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| Etelis boweni Andrews, Fernandez‐Silva, Randall & Ho, 2021 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14720 Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
Abstract
A new species of Etelis is described based on 16 specimens collected from the Red Sea and Western Australia, with confirmed genetic records throughout the Indo‐West Pacific. It is similar to and was often misidentified as Etelis carbunculus Cuvier, with both species sharing the diagnostic character of low number of developed gill rakers. Nonetheless, the two species are genetically divergent and differ morphologically in adult body length; proportions of eye, snout, cheek and caudal fin; shape of head, opercular spine and sagittal otolith; and coloration of the tip of the upper caudal fin. Etelis boweni has a wide Indo‐west Pacific distribution that largely overlaps with E. carbunculus, and the two species are often caught on the same fishing line.
Keywords: Actinopterygii, cryptic species, ichthyology, Pisces, snappers, taxonomy
Etelis boweni sp. nov.
Bowen's Red Snapper, Giant Ruby Snapper
Etymology: The authors are grateful to name this fish after Dr. Brian W. Bowen of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaiʻi, in recognition of his contributions to the field of Ichthyology, and in particular for his use of molecular genetic techniques in support of the taxonomy of fishes.
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| A fresh caught specimen of Etelis boweni sp. nov. from East Bank, American Sāmoa in 2016, weight 31 kg, estimated >1 m total length. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
Kimberly R. Andrews, Iria Fernandez‐Silva, John E. Randall and Hsuan‐Ching Ho. 2021. Etelis boweni sp. nov., A New Cryptic Deepwater Eteline Snapper from the Indo‐Pacific (Perciformes: Lutjanidae). Journal of Fish Biology. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14720
