ANOTHER NEW FIJIAN ANEMONEFISH

Amphiprion barberi: Beqa, Fiji. Scott W. Michael.

Amphiprion melanopus: Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Scott W. Michael.

Amphiprion frenatus: pair (male in foreground), Aniloa, Philippines. Janine Cairns-Michael.

In the past month, another anemonefish has been described from Fiji. It has been given the name Amphiprion barberi. This fish has long been considered a color form of Amphiprion melanopus, an anemonefish that is known to range from Bali to the Society Islands, north to the Marianas, and south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. But after further investigation by pomacentrid-guru, Dr. Gerald Allen, this supposed variant has been raised to species status. Here is the abstract from the publication:

Amphiprion barberi, a new species of anemonefish fish, is described from 46 specimens, 16.3-85.8 mm SL, collected at depths of 2-10 m from coral reefs of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa. It is closely allied to A. melanopus, which is widely distributed in the western Pacific. The two species exhibit significant colour-pattern differences, including a mainly reddish orange body in A. barberi and dark brown or blackish body in A. melanopus. Adults of the new species also possess fewer spinules (11-19 versus 19-26) in the upper-opercular series than A. melanopus. Genetic data presented here confirms the separation of these species.

Reference:

Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Les Kaufman: Amphiprion barberi, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa. Aqua – International Journal of Ichthyology. 14 (3): 105-114

Photos copyright Scott W. Michael.

NEW ANEMONEFISHES

New species of Amphiprion from Fiji and Tonga. Photo by Scott Michael.

As with my past books, there are already taxonomic changes that occur that are missed or that are published just after the book goes to press (there are also other errors which I hope to correct on this blog).

There are a couple of anemonefishes in the new REEF FISHES book (see post below) that are misidentified. For example, the fish pictured on page 219 (on bottom right), is actually a new species from Fiji that was originally considered a color form of Amphiprion melanopus. The leading authority on reef fishes, Dr. Gerald Allen, tells me it is a new species. Its true identity was confirmed by doing some DNA analysis.

Likewise, on page 229 I have a photo of what I believed to be an odd variant of Amphiprion perideraion from Fiji (it actually looks more like A. akallopisos). This too, according to Gerry, is a new species. I have been able to obtain some type specimens for Gerry so he can make the formal description of the little beauty. The two specimens I obtained came from Dave Palmer of Pacific Aqua Farms. The fish were actually collected in Tonga.

Copyright (2008) Scott W. Michael