Research Training Program

Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History

PROJECT SUMMARY
1997

W. Leo Smith
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
Carole C. Baldwin, Ph.D.
G. David Johnson, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientists
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
"The opportunity to work closely with the scientists and the vast collections of the Smithsonian has given me a true appreciation for the complexity of the natural world "

A new species of Belonoperca (Teleostei: Serranidae: Epinephelinae: Diploprionini) from the Cook Islands with comments on relationships among diploprionins

ABSTRACT
The initial objective of this study was to describe a new species of the fish family Serranidae (sea basses) from the Cook Islands in the tropical South Pacific. Specimens of the new species were taken by divers at depths approaching 122 m (400 feet) off the coast of Rarotonga. Counts and measurements were used to identify the new species as a member of the genus Belonoperca, which along with Aulacocephalus and Diploprion, form the serranid tribe Diploprionini. Diploprionins are distinct in having epidermal cells that contain a powerful neurotoxin. The new species is most easily distinguished from its only congener, Belonoperca chabanaudi, by its coloration, absence of a spine in the second dorsal fin, and presence of a third anal spine. The new species is gold with orange blotches, whereas Belonoperca chabanaudi is dark blue or black with a large yellow patch behind the dorsal fin. A second objective of this research dealt with finding phylogenetically informative osteological characters among diploprionins. Cleared and stained specimens of each of the three genera were used to study the skeleton. Differences in scale morphology, shape of the lacrimal, number of fin spines, gill arch dentition, and serrations of the opercular series were noted. These characters were used to create a hypothesis of the evolutionary relationships within the Diploprionini.

This research was funded by a grant from the Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod Foundation.

Letter of Gratitude