Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Ichthyol Res (2018) 65:177–191
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-017-0601-8
FULL PAPER
Review of the Chromis xanthura species group (Perciformes:
Pomacentridae), with description of a new species
Hiroyuki Motomura
1
· Hajime Nishiyama
2
· Satoru N. Chiba
3,4
Received: 16 May 2017 / Revised: 20 September 2017 / Accepted: 25 September 2017 / Published online: 27 October 2017
© The Ichthyological Society of Japan 2017
Ocean on the basis of 21 specimens, is characterized by
having 28–33 gill rakers; longest dorsal-fin soft ray length
20.0–24.7% of standard length (SL); first anal-fin spine
length 5.0–6.1% of SL; caudal-fin length 33.4–43.8% of
SL; posterior tips of caudal-fin lobes not filamentous in
adults; broad black bands along preopercular and oper-
cular margins, sum width of two bands 28.9–38.7% of
head length; distal half of soft-rayed portion of dorsal fin
transparent in adults; triangular black blotches at upper
and lower caudal-fin base in adults; caudal peduncle and
fin bluish black in adults; and body grayish, and all fins
(except for pectoral fin) bright yellow in juveniles.
Keywords Teleostei · Chromis anadema · Chromis
opercularis · Damselfish · Taxonomy · Morphology
Introduction
The damselfish genus Chromis Cuvier 1814, the most
speciose genus in the family Pomacentridae, is common
on coral and rocky reefs throughout tropical and warm
temperate seas (Allen 1991). The genus is characterized
by having the following: an elliptical and moderately deep
body, its depth 53–62% of standard length; a short snout;
biserial teeth including an outer row of enlarged conical
teeth; a fully scaled head, except for the tip of the snout
and the area around the nasal openings; a dorsal fin with
12–15 spines and 10–15 soft rays; an anal fin with two
spines and 10–14 soft rays; a caudal fin with 15 principal
rays and five or six procurrent rays, the first two or three of
the latter being spiniform; and less than 30 scale rows in
the longitudinal series (Randall et al. 1981; Allen 1991).
The Indian and Pacific Ocean paired sister spe-
cies, Chromis opercularis (Günther 1867) and Chromis
Abstract A taxonomic review of the Chromis xanthura
species group, defined here as having 13 dorsal-fin spines,
three upper and three lower procurrent caudal-fin rays,
two black bands at the preopercular and opercular mar-
gins, and a yellow caudal fin when juvenile, resulted in the
recognition of three species, Chromis xanthura (Bleeker
1854), Chromis opercularis (Günther 1867), and Chromis
anadema sp. nov. Chromis xanthura and C. opercula-
ris, the Pacific and Indian Ocean paired sister species,
respectively, are redescribed, with confirmation of two
color types of C. xanthura (having a white or black cau-
dal peduncle and fin) as a single species on the basis of
morphological and molecular analyses. Chromis anadema
sp. nov., described from the oceanic islands of the Pacific
This article was registered in the Official Register of Zoological
Nomenclature (ZooBank) as F5BD2A15-621A-46F9-A779-
F5D4C270763D.
This article was published as an Online First article on the online
publication date shown on this page. The article should be cited
by using the doi number.
* Hiroyuki Motomura
motomura@kaum.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
Hajime Nishiyama
hnishiyama_damselfish@yahoo.co.jp
Satoru N. Chiba
satoru.chiba@gmail.com
1
The Kagoshima University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto,
Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan
2
Nobatake Elementary School, 3-1-1 Mukaigaoka, Toyonaka,
Osaka 560–0053, Japan
3
National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0005, Japan
4
Present Address: Museum of Natural and Environmental
History, Shizuoka, Japan
@Phil_Robichaud
@deepthiw
@JoseServera