[Ichthyology • 2017] Review of the Genus Banjos (Perciformes: Banjosidae) with Descriptions of Two New Species and A New Subspecies

 Banjos aculeatus sp. nov. (a–b), B. banjos banjos (c–e), and B. banjos brevispinis ssp. nov. (f–i) 

Matsunuma & Motomura, 2017.   DOI: 10.1007/s10228-016-0569-9 

Abstract

A taxonomic review of the genus Banjos (Perciformes: Banjosidae), previously restricted to a single species, Banjos banjos (Richardson 1846), recorded from the northwestern Pacific Ocean from the South China Sea north to Japan, as well as Lombok (Indonesia), New Caledonia and Australia, resulted in the recognition of three species, including B. banjos (northwestern Pacific Ocean, Indonesia and western Australia), Banjos aculeatus sp. nov. (eastern Australia) and Banjos peregrinus sp. nov. [northern Australia (Timor Sea)]. Records of B. banjos from New Caledonia probably also represent B. aculeatus, which is clearly distinct from other congeners in having a relatively long, strongly serrated spine at the posteroventral angle of the preopercle and an entirely dusky membrane on the spinous dorsal fin in juveniles < ca. 70 mm SL, in addition to slightly longer first and second dorsal-fin spines. Banjos peregrinus is characterized by a relatively greater head length, orbit diameter, postorbital length and pre-pelvic-fin length, as well as poorly developed serration of the exposed margin of the cleithrum. Within B. banjos, a population from the southeastern Indian Ocean, including Indonesia and western Australia, is regarded as a distinct subspecies (Banjos banjos brevispinis ssp. nov.), distinguishable from B. b. banjos from the northwestern Pacific Ocean by a relatively narrow least interorbital width, and shorter second and eighth dorsal-fin spines. Ontogenetic morphological changes within the genus and the status of the holotype of Anoplus banjos Richardson 1846 are discussed in detail.

Keywords: Banjo, fish, Anoplus banjos, Morphology, Taxonomy, Antitropical distribution

Fig. 1 Fresh specimens of Banjos aculeatus sp. nov. (a–b), B. banjos banjos (c–e), and B. banjos brevispinis ssp. nov. (f–i).
a AMS I.23956-004, paratype, 154 mm SL, Ballina, NSW, Australia (photo: K. Graham); b NSMT-P 117236, 310 mm SL, Capel Bank, Australia [photo: Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory (FSFL)];
c KAUM–I. 12836, 286 mm SL, Minami-Kyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan; d KAUM–I. 35676, 209 mm SL, East China Sea; e KAUM–I. 29847, 109 mm SL, Tosa Bay, Kochi Prefecture, Japan;
 f NSMT-P 113708, paratype, 249 mm SL, WA, Australia (photo: FSFL); g CSIRO H2037-02, paratype, 278 mm SL, Houtman Abrolhos, WA (photo: D. Wright and A. Williams); h CSIRO CA994, paratype, 131 mm SL, Bedout Islet, WA (photo: G. Leyland); i CSIRO H6422-07, paratype, 80.6 mm SL, Shark Bay, WA (photo: L. Conboy)

 DOI: 10.1007/s10228-016-0569-9 

Banjos aculeatus Matsunuma & Motomura, 2017

Banjos banjos brevispinis Matsunuma & Motomura, 2017

Banjos peregrinus Matsunuma & Motomura, 2017

Mizuki Matsunuma and Hiroyuki Motomura. 2017. Review of the Genus Banjos (Perciformes: Banjosidae) with Descriptions of Two New Species and A New Subspecies.
Ichthyological Research.  DOI: 10.1007/s10228-016-0569-9