Priolepis compita Winterbottom, 1985

Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Suzuki, Toshiyuki & Mal, Ahmad O., 2016, Description of a new species of Priolepis (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from the Red Sea, a new record of Priolepis compita, and a distributional range extension of Trimma fishelsoni, Zootaxa 4150 (2), pp. 168-184 : 175-177

Priolepis compita Winterbottom, 1985

Crossroads Reefgoby

Figure 3A

Priolepis compita Winterbottom, 1985: 748 , Figs. 1 , 2 , 4 (Salomon Atoll, Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean).

Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays VI + I,8–9 (usually 8); first four spines of first dorsal fin slightly elongate, membranes between spines incised; anal-fin rays I,7–8 (usually 7); pectoral-fin rays 17–19, rays branched; longitudinal scale series 23–26; scales on body ctenoid, becoming cycloid anterior to middle of first dorsal fin; no scales on head, nape, pectoral-fin base or chest; cheek papillae pattern reduced; gill opening extending forward to below posterior margin of eye; pelvic fins broadly joined by membrane, usually reaching anal-fin origin, fifth ray with two dichotomous branches; no pelvic frenum. Body semi-translucent yellowish brown, densely dotted with dark brown, with three short white bars below first dorsal fin, first oblique; head reddish, dotted with dark brown, with three black-edged white bars extending ventrally from eye; interorbital with transverse bands; three black-edged white bars across nape continue across preopercle, opercle, and pectoral-fin base, joined by horizontal to slightly oblique bands at eye level; iris dark red, with radiating black-edged white bands; fins dark yellow.

Distribution and habitat. Winterbottom (1985) and Winterbottom & Burridge (1993a) reported P. compita from South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Comoro Islands, Seychelles, Chagos Archipelago (type locality: Salomon Atoll), Indonesia, Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Fiji, Tahiti, Society Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago and Marquesas Islands. It is recorded from a variety of habitats, from lagoons, reef flats, and drop-offs at depth of 1– 36 m. The record from the Red Sea is based on a single individual photographed on a reef flat in less than one meter depth at Sharm el Moya, near the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Remarks. The individual photographed on the reef flat in the northern Red Sea ( Fig. 3A ) matches the descriptions of Priolepis compita provided by Winterbottom (1985) and Winterbottom & Burridge (1993a). The species is easily recognized by the three black-edged bars behind the eye, joined by cross-bands at eye level.

Among the six Red Sea species of the genus, P. compita and P. semidoliata , are assigned to a species group characterized by reduced transverse cheek papillae pattern and no predorsal scales. Priolepis compita may be confused with P. semidoliata ( Fig. 3 B) but differs in fewer dorsal-fin rays VI + I,8–9 (usually 8) versus dorsal-fin rays VI + I,9–10 (usually 9) and in the pattern of bars posterior to the eye. The three white bars behind the eye are joined by a stripe at the level of the eye in P. compita versus two bars across the anterior nape joined into a bar continuing across the preopercle, and the bar across the posterior part of the predorsal area dividing into two bars that cross the opercle and the pectoral-fin base; these bars not joined by a stripe at the level of the eye in P. semidoliata . Winterbottom & Burridge (1993a) noted that the two bars on the anterior nape immediately posterior to the orbit may be joined by a cross-band along the midline, as seen in photographs of fish from different areas ( Winterbottom & Emery 1986, Fig. 86, from Chagos Archipelago; Randall, 2005, from Bali; Allen & Erdmann, 2012, from West Papua; color image by R. Winterbottom ( ROM 74982) from Palau) . The two bars anteriorly on the nape midline are not joined by a cross-band in the Red Sea individual, although more specimens are needed to determine whether this condition is an intraspecific character. Priolepis compita can easily distinguish from other Red Sea congeners, Priolepis cincta , P. goldshmidtae , P. melanops n. sp. and P. randalli , by a reduced cheek papillae pattern, absence of predorsal scales, and coloration.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Priolepis melanops, n. sp., SMF 35728, holotype, female, 24.0 mm SL, Al Lith, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea A: freshly collected; B: preserved; C: ventral view of region between pelvic and anal fins; red line indicates basal membrane, yellow lines show fourth and fifth pelvic-fin rays. Photos by S. V. Bogorodsky (A) and T. Suzuki (B, C).

FIGURE 2. Priolepis melanops n. sp., SMF 35728, holotype, cephalic sensory papillae of head. Dorsal (top), lateral (middle) and ventral (bottom) views of head. Dots represent the sensory papillae; AN = anterior nares, PN = posterior nares; arrow shows position of lower end of gill opening. Photo and drawing by T. Suzuki.

FIGURE 4. Trimma fishelsoni. A: SMF 35735, fresh specimen, 20.0 mm SL, female, Al Lith, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea; B: SMF 35737, preserved specimen, 21.6 mm SL, male, Al Lith, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea. Photo by S. V. Bogorodsky (A) and T. Suzuki (B).

FIGURE 3. A: Priolepis compita, live individual, Sharm el Moya, at entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea; B: Priolepis semidoliata, fresh specimen, BPBM 41242, 21.0 mm SL, Dahab, Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Photos by S. V. Bogorodsky.