RESEARCH ARTICLE
Meiacanthus solomon,
a new fangblenny (Teleostei: Blenniidae) from the
Solomon Islands, with a redescription and new records
of M. limbatus
William F. Smith-Vaniz &
Gerald R. Allen
Abstract
Meiacanthus solomon sp. nov. (Teleostei: Blenniidae)
is described on the basis of the holotype (27.8 mm
SL) collected in 60-65 m from the Solomon Islands.
The new species is characterized by the following
combination of characters: a single, dark, mid-lateral
stripe extending from the snout, slightly onto the
dorsal part of the pectoral-fin base, and terminating
at the base of the caudal fin, with white immediately
above and below the stripe in life, and 13 segmented
anal-fin rays. It differs from the other similar dark-striped
species, including M. abruptus, M. geminatus, M.
luteus, M. vicinus, and M. vittatus, by
a combination of color pattern features and fin-ray
counts. In addition, M. limbatus is redescribed
on the basis of recent collections from Indonesia
and Papua New Guinea. This fangblenny differs from
all others in having a narrow black stripe along the
base of the anal fin in adults. In view of a previous
misidentification, a partial redescription of the
species is provided.
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CITATION:
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Allen,
G.R. (2019) Meiacanthus solomon, a new fangblenny
(Teleostei: Blenniidae) from the Solomon Islands,
with a redescription and new records of M. limbatus.
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 33,
44-52.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3268872
.
publication date: 6 July
2019
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