New Species

Pseudojuloides zeus is a new species of Pencil Wrasse from Micronesia

The genusPseudojuloides构成了一系列梭形鱼雷形状的卷曲，带有凿子，就像切入的牙齿一样，经常被发现生活在失去的沙质瓦砾中而不是通常的珊瑚覆盖物中。Pseudojuloideswas last revised in 1981 where five new species were added to the original three. Since then, the genus has been growing steadily with the description ofPseudojuloides kaleidos,P. severnsi和P. edwardiin 1995, 2000 and 2014 respectively. In March this year,伪juloides polackorumwas described from specimens in South Africa, making it the twelfth member of this expanding genus. The group now holds thirteen, with the newestPseudojuloides zeusbeing indoctrinated from Micronesia.

喜欢P. edwardi和P. polackorum,P. zeusis more well known in the aquarium trade than in science. No photos of this species exists in the field, and the fish is known from only two specimens; the type from Majuro, Marshall islands, and a paratype from 80m (260 ft), Palau. Jason Edward from Greenwich has had a remarkable involvement in the description of all three species, being instrumental in supplying specimens needed for studies.P. edwardiwas named in honour of him, andP. zeuswas described in a paper which he co-authored.

zeus 2 — Aquarium specimens of Pseudojuloides zeus.

雄性在前半部分呈chartreuse，然后逐渐变成较暗的阴影。一对带有虹彩的Capri蓝线平行地延伸，尽管锯齿状沿身体赤道，并终止于尾花序梗。尾鳍大多是黑色的，透视后带。背鳍与身体的颜色相同，并通过较大的中间位置与透明的后部分离。

特定的称呼“zeus” was given after the Greek god of the same name, who had a penchant for casting lightning bolts on unsuspecting mortals. The pair of jagged blue lines seen in this species resembled said bolts of the unyielding Zeus.

Pseudojuloides zeusis deepwater, being found at depths ranging from 60-90m (200-300 ft). The holotype was collected from Majuro, Marshall Islands, and the paratype from Ngemelis Island in Palau. Outside of these two locales, it has been seen in Kwajalein, and it probably spreads further, albeit still restricted, into the Micronesian island chains, well beyond the continental influence of the Coral Triangle. The males of this species are particularly beautiful, and are most closely related toPseudojuloides mesostigma(these two form a cladistic pair).

这两种物种在分布方面都是同种异体的，P. mesostigma被发现在略微浅水中。他们共享相同细长的身体轮廓，黑色尾鳍，背斑（斑点P. mesostigma）和虹彩的身体标记（尽管这些标记不被组织成整齐的条纹P. mesostigma).The female form ofP. zeus尚不清楚，但是它很可能像P. mesostigma还有许多其他人。