Hime pyrhistion, Gomon & Struthers & Stewart, 2013

Gomon, Martin F., Struthers, Carl D. & Stewart, Andrew L., 2013, A New Genus and Two New Species of the Family Aulopidae (Aulopiformes), Commonly Referred to as Aulopus, Flagfins, Sergeant Bakers or Threadsails, in Australasian Waters, Species Diversity 18, pp. 141-161 : 147-151

Hime pyrhistion sp. nov.

[New English name: Flaming Flagfin] ( Figs 1–4 ; Tables 2, 3)

Aulopus japonicus nec Günther 1880 : Paulin 1984: 63, fig. 1.

Aulopus ? japonicus nec Günther 1880 : Paulin et al. 1989: 104, fig. 37.1.

Hime sp. : Shimizu in Amaoka et al. 1990: 126 (unnumbered fig.); Roberts et al. 2009: 530.

Hime NFZ 1: Clark and Roberts 2008: appendix 4 (unnumbered fig.).

Holotype. NMNZ P.054047, 236 mm SL, male, 35°28′S, 174°42′E, western side of Poor Knights Islands , New Zealand, 80 m, June 2012, E. Daysh, rod and line.

Paratypes. 31 specimens, 171–268 mm SL. NEW ZEALAND: NMNZ P.012711, 234 mm SL, male, 35°00.00′S, 173°57.55′E, outside Cavalli Islands, 117 m, longline, July 1982, P. Tane; NMNZ P.016027, 242 mm SL, male, 35°33.75′S, 174°31.00′E, off Matapouri Bay, Tutukaka, 119 m, August 1984, P. Bendle, rod and line; NMNZ P.016187, 242 mm SL, male, 35°33.75′S, 174°31.00′E, off Matapouri Bay, Tutukaka, 119 m, August 1984, P. Bendle, rod and line; NMNZ P.023795, 225 mm SL, male, 35°00.00′S, 174°00.00′E, ca. 3.5 miles North of Castle Rock, Northland, depth unknown, April 1986, V. R. McNabb, rod and line; NMNZ P.033114, 268 mm SL, male, 37°18.00′S, 176°25.00′E, 94 Metre Knoll, 3 miles east of SE Bay, Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty, 94 m, February 1996, L. Sayer, rod and line; NMNZ P.033853, 232 mm SL, male, 35°10.00′S, 174°23.00′E, north east of Cape Brett, depth unknown, October 1996, C. Worthington, rod and line; NMNZ P.033978, 248 mm SL, male, 37°15.00′S, 177°10.00′E, off White Island, Bay of Plenty, depth unknown, collector unknown; NMNZ P.034067, 253 mm SL, male, 37°15.00′S, 176°15.00′E, off Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty, depth unknown, S. Sneddon; NMNZ P.034195, 258 mm SL, male, 37°31.00′S, 177°08.00′E, White Island, Roys Reef, Bay of Plenty, 120 m, January 1997, G. Caw, rod and line; NMNZ P.037199, 220 mm SL, male, 37°31.00′S, 177°08.00′E, off Horseshoe Reef, White Island, Bay of Plenty, 210 m, 6 February 2000, S. Mossman, rod and line; NMNZ P.037272, 198 mm SL, male, 37°32.50′S, 177°11.00′E, off White Island, Bay of Plenty, 160 m, February 2000, S. Hollis-Johns, rod and line; NMNZ P.037984, 230 mm SL, male, 37°15.00′S, 177°02.00′E, Rangatira Knoll, 20 nautical miles NW of White Island, Bay of Plenty, 150 m, 20 November 2001, S. Mossman, rod and line; NMNZ P.038531, 228 mm SL, male, 35°15.00′S, 174°20.00′E, 8 nautical miles NNE of Whangaruru Harbour, Northland, 120 m, 18 October 2002, D. Brambley, rod and line; NMNZ P.039884, 184 mm SL, male, 37°31.00′S, 177°12.00′E, approximately 3 to 5 miles off White Island, Bay of Plenty, 150 m, 2003, R. Pollock, rod and line; NMNZ P.040556, 224 mm SL, male, 37°30.25′S, 177°08.00′E, pinnacles south of the Volkner Rocks, off White Island, Bay of Plenty, 100 m, 4 March 2003, collector unknown, rod and line; NMNZ P.042234, 212 mm SL, female, 37°43′S, 177°15′E, between Opotiki and White Island, Bay of Plenty, 120 m, 22 January 2006, K. Tilley, rod and line; NMNZ P.047782, 197 mm SL, female, 35°25′S, 175°11′E, east of Poor Knights Islands, 153 m, FV Atlantis , demersal trawl; NMNZ P.047783, 188 mm SL, female, 35°25′S, 175°11′E, eastern side of Poor Knights Islands, 153 m, FV Atlantis , demersal trawl; NMNZ P.050424, 171 mm SL, female, 30°30.83′S, 178°36.92′W, NW of Cheeseman Island, Kermadec Islands, 227–240 m, 24 May 2011, K2011-87, Kermadec Expedition, C. Struthers, rod and line; NMNZ P.051887, 241 mm SL, male, 36°48.26′S, 176°00.56′E, off Karewa Island, Bay of Plenty, 90 m, July 2010, A. Oliver, rod and line; NMNZ P.051888, 218 mm SL, male, 36°48.26′S, 176°00.56′E, off Karewa Island, Bay of Plenty, 90 m, July 2010, A. Oliver, rod and line; NMNZ P.052762, 234 mm SL, female, 37°17.17′S, 176°18.07′E, off Mayor Island, 120 m, October 2011, J. Gray, rod and line; NMNZ P.054046, 204 mm SL, male, 35°28′S, 174°42′E, western side of Poor Knights Islands, 80 m, June 2012, E. Daysh, rod and line. TASMAN SEA: CSIRO H6060-04, 216 mm SL, male, 32°36.92′S, 167°35.22′E, Wanganella Bank, Norfolk Ridge, 116–122 m, 29 May 2003, NORFANZ TAN 0308/105, RV Tangaroa , demersal trawl; CSIRO H6068-04, 205 mm SL, male, 32°37.20′S, 167°35.63′E, Wanganella Bank, Norfolk Ridge, 120–127 m, 30 May 2003, NORFANZ TAN 0308/117, RV Tangaroa , demersal trawl; CSIRO H6068-05, 221 mm SL, male, 32°37.20′S, 167°35.63′E, Wanganella Bank, Norfolk Ridge, 120–127 m, 30 May 2003, NORFANZ TAN 0308/117, RV Tangaroa , demersal trawl; CSIRO H6068- 06, 219 mm SL, male, 32°37.20′S, 167°35.63′E, Wanganella Bank, Norfolk Ridge, 120–127 m, 30 May 2003, NORFANZ TAN 0308/117, RV Tangaroa , demersal trawl; NMV A 25160 –001, 176 mm SL, female, 32°37.20′S, 167°35.63′E, Wanganella Bank, West Norfolk Ridge, 120–127 m, 30 May 2003, NORFANZ TAN 0308/117, RV Tangaroa, M. Gomon, NORFANZ team, demersal trawl. AUSTRALIA: AMS I.43948–001, 206 mm SL, female, 28°33′S, 153°50′E, east of Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, 211 m, 13 April 2006, I. Cameron, hook and line; QM I.25673, 2, 193– 201 mm SL, females, east of Innisfail, Queensland, 17°21′S, 150°09′E, 380 m, April 1988, Raptis, trawl.

Other material. NEW ZEALAND: NMNZ P . 007533, 61 mm SL, sex unknown, 29°13′S, 178°10′W, East Anchorage, Raoul Island , depth unknown, RV Acheron ; NMNZ P . 052258, 227 mm SL, male, 36°28′S, 175°30.7′E, Great Barrier Island , 180 m, November 2010, J . Sheehan; NMNZ P . 052290, 236 mm SL, sex unknown, 34°16.05′S, 173°1.58′E, off North Cape , 177 m, 25 March 2011, TAN 1105/009, RV Tangaroa , beam trawl; NMNZ P . 052489, 245 mm SL, male, 35°34.67′S, 174°38.95′E, west of Sugerloaf Rock, Poor Knights Islands , 103 m, 6 September 2011, C .D. Roberts and P. Saul, rod and line; NMNZ P . 052490, 214 mm SL, female, 35°34.67′S, 174°38.95′E, west of Sugerloaf Rock, Poor Knights Islands , 177 m, 6 September 2011, C .D. Roberts and P. Saul, rod and line; NMNZ P . 053101, 204 mm SL, female, 35°22.7′S, 174°48.5′E, “Kumera Patch” off the Poor Knights Islands , 130 m, 2012, E . Daysh, rod and line, 2012. AUSTRALIA: AMS I. 42982–001, 162 mm SL, male, 3 miles SW of Lord Howe Island , Australia, 31°37′S, 159°03′E, 160 m, April 2002, S . Wilson; QM I . 25507, 230 mm SL, male, North Gifford Tablemount , Queensland, 26°47.4′S, 159°25.2′E to 26°45.8′S, 159°21.4′E, 318–320 m, 28 September 1988, K . King, FV Eikyu-maru, trawl; QM I . 35639, 206 mm SL, female, Fraser Seamount , Queensland, 24°26′S, 155°17′E, 372 m, 11 February 2004, trawl, Australian Fisheries Management Authority .

Diagnosis. Dorsal fin rays 16, rarely 15 or 17; anal fin rays 10, rarely 9 or 11; pectoral fin rays 11, rarely 10; vertebrae 42 or 43; total gill rakers 15–20; lateral line scales 41– 43; pyloric caeca 11. Dorsal fin large and sail-like anteriorly in males, membranes deeply incised but none of the rays filamentous, third to fifth rays longest, reaching 36.5% SL, decreasing in length to middle of fin with posterior rays progressively longer, reaching 23.4% SL, posterior lobe reaching to or past adipose fin origin; anterior end of fin lower in females, membranes deeply incised with rays decreasing in length to middle of fin, lengths of subsequent rays subequal; posterior lobe reaching little more than half way to hypural crease. Anal fin relatively deep in males, posterior lobe approaching hypural crease in large individuals; fin smaller in females, posterior lobe reaching little more than half way to hypural crease. Males with subdistal red to orange band or row of spots anteriorly in raised portion of dorsal fin, row of fainter orange spots behind and below, broad distal margin mostly white, basal half of fin with two rows of large orangeedged yellow spots; anal fin white with broad yellow stripe on basal half of fin; caudal fin white with broad horizontal stripe from fleshy base on each lobe, lower lobe crossed with about two broad yellow bands, upper lobe crossed with three or four narrower orange bands, last just below white lobe tip; pelvic fins whitish with faint yellow to orange bands or rows of spots, especially at base; head and body tan to pink above, white below with three brown double bands on dorsal half of side and row of uneven sized dark pink to mauve blotches just below lateral midline. Females with several horizontal rows of large reddish or reddish-orange spots in dorsal fin, distal margin white, broadest anteriorly, unpaired fins without yellow markings; caudal, pelvic and sometimes anal crossed with usually faint orange bands, darkest near tip of upper caudal lobe; head and body similar to that of males; usually distinct dark brown horizontally aligned double blotch at ventral end of anteriormost band on side. A moderately large species for the genus, largest specimen examined 268 mm SL.

Description. Dorsal fin rays 16 (15–17); anal fin rays 10 (10 or 11); caudal fin rays 9+19+9; pectoral fin rays 11 (10 or 11); pelvic fin rays 9; vertebrae 27+15=42 (26–28+14– 16=42 or 43); lateral line scales 41 (41–43+1); scales above lateral line 4.5; scales below lateral line 4.5; predorsal scales 12 (12–16, rarely 18); gill rakers 5+15=20 (3–5+11–16= 15–20); pyloric caeca 11 (based on NMNZ P.052489) (see Tables 2 and 3 for additional meristic and morphometric values).

Body elongate, moderately thick, of similar breadth from eyes to posterior end of dorsal fin; dorsal profile of head and nape mostly straight, inclined to dorsal fin origin, sloping more gradually to base of tail with straight dorsal profile; ventral profile of head and body mostly straight; caudal peduncle moderately narrow; body deepest at anterior part of dorsal fin, depth at dorsal fin origin 20.0 (19.1–23.3) % SL, depth at origin of adipose fin 10.6 (9.3–11.9) % SL; anus slightly closer to anal-fin origin than pelvic-fin origin. Head of moderate size, bluntly pointed; snout short, much shorter than eye diameter, broadly rounded from above; eye large, diameter 8.1 (7.3–10.8) % SL and 25.7 (23.6–34.4) % HL, top of eye at or extending slightly above dorsal profile of head; bony interorbital distinctly concave, narrow, interorbital width 4.7 (4.0–5.3) % SL and 15.9 (12.6–17.2) % HL; postorbital nearly half head length. Anterior nostril small, about midway between tip of snout and orbit, posterior nostril much larger, about three or four times diameter of anterior nostril, long narrow, lanceolate skin flap based on septum separating nostrils ( Fig. 2A ). Edge of preopercle smooth, posterior margin straight, angle blunt; opercular margin nearly straight; without well-developed membranous lobe; branchiostegal membranes overlapping ventrally, free from isthmus. Mouth of moderate size, terminal, lower jaw projecting slightly in advance of upper, profile of upper jaw with distinct notch at symphasis when viewed from above; posterior end of maxilla broad, posterior margin nearly straight, extending just past vertical through centre of eye, dorsal margin positioned adjacent to underside of eye with mouth closed; upper lip narrow, not covering tooth band in upper jaw with mouth closed. Teeth in jaws small, caniniform, in about two rows laterally and three to four illdefined rows anteriorly in upper jaw, those mesially longest, small teeth extending onto side of jaw near front, distinct hiatus of teeth at symphasis; band of three to four rows of teeth laterally in lower jaw, additional row or two of much smaller teeth basally on outer edge at front; narrow hiatus in dentition at symphasis, teeth largest mesially. About two rows of small canines on palatines and traversing vomer, those medially slightly smaller. Gill rakers of moderate length.

Scales of moderate size, finely spiniform along margins, not extending onto fins. Predorsal scales extending forward to vertical through posterior extent of eye, covering opercle and preopercle forward to posterior end of maxilla; axial scale present at origin of pectoral and pelvic fins. Lateral line midlaterally on side, originating at horizontal through upper margin of eye; lateral line scales corresponding with oblique scale rows above and below lateral line; single pore on each lateral line scale.

Dorsal fin originating just in advance of vertical through pelvic fin origin, distance from snout tip to dorsal fin origin 34.3 (33.6–37.1) % SL; dorsal fin base of moderate length; fin large and sail-like anteriorly in males, membranes deeply incised but none of the rays filamentous, third to fifth rays longest, longest 32.0 (24.0– 36.5 in males) % SL, decreasing in length to middle of fin with posterior rays progressively longer, penultimate ray reaching 20.3 (19.2–23.4 in males) % SL, posterior lobe reaching to or past adipose fin origin; anterior end of fin lower in females, membranes deeply incised, third or fourth ray longest (19.9–24.2% SL), subsequent rays decreasing in length to middle of fin (tenth ray 14.5–17.2% SL), lengths of subsequent rays subequal, penultimate ray 12.6–15.9% SL; posterior lobe reaching little more than half way to adipose fin; first dorsal-fin ray unbranched, others branched. Adipose fin rather small but prominent, positioned above posterior end of anal-fin base. Anal fin originating slightly in advance of vertical through midpoint between dorsal fin insertion and hypural crease, with short base; relatively deep in males, posteriormost rays much longer than anterior rays and posterior lobe approaching hypural crease in large individuals; fin smaller in females, lengths of posterior rays subequal; posterior lobe reaching little more than half way to hypural crease; first one or two rays unbranched, others branched. Caudal fin deeply forked, shortest rays at middle of fin slightly more than a third length of longest rays extending to corners, lobes nearly pointed, upper lobe slightly longer than lower; rays near ventral margin of fin more densely segmented than those near dorsal margin of fin; unbranched ray at ventral margin not with opaque fleshy covering. Pectoral fin of moderate size, length 21.1 (20.2–23.1 in males, 19.6–22.9 in females) % SL, tip reaching just past middle of dorsal fin base; origin of fin just in advance of vertical through dorsal fin origin; first two rays simple, others branched, third longest, subsequent rays progressively shorter. Pelvic fins moderately large, posterior tip of depressed fin reaching past anus, more so in males than females; first four rays not especially thickened and cylindrical, densely segmented, first ray unbranched, second to fourth each with pair of simple thickened branches, subsequent rays progressively shorter, flattened with typical multibranching, except for inner-most unbranched ray. A species of moderate size, largest specimen examined 268 mm SL.

Colour of preserved specimens. Body dusky above, almost uniformly pale below level of pectoral fin base, a number of darker blotches above lateral midline, most prominent a rectangular blotch below anterior fifth of dorsal fin base at level of upper third of eye, several others at same level, somewhat paired, below nape, below rear end of dorsal fin base, and below adipose fin; second row of horizontally aligned blotches closer to dorsal profile of side, just above and behind each blotch of first row, blotches appearing somewhat like obliquely slanted ‘H’ shaped marks in some; opercle mostly dark dusky; fins pale; anal fins of freshly preserved males with dusky band distally; adipose fin dusky.

Colour when fresh. Upper half of head and body orangish pink, darkest dorsally with three broad bands, each comprising series of orange to dark brown marks demarcating anterior and posterior edges, bands centred below anterior part of dorsal fin, posterior end of dorsal fin and adipose fin, anterior band with edges converging ventrally, lowermost dark marks forming rather prominent rectangular blotch, edges of second and third bands more parallel and angled slightly anteroventrally; orange and brown blotches and marks scattered elsewhere on upper half of body; lower half of body white, more orange ventrally between bases of pelvic and caudal fins; prominent rosy blotches midlaterally, largest below second and third bands; cheek and lower half of operculum rosy. Dorsal fin white with prominent red, orange and yellow spots in males, females with red to orange spots; pattern variable in both sexes but males usually with red spots dorsoanteriorly, joining into larger irregular red blotches in some, with broad mostly white distal margin anteriorly in some; spots in three or four irregular rows posteriorly transitioning from orange to yellow; females with about two or three rows of spots of similar colour, those anterodorsally converging in some, distal row also converging to some degree in some appearing as stripe, distal margin mostly white, often broader anteriorly. Adipose fin white, upper edge somewhat reddish; some males with yellowish hue. Anal fin white, males with broad yellow stripe on basal half of fin and often one or more yellow spots posteriorly in distal half; fin of females sometimes pinkish posteriorly. Caudal fin white with several pink to orange bands crossing each lobe, distal band on upper lobe often more distinct and broader, lobe tip often prominently white; males with pair of broad yellow stripes each directed horizontally across base of each lobe. Pectoral fin pale pink. Pelvic fin white with pale pink concentric bands, bands more orange in some males ( Fig. 3 ).

Etymology. The specific name pyrhistion is a combination of the Greek words pyr for ‘fire’ and histion for ‘sail,’ to recognise the colourful red and yellow patterned dorsal fin characteristic of this species. As mentioned above, Thompson provided a name for this species but we have chosen to alter his ‘ pyrrhopinna ’ based on Greek and Latin derivatives to the all Greek combination with essentially the same meaning.

Distribution. Recorded from northeastern New Zealand, south to the Bay of Plenty, and the Kermadec Ridge, the Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea and off eastern Australia between Innisfail, Queensland and Brunswick Heads, New South Wales ( Fig. 4 ), at depths of 80– 380 m. Like other species in the family, the vast majority of specimens in collections have been taken with hook and line, implying a preference for hard to cobble substrate habitat.

Remarks. Shimizu (in Amaoka et al. 1990), based on specimens collected by the R/V Shinkai-maru between 1975 and 1986, recognised that Paulin (1984) had misidentified this species as Aulopus japonicus . Shimizu was able to separate the two by the shape of the dorsal fin, which has a distinctly concave distal margin in males of this new species, in contrast to the mostly straight outer margin in males of H. japonica . Although the dorsal fin has a similar shape in females of both species, they differ in the relative height of the fin, as reflected in the lengths of the third and fourth dorsal fin rays that are distinctly shorter in H. japonica (17.0–20.2 and 16.4–20.5 vs 19.9–23.6 and 20.4–24.3% SL, respectively). The same is true for males, but the relative differences of fin ray lengths are much greater (17.7–21.0 and 17.4–25.7 vs 24.9–32.8 and 28.2–36.3% SL).

Figures

Fig. 1. TN93 neighbour-joining tree of 59 COI sequences from 4 purported genera and 11 purported species of Aulopidae, as well as sequences for an outgroup species, Paraulopus nigripinnis. Percent bootstrap values are given for all well supported nodes (>70%), followed by bootstrap values for these nodes in a TN93 maximum likelihood and a p-distance neighbour joining tree. See text. Specimen numbers are registration numbers of vouchers or those of the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD, www.barcodinglife.org) or GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov).

Fig. 2. Nasal flap: A) Hime pyrhistion sp. nov. NMNZ P.054047, holotype; B) Leptaulopus damasi NSMT-P. 115220, neotype; and, C) Leptaulopus erythrozonatus sp. nov. NMNZ P.042518, holotype.

Fig. 3. Hime pyrhistion sp. nov.: A) NMNZ P.054047, holotype, 236mm SL, male, Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand; B) dorsal fin of CSIRO H 6060–04, 216mm SL, male, paratype, Norfolk Ridge, Tasman Sea (NORFANZ founding parties, photo by K. Parkinson); C) dorsal fin of NMNZ P.052258, non-type, 227mm SL, male, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand; D) NMNZ P.047782, paratype, 197mm SL, female, Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand; E) dorsal fin of NMNZ P.050424, paratype, 171mm SL, female, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand; F) dorsal fin of NMNZ P.052762, paratype, 234mm SL, female, Mayor Island, New Zealand.

Fig. 4. Collection localities for specimens examined of Hime spp. Hime pyrhistion sp. nov. (circles): holotype black with red centre, paratypes red and other material blue; Hime japonica (yellow stars).