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| Cirrhilabrus apterygia (Allen, 1983) in Tea, Allen, ... et Frable, 2021. |
Abstract
Conniella apterygia is redescribed from re-examination of the holotype, two paratypes, and six additional specimens. The genus is closely allied to Cirrhilabrus, sharing similarities in general morphological and meristic details, but is separated from Cirrhilabrus and most other labrid fishes in lacking pelvic fins and a pelvic girdle. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have provided strong evidence for the deep nesting of Conniella within Cirrhilabrus, contradicting its generic validity and suggesting that the loss of pelvic elements is autapomorphic. Consequently, the species is redescribed and assigned to the genus Cirrhilabrus, as Cirrhilabrus apterygia new combination. The pelvic morphologies of related cirrhilabrin labrids are discussed, and a new synapomorphy is identified for Paracheilinus.
Key words: coral-reef fishes; taxonomy; ichthyology; apomorphy; fairy wrasse; morphology
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| Cirrhilabrus apterygia, underwater photograph from Rowley Shoals, Western Australia. (A–C) Males and females in loose groups; (D) juvenile, approximately 35 mm total length. Note mixed aggregations of Pseudanthias engelhardi and Chrysiptera caeruleolineata in (A). Note individual showing ventral stripes from isthmus to anal-fin origin in (B). Photographs by R.H. Kuiter (A, B, D) and G.R. Allen (C). |
Cirrhilabrus apterygia (Allen, 1983), new combination
Connie’s Wrasse
Other names: Mutant Wrasse; Rowley Shoals Wrasse
Diagnosis. A species of Cirrhilabrus distinguished from all other congeners based on the following combination of colouration and morphological characters: absence of pelvic fins and pelvic girdle; lateral line with 21–26 pored scales (16–17 in the dorsoanterior series, 5–9 in the posterior peduncular series); caudal fin rhomboidal to lanceolate in males; both sexes with eight to ten stripes, purple in life and in preservation; preopercle purple in preservation.
Etymology. Allen (1983) named the species apterygia, meaning “without fins,” in reference to the distinctive lack of pelvic fins and associated elements. To be treated as a noun in apposition. We retain the use of Connie’s Wrasse as the preferred common name, after Connie Lagos Allen, wife of the second author, for whom the junior synonym Conniella was named. The species is also commonly referred to as the mutant wrasse, alluding to its atypical pelvic morphology, as well as the eponymous Rowley Shoals Wrasse, after its type locality.
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| A selection of cirrhilabrin labrids with horizontal striped patterns. (A) Cirrhilabrus apterygia, underwater photograph from Rowley Shoals; (B) Cirrhilabrus earlei, underwater photograph from Koror, Palau; (C) Cirrhilabrus marjorie, underwater photograph from Vanua Levu, Fiji; (D) Pseudocheilinus octotaenia, underwater photograph from Levuka, Fiji. Photographs by R.H. Kuiter (A); K. Nishiyama (B); and M. Rosenstein (C–D). |
Yi-Kai Tea, Gerald R. Allen, Christopher H. R. Goatley, Anthony C. Gill and Benjamin W. Frable. 2021. Redescription of Conniella apterygia Allen and Its Reassignment in the Genus Cirrhilabrus Temminck and Schlegel (Teleostei: Labridae), with Comments on Cirrhilabrin Pelvic Morphology. Zootaxa. 5061(3);493-509. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5061.3.5
