983), from the holotype of Plectranthias bilaticlavia Paulin & Roberts, 1987 and from some specimens of P. japonicus by Katayama (1959; as Sayonara satsumae). Pinheiro et al. (2018) recorded a count of 10 + 17 vertebrae for their new species Tosanoides aphrodite. However, their radiographs of the holotype and a paratype (their figures 1 and 2) indicate this count is in error, and that the species agrees with other species of Tosanoides Kamohara, 1953 in having 10 + 16 vertebrae. We record a count of 10 + 17 from two additional anthiadines, one of four examined specimens of P. longimanus, and the holotype and only known specimen of P. grahami n. sp. Justification for classifying P. grahami in Plectranthias rather than Hypoplectrodes, Epinephelides or Othos is given under Remarks for P. grahami. We here recognise 22 species of Plectranthias from Australian waters: P. sp. 1 from a large seamount north of Middleton Reef and Norfolk Rise, Tasman Sea; P. alleni from off southwest Western Australia; P. azumanus (Jordan & Richardson 1910) from off southwest Western Australia; P. bennetti from Holmes Reef, Coral Sea; P. cruentus from Lord Howe Island and possibly from off Stradbroke Island, Queensland; P. ferrugineus n. sp. from the North West Shelf; P. fourmanoiri from Christmas Island and Holmes Reef, Coral Sea; P. grahami n. sp. from off central New South Wales, Tasman Sea; P. inermis from Christmas Island; P. japonicus from the North West Shelf and Arafura Sea; P. kamii Randall, 1980 from Christmas Island, east of the Murray Islands, Coral Sea, and Lord Howe Island; P. lasti from the North West Shelf and off Marion Reef, Queensland; P. longimanus from the Timor Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and southern Queensland; P. maculicauda from southeastern Australia; P. megalophthalmus from northeast of the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland; P. mcgroutheri n. sp. from the North West Shelf; P. melanesius Randall, 1980 from southeastern Queensland and a seamount north of Middleton Reef; P. moretonensis n. sp. from off Stradbroke Island, Queensland; P. nanus from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea; P. retrofasciatus Fourmanoir & Randall, 1979 from the Great Barrier Reef; P. robertsi from off the Queensland coast, Coral Sea; and P. winniensis from the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Four of the species represent new records for Australia: P. azumanus, P. kamii, P. megalophthalmus and P. melanesius. Previous records of P. megalophthalmus from the North West Shelf are based on misidentified specimens of P. lasti. Records of P. wheeleri from the North West Shelf are here identified as P. mcgroutheri n. sp. A record of P. yamakawai Yoshino from Christmas Island is based on a misidentified specimen of P. kamii. Plectranthias retrofasciatus was previously recorded from the Great Barrier Reef as P. pallidus, here shown to be a junior synonym. Video-based records of P. kelloggi from the Great Barrier Reef appear to be based also on P. retrofasciatus.