Tornabene Luke, Robertson D Ross, Baldwin Carole C
Division of Fishes, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, U.S.A.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama.
Zookeys. 2016 Jun 8(596):143-56. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.596.8217. eCollection 2016.
We describe a new species of goby, Varicus lacerta sp. n., which was collected from a mesophotic reef at Curacao, southern Caribbean. The new species is the tenth species of Varicus, all of which occur below traditional SCUBA depths in the wider Caribbean area. Its placement in the genus Varicus is supported by a molecular phylogenetic analysis of three nuclear genes and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. In addition, the new species has one anal-fin pterygiophore inserted anterior to the first haemal spine, which distinguishes Varicus species from most species in the closely related and morphologically similar genus Psilotris. Varicus lacerta sp. n. is distinguished from all other named species of Varicus by the absence of scales, having highly branched, feather-like pelvic-fin rays, and in its live coloration. We provide the cytochrome c oxidase I DNA barcode of the holotype and compare color patterns of all species of Varicus and Psilotris for which color photographs or illustrations are available. This study is one of several recent studies demonstrating the utility of manned submersibles in exploring the diversity of poorly studied but species-rich deep-reef habitats.
我们描述了一种新的虾虎鱼物种，即蜥蜴瓦氏虾虎鱼（Varicus lacerta sp. n.），它是在加勒比海南部库拉索岛的一个中光层珊瑚礁采集到的。该新物种是瓦氏虾虎鱼属的第十个物种，所有这些物种都出现在加勒比海更广泛区域传统水肺潜水深度以下。对三个核基因和线粒体细胞色素b基因进行的分子系统发育分析支持了它在瓦氏虾虎鱼属中的分类地位。此外，新物种有一个臀鳍鳍担骨插入到第一根脉棘之前，这使瓦氏虾虎鱼属物种与亲缘关系密切且形态相似的裸臀虾虎鱼属的大多数物种区分开来。蜥蜴瓦氏虾虎鱼（Varicus lacerta sp. n.）与瓦氏虾虎鱼属的所有其他已命名物种的区别在于无鳞、具高度分支的羽状腹鳍鳍条以及其活体颜色。我们提供了模式标本的细胞色素c氧化酶I DNA条形码，并比较了所有有彩色照片或插图的瓦氏虾虎鱼属和裸臀虾虎鱼属物种的颜色模式。这项研究是最近几项研究之一，证明了载人潜水器在探索研究较少但物种丰富的深海珊瑚礁栖息地多样性方面的作用。
