Anthiadines have had a taxonomic shake-up this week with 18Anthias speciesbeing reclassified into three other genera, one of which is completely new.Dr Anthony Gill of the University of Sydney has been sifting through what was the sixty-plus species ofPseudanthias, MirolabrichthysandNemanthiasand has found enough morphological and molecular data to propose these latest changes.
In his paper published in Zootaxa, Dr Gill rediagnoses the genusMirolabrichthys, restricting it to three species, while placing six species intoNemanthias, and another nine into the newly erected genusPyronotanthias.
Nemanthias
The previously monotypicNemanthias carberryiis now joined by five formerMirolabrichthys–bartlettorum, bicolor, dispar, ignitus and regalis based on the forward position of the dorsal fin origin, elongate dorsal fin spine on males and the high number of circumpeduncle scales.N.carberryiremains the type species.
Pyronotanthias
While another nine formerMirolabrichthysjoin the newly erected genusPyronotanthias.M.lori, aurulentus, bimarginatus, flavoguttatus, parvirostris, privitera, smithvanisi, timanoaandunimarginatusare now placed intoPyronotanthias, based on the red stripe or blotches just below the end of the dorsal fin. P.lori becomes the type species.
The serranid subfamily Anthiadinae includes over 220 species with even Gill stating that generic classification of the subfamily is problematic. ThePseudanthiasandPlectranthiasgenera were erected as long ago as the 1870’s with the paper’s author suggesting that some of the sixty strongPseudanthiasare more closely related toTosanaand other genera.
Differences in the dorsal gill arches are just one way that is demonstrated in being able to tell the related genera apart. But the relationship of the three genera mentioned here to other anthiadine fish genera has not been resolved.
Mirolabrichthys
‘Pseudanthias’ tuka, pascalus and evansi move to become the only three members ofMirolabrichthysbased on their distinctive dorsal fin shape (particularly on males,) and auxiliary body scales. With M.tuka being the type species.
Mirolabrichthyswas previously considered a subgenus ofPseudanthias它一直是诊断接头内和物种nosed by the hypertrophied (thick,) male upper lip. But Gill notes that lip development in many Anthias genera and that it’s a characteristic of all three genera mentioned here.