Diplogrammus randalli Fricke, 1983

Fricke, Ronald, Bogorodsky, Sergey V. & Mal, Ahmad O., 2014, Review of the genus Diplogrammus (Teleostei: Callionymidae) of the Red Sea, with description of a new species from Saudi Arabia, Journal of Natural History 48 (39 - 40), pp. 2419-2448 : 2439-2443

Diplogrammus randalli Fricke, 1983

Randall’ s fold dragonet

Figures 1 , 9 , 10 , 11D ; Table 3

Diplogrammus (Climacogrammus) randalli Fricke, 1983a: 518 , figure 155 ( Eilat , Gulf of Aqaba / Israel, type locality).

Diplogrammus gruveli (part: non Smith, 1963): Fricke 1981: table 2.

Diplogrammus randalli: Fricke 1984: 4 . Goren and Dor 1994: 62 (checklist). Debelius 1998: 175 (photograph). Fricke 2002: 48 (checklist). Golani 2006: 33 (type catalogue). Golani and Bogorodsky 2010: 45 (checklist). Tesfamichael 2012: 232.

Holotype: HUJ 6673 (male, 40.0 mm SL, Eilat, Israel, A. Ben-Tuvia, 28 December 1956).

Paratypes: BPBM 18186 (1, southern Sinai, Egypt) , 18304 (1, Eilat, Israel) , 19882 (1, Eilat, Israel) ; HUJ 5230 (1, Eilat, Israel), 8069 (1, Sanafir, Egypt) , 8072 (1, Marsa Murach, Gulf of Aqaba , Egypt) , 8073 (4, Ras Sudar, Gulf of Suez, Egypt) , 8084 (1, Ras-el-Misalla, Gulf of Suez, Egypt) , 10462 (5, Eilat, Israel) , 10464 (1, Eilat, Israel) , 10465 (3, Eilat, Israel) , 10518 (1, Eilat, Israel) ; TAU P.7728 (4, Gulf of Aqaba , Egypt) , P.8136 (1, Shurat el Manqata, Gulf of Aqaba , Egypt) .

Red Sea material: SMNS 13630 (5, Eilat, Israel), 13632 (8, Gubal Island, Egypt), 13653 (1 Endeavour Harbour, Egypt); USNM 191715 (4, Eilat, Israel), 375820 (1, Marsa Mahash, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt).

Diagnosis

Dorsal-fin spines IV, rays 7 or 8; anal-fin rays 6 or 7 (rarely 6); free opercular flap of skin and branches of lateral line present; preopercular spine with a small main tip which is nearly straight, spine formula 1 ― 3― 7 1; first dorsal fin with a very short filament in both males and females; first spine barely longer than first ray of the second dorsal fin; posterior margin of caudal fin rounded in both sexes; body below ventrolateral fold of skin white or yellowish; anal fin translucent in males, with a black streak near the outer margin of each membrane; head with two broad blackish bars below eye; no bluish lines on head and/or body in both sexes.

Description

First dorsal fin with IV spines, second dorsal fin with 7 or 8 soft rays, last ray divided at base; anal-fin rays 6 or 7, last ray divided at base; pectoral-fin rays usually 17–20 (rarely to 22), upper and lower one or two rays unbranched; pelvic-fin with I spine and 5 soft rays; caudal-fin rays 11–13. Fin-ray formula: D 1 IV; D 2 (vi,1-) vii,1; A (v,1-)vi,1; P 1 i-ii,13–19,i-ii (total 17–20, rarely to 22); P 2 I,5; C (i),i,(6-) 7,ii,(i-ii).

Body elongate and depressed. Body depth 7.2–9.3 in SL. Head depressed, 3.4–4.6 in SL. Eye 2.7–3.6 in head length. Interorbital distance 3.0– 4.6 in eye diameter. Occipital region with a smooth bony plate. Branchial opening pore-like, dorsal in position. Opercle with a free flap of skin. Maxilla with a knob-like protuberance in males. Preopercular spine length 2.6–3.4 in head length; preopercular spine with a small, barely upcurved main tip, a smooth, slightly convex ventral margin, one small antrorse spine at its base, and three to seven (rarely three to four) upcurved spinules at its dorsal margin (formula: 1 ― 3―7 1). Urogenital papilla elongate in both sexes. Lateral line reaching from eye to end of fourth branched caudal-fin ray (counted from above), with many additional dorsal or ventral branches along the sides of the body; the lines of the opposite sides are interconnected by a commissure across the occipital region. Sides of body with a continuous ventrolateral fold of skin below the lateral line. Caudal peduncle length 4.6–5.3 in SL. Caudal peduncle depth 14.8–17.8 in SL.

First spine of first dorsal fin elongate in the male, with a short filament but without a membranous flap, 4.5–5.2 in SL; third spine also elongate; first dorsal fin similar in female, first spine 4.7–6.4 in SL. Predorsal(1) length 3.0– 4.2 in SL. Margin of second dorsal fin straight or slightly concave; rays unbranched except for the last which is divided at its base; last ray longest, elongate in the male. Predorsal(2) length 1.9–2.3 in SL. Base of first anal-fin ray on vertical through second ray of second dorsal fin. Anal-fin rays unbranched, the last divided at its base; last ray longest, elongate. Preanal fin length 1.8–2.1 in SL. Pelvic fin reaching back to base of second anal-fin membrane or second anal-fin ray. Pelvic-fin length 3.1–3.6 in SL. Prepelvicfin length 4.0– 4.2 in SL. Membrane connecting fifth ray of pelvic fin with pectoral-fin base attached to base of fourth to sixth pectoral-fin ray. Pectoral fins reaching to above base of second anal-fin ray. Caudal fin rounded; caudal-fin length in the male 3.4–4.3 in SL, in the female 3.4–4.0 in SL.

Colour in life ( Figure 10 )

Head and body light brown to greyish white, back and sides of body with irregular dark edged white spots and blotches, brown and black spots. Upper margin of pectoral-fin base with a black spot. Ventrolateral fold of skin with groups of two white spots and one dark grey streak. Cheeks with a row of alternating dark brown spots on olive background, and white blotches; two broad blackish bars below eye. Fins pale or translucent, with brown spots. Anal fin with a broad black margin in male, and with a black streak near the outer margin of each membrane in female. Pelvic fins light grey, with white mottlings and dark brown spots, tips of fin rays light blue.

Colour of preserved material

Head and body light brown or yellowish above, whitish or light yellowish below; back and sides of body with irregular dark brown markings and spots, and light blotches. Eye dark grey. Upper margin of pectoral-fin base with a black spot. Lower sides of body below ventrolateral fold of skin whitish or yellowish. First dorsal fin in the male light brown or whitish, with a dark streak near its outer margin and two dark brown bands below the streak. First dorsal fin basally with several brown spots. First dorsal fin in females with several irregular brownish streaks or spots. Second dorsal fin with 3–5 dark spots on each ray. Anal fin in females with a black streak near the outer margin of each membrane, in males with a broader marginal black streak. Lower two-thirds of caudal fin with four or five vertical rows of dark brown blotches. Pelvic fins with a number of black spots in characteristic arrangement. Pectoral fins translucent or with rows of small dark spots.

Distribution and habitat

Red Sea (Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, Sanafir Island ) ( Figure 1 ). The species is found on coral gravel adjacent to coral reefs, including the lagoon of fringing reefs .

Remarks

In southern Sinai ( Egypt), this species may co-occur with Diplogrammus infulatus , but it tends to be more common in the northern parts of the Gulf of Aqaba and Gulf of Suez, and is apparently more or less replaced by D. infulatus in southern Sinai. In the northern Gulf of Suez, D. gruveli is also present (though that species occurs on open sand bottom not associated with coral reefs, while D. randalli is found on sand near coral reefs).

Figures

Figure 1. Map of collecting localities of Diplogrammus in the Red Sea. (Stars) D. gruveli; (squares) D. infulatus; (triangles) D. paucispinis; (circles) D. randalli.

Figure 9. Diplogrammus randalli, Gulf of Aqaba, Israel, Eilat (from Fricke 1983a: figure 155). Female, paratype, 57.0 mm SL: (A) lateral view; (B) left preopercular spine. Male, holotype, 40.0 mm SL: (C) lateral view; (D) left preopercular spine.

Figure 10. Diplogrammus randalli, male, Egypt, Sinai, Sharm el Sheikh, S. V. Bogorodsky, 2004.

Figure 11. Male first dorsal fin in species of Diplogrammus. (A) D. gruveli; (B) D. infulatus; (C) D. paucispinis; (D) D. randalli; (E) D. pygmaeus; (F) D. goramensis; (G) D. xenicus.