Hypolectrus maya, Lobel, Phillip S., 2011

Lobel, Phillip S., 2011, A review of the Caribbean hamlets (Serranidae, Hypoplectrus) with description of two new species, Zootaxa 3096, pp. 1-17 : 4-6

Hypolectrus maya , n. sp.

( Figs. 1 , 2; Tables 2, 3)

Hypoplectrus sp “ Belize ” Heemstra et al. 2002: page 1368. Hypoplectrus sp Smith et al. 2003 (Pelican Cays, Belize)

Holotype: MCZ 169196, 86.2 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 7 Dec. 1997, 16 0 39.6’ N, 88 0 11.1’W, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel.

Paratypes: MCZ 169194, 73.5 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 9 Dec. 2001, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel; MCZ 169195, 87.2 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 9 Dec. 2001, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel; MCZ 16919 7, 70.0 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 9 Dec. 2001, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel; MCZ 169198, 86.0 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 7 July 1999, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel and J. E. Randall (GenBank AY262250 );. MCZ 169199, 82.9 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 7 July 1999, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel and J. E. Randall (GenBank AY262251 ). MCZ 169200, 68.1mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 10 November 1994, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel, photographed underwater (GenBank AY262249 ). MCZ 169201, 94.4 mm SL, collected with holotype. MCZ 169202, 57.6 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 26 March 1997, 3m depth, reef and seagrass, spear, P. S. Lobel and J. E. Randall.

Diagnosis: H. maya can be distinguished from congeners by its solid deep iridescent blue color and lack of black margins on fins ( Figs. 1 , 2). The only other similarly colored hamlet is the blue hamlet, H. gemma , from Florida and the Yucatan; it is distinguished by having dark black upper and lower margins on the caudal fin ( Fig. 3).

Description: Dorsal X, 14 or 15; anal III, 6 or 7; dorsal and anal soft rays branched, the last to base; pectoral rays 13 or 14; pelvic I, 5; branched caudal rays 18 (17–20); vertebrae 23 (one specimen with 22), mouth terminal; tongue truncate.

The following morphometrics are given as percentages of the standard length (range, min–max): body depth 42.2% SL (40.2–44.0); body compressed, width 16.5 (14.5–19.4); head length 37.7 (35.9–39.9); snout length 11.6 (10.0–12.8); orbit diameter 9.1 (7.7–10.1); interorbital width 8.5 (7.3–9.8); upper jaw length 17.7 (16.6–18.8); caudal–peduncle depth 13.9 (12.3–16.1); caudal–peduncle length 17.4 (11.7–22.7); predorsal length 40.6 (20.5–47.3); preanal length 25.7 (21.0–35.4); prepelvic length 41.6 (36.9–46.4); base of dorsal fin 56.2 (52.5–59.2); longest dorsal spine 15.8 (14.3–17.0); base of anal fin 18.5 (13.7–22.6); longest anal spine 14.2 (13.3–14.7); longest anal ray 18.3 (16.2–9.8); caudal fin length 20.7 (14.2–26.6); pectoral fin length 28.9 (25.6–34.4); pelvic fin length 22.8 (20.6–24.3).

169196 169202 169200 169197 169194 169199 169198 169195 169201 Specimen Holotype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype SL, mm 86.2 57.6 68.1 70.0 73.5 82.9 86.0 87.2 94.4 Body depth 41.9 43.6 40.2 42.9 42.4 40.7 42.1 44.0 42.3 Body width 17.9 16.9 14.6 15.8 16.1 14.5 17.0 19.4 16.3 Head length 36.1 39.9 37.9 36.9 38.2 37.1 38.6 38.2 35.9 Snout length 11.5 11.7 10.0 12.1 10.9 12.5 11.9 11.2 12.8 Orbit diameter 7.7 10.1 9.7 8.2 8.4 9.7 9.8 8.6 9.5 Interorbital width 7.9 9.8 7.3 7.9 8.9 9.3 8.5 8.5 8.4 Upper-jaw length 16.6 18.8 17.2 18.4 17.2 17.5 18.3 18.1 16.6 Caudal peduncle depth 14.4 16.1 14.6 14.1 12.8 12.3 13.1 15.0 12.6 Caudal peduncle length 17.6 13.6 11.7 22.7 22.5 18.3 18.4 19.2 13.0 Predorsal length 40.8 47.3 44.5 46.0 20.5 40.3 41.5 43.4 41.5 Preanal length 21.0 24.4 21.1 21.8 23.5 35.4 30.6 25.1 28.5 Prepelvic length 46.4 41.3 40.6 42.4 38.2 36.9 39.4 43.4 45.6 Base of dorsal fin 55.9 53.0 58.0 56.8 59.2 52.9 58.5 58.7 52.5 Longest dorsal Spine 14.3 16.4 17.0 16.6 14.9 15.9 16.5 15.0 15.4 Base of anal fin 18.9 18.3 19.1 20.5 18.6 13.7 18.9 22.6 16.0 Longest anal Spine 14.1 damage damage 14.1 14.1 14.7 14.6 14.4 13.3 Longest anal Ray 18.5 19.8 damage 18.5 19.2 19.0 18.5 16.2 17.0 Caudal fin length 14.2 23.5 20.2 21.5 16.5 21.2 23.9 18.7 26.6 Pectoral fin length 28.3 34.4 26.6 26.7 28.8 25.6 31.5 28.8 29.6 Pelvic fin length 23.4 24.3 24.3 20.9 22.9 20.6 23.8 22.5 22.7 The following characteristics are similar for all Hypoplectrus species. Body deep, compressed, the depth contained 2.1 to 2.4 times in standard length; dorsal fin with 10 spines and 14 to 16 soft rays, the interspinous fin membranes not incised or notched; no elongate dorsal spines; lateral-line scales 48 to 54; gradually arched anteriorly; gill rakers on first arch moderately long and slender, 6 to 8 on upper limb and 11 to 15 on lower limb; 7 branchiostegal rays; vertebrae 10 + 14; caudal fin truncate and moderately concave; pectoral fins elongated and rounded; pelvic fins rounded; pelvic fins reach to or beyond anus; upper jaw moderately protrusile; no scaly flap of skin joining upper part of pectoral-fin base to body; soft dorsal and anal fins mostly naked; jaw teeth distinct, small canines; vomer and palatines with villiform teeth arranged in rows; supramaxilla absent; teeth fixed (not depressible); posterior process of premaxilla broad and near tip of alveolar ramus; preopercle is angular and not expanded posteriorly, with serrae along the ventral and posterior margins and several small antrose serrae on the ventral margin near the angle; nostrils closer to the eye than to jaw; scales cover all body except that the snout and preorbital region is naked; scale type ctenoid.

Larval development of Hypoplectrus is described and illustrated in Richards 2006.

TABLE 3. Meristic data for Hypoplectrus maya . Listed by MCZ number.

169196 169202 169200 169197 169194 169199 169198 169195 169201

Holotype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Dorsal X 15 X 14 X 15 X 15 X 15 X 14 X 15 X 14 X 15 Anal III 7 III 7 III 7 III 6 III 7 III 6 III 7 III 7 III 7 Caudal 18 18 17 20 18 18 19 17 17 Pelvic I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 I 5 Pectoral 14 14 13 14 14 14 14 14 13 Vertebrae 23 23 22 23 23 23 23 23 des Coloration Live: Body a solid deep iridescent blue, darker above the lateral line. The pelvic, dorsal and anal fins are blue. Pectoral fin is clear. Caudal fin margin is blue and the rest is tinted blue ( Figs 1 , 2).

Coloration Preserved: Color in alcohol pale brown to blackish. Pectoral fin clear, other fins are opaque tan ( Fig. 4 ).

Etymology: This species is named with the dual purpose to honor the Maya people of Belize and the author’s daughter, Maya Rose Lobel.

Remarks: The Maya hamlet was discovered in 1993 in Belize in the Pelican Cays. I have documented its occurrence from the South Water Marine Reserve area at Wee Wee Cay southward throughout the Pelican Cays and to the Sapodilla Cays at the southern most margin of the Meso-Amercian Barrier Reef (MABR). The inner barrier reef system contains several fish and other species found only or predominately in the complex geography of mangrove cays and coral reefs ( Smith et al. 2003, Lobel et al. 2009). We have not observed it on the ocean side of the MABR or at Glovers and Lighthouse Atolls. However, a single specimen of the Maya hamlet was found and collected by B. Birmingham in 2010 on the ocean side of the MABR off Alligator Cay (17°10.849'N 088° 2.978'W). This specimen and tissue samples are in the Neotropical Fish Collection at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama ( O. Puebla pers. comm.).

The other similarly colored hamlet is H. gemma ; it is distinguished by having dark upper and lower margins on the caudal fin ( Figure 3). The Florida Blue hamlet, H. gemma , has for many years only been known from Florida. Recently, it was found in the Alacranes Reef platform off the northern Yucatan Penninsula, Mexico ( Aguilar-Perera & Tuz-Sulub 2010). Domeier (1994) noted finding H. gemma in Belize at Laughing Bird Cay but we suspect that he actually observed H. maya .

One hypothesis for hamlet evolution is that they are aggressive mimics of other fishes (review by Puebla 2009). One possible model species for H. maya could be the pomacentrid fish, Chromis cyanea , which does occur in the same habitat but is rare there. H. maya is often found among the mangrove roots that grow over shallow seagrass beds. Growing on the roots is the bright blue tunicate, Clavelina puerto-secensis, which can be quite abundant in this habitat. The colors of H. maya and the tunicate are quite similar and perhaps another possibility is that this hamlet has evolved camouflage coloration against this tunicate. This would confer an advantage when ambushing small prey. H. maya has been observed (personal observation) on several occasions attacking small silversides ( Jenkinsia lamprotaenia ) which form diurnal aggregations among the mangrove roots.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Hypoplectrus maya, paratype MCZ 169200, 68.1 mm SL, Tunicate Cove, Pelican Cays, 10 November 1994, 3 m depth, reef and seagrass.

FIGURE 4. Hypoplectrus maya, holotype MCZ 169196, preserved specimen.