Title: Allenbatrachus meridionalis, a New Toadfish (Batrachoididae) from Madagascar and Reunion
Abstract: The third species in the genus Allenbatrachus, A. meridionalis, is described from Madagascar and Reunion, the southernmost occurrence of the genus. It differs from the other two described species, A. grunniens and A. reticulatus, by having more anal and dorsal-fin rays, differently shaped orbital cirri and maxillary barbels, and being darker in coloration. The genus Allenbatrachus Greenfield previously included two species, A. grunniens (Linnaeus), known from India eastward to the Philippines, and A. reticulatus (Steindachner) known from Thailand south to Sumatra (Greenfield 1997, 1999). While examining specimens at the Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, the first author found several specimens from Madagascar and Reunion that represented an undescribed species of Allenbatrachus. Subsequently, the second author with colleagues from the American Museum of Natural History and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) collected three additional specimens of the same undescribed Allenbatrachus species from the Makira region of Madagascar. These specimens included a single specimen collected from a small freshwater stream just north of Ambodivoanongy, Sanavilory, and two specimens purchased from local fishers in the nearby Maroansetra market. The collection of these specimens confirms the previous report of Kiener (1963) who illustrated a toadfish specimen (identified in that publication as Batrachoides grunniens, now A. grunniens) from freshwater streams near the town of Maroansetra. This undescribed species belongs to the genus Allenbatrachus because it has the following characters: (1) dorsocranium has a foramen on each side of the head behind the eyes, bordering the sphenotic and frontal bones (MNHN A3777 cleared and stained) (this character is shared only with species in the genera Batrachoemoeus and Halophryne); (2) it lacks the pore (foramen) present in the upper part of the pectoral-fin axil that is present in Batrachomoeus species; (3) the lower jaw is terminal, projecting beyond the upper jaw, whereas the upper and lower jaws are about equally terminal in Halophryne species; and (4) the interorbital width is equal to or less than the eye diameter and the gill slit is restricted to the upper one-half to two thirds of the pectoral-fin base in Halophryne species, whereas the interorbital width is greater than the eye diameter and the gill slit extends from the upper three-fourth to four-fifths of the pectoral-fin base in Allenbatrachus, the condition in the new species. PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-12-30
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 5
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