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SINGLE PAPER
Volume 16, Issue 3
15 July 2010
Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Douglas Fenner: Amphiprion pacificus, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Wallis Island, pp. 129-13
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SINGLE PAPER
Volume 16, Issue 3
15 July 2010
Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Douglas Fenner: Amphiprion pacificus, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Wallis Island, pp. 129-138
Abstract
Amphiprion pacificus n. sp. is described on the basis of four
specimens, 30.9-48.3 mm SL, from Wallis Island and Tonga in the western
Pacific. Underwater photographs also reveal its presence on coral reefs
of Fiji and Samoa. The new taxon is nearly identical in appearance to A. akallopisos
from the Indian Ocean. Both species are generally pinkish brown,
grading to orange or yellowish on the lower half of the head and side
and possess a white stripe on the dorsal midline of the head extending
from just anterior to the eye to the dorsal fin origin, continuing along
the base of the dorsal fin to the caudal fin base. However, genetic
results indicate that A. pacificus is more closely related to A. sandaracinos from Western Australia and the Indo-Malayan region, forming a moderately supported clade that is well differentiated from A. akallopisos. Aside from genetic differences A. sandaracinos differs from A. pacificus
in having a uniform orange colouration and the white forehead stripe
extends onto the upper lip. There also appears to be modal differences
in the number of soft dorsal and anal rays (usually 19 versus 18 and 13
versus 12 respectively for A. pacificus and A. sandaracinos).
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