PLECTRANTHIAS LONGIMANUS - (WEBER, 1913)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Perciformes (Order) > Percoidei (Suborder) > Anthiadidae (Family) > Plectranthias (Genus)
Longfin perchlet, Long-finned basslet, Silverspots, Silwervlekkies, Chibi-hanadai, チビハナダイ,
Synonyme
Pteranthias longimanus (Weber, 1913)
------------------------
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-15 (rarely: 15), the fin margin divided to the base before soft-rayed part, fourth spine longest, 1.9-2.5 in head length; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 6-7, second spine longest, twice length of first spine but shorter than longest anal-fin ray; Caudal fin rays: 13-15 branched rays, truncate to slightly rounded; Pectoral fin rays: 12-13, all rays unbranched; Fin length: 1.0-1.3 in head, reaches vertical at 5th anal-fin ray; Pelvic fins not reaching anus: 1.7-1.9 in head. Body oblong; Greatest body depth: 2.6-3.1 in SL; Head length: 2.2-2.4 in SL; Peduncle depth: 2.9-3.3, orbit diameter: 3.0-3.4, snout: 4.4-5.0, bony interorbital width: 10-12, all in head length. Lateral-line incomplete, ending below dorsal-fin rays, with: 12-15 tubed scales, 1 row of scales from 5th dorsal spine to lateral-line; Circumpeduncular scales: 12; Scales on top of head reach middle of interorbital space; Vertebrae: 10 + 16, (rarely 10 + 17); Operculum scaly; Cheek with four oblique series of large scales; Snout, maxilla, suborbitals and lower jaw naked. Maxilla with a low ledge along entire dorsal margin and no supramaxilla. Preopercle posterior edge with about 12 small serrae; Lower edge with two well-separated antrorse spines, subopercle and interopercle serrate. Gill-rakers: 4-6 + 9-12. Max. length: 3.5 cm SL. Depth range: 6 - 75 m.
Color
Fresh color of 23 mm SL fish; Body pale, with longitudinal series of brown zigzag stripes; A square black spot at base of upper and lower 6 caudal fin rays, followed posteriorly by a golden yellow spot above and below a smaller black spot on upper and lower middle caudal rays; A black spot on each side of a white spot at base of anal fin rays; Proximal part of dorsal fins reddish brown; Dorsal-fin spines 4 to 7 with red tips; A dark brown square blotch at base of last 6 dorsal-fin rays; Several small, irregular white spots randomly scattered over head and body; Ventral part of abdomen and head white; Snout and front of lower jaw reddish brown.
Etymology
Plectranthias: from Greek, plektron = anyhting to strike with, spur + from Greek, anthias = a name of an unknow fish given by Aristotle in "History of Animals". This book, written in the fourth century BC, is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), who had studied at Plato's Academy in Athens.
longimanus: from Latin, longus = long + from Latin, manus = hand. Referring to long and pointed pectoral fins, longer than head.
Original description: Pteranthias longimanus Weber, 1913 - Type locality: Paternoster Island, East Indies, Siboga station 315, depth 36 meters.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Seychelles and Madagascar east to Marshall Islands, Fiji and Tonga, north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands, south to Australia (Timor Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, southern Queensland) and New Caledonia.
Biology
A cryptic, shallow-water species. Females mature at about 19 mm SL, males at about 23 mm SL. Secretive amongst small boulders or bommies on coastal sand slopes with rich invertebrate and algae growth. Solitary in crevices. Common in scuba-rotenone collections on coral reefs.
As noted by Chen & Shao (2002), most species are too small for capture by hook and line, live in rocky habitats (and are not easily trawled), occur below scuba-diving depths, and are not commercially important. Therefore, the group remains poorly represented in museum collections and many of the species are known from only one or two sites, frequently on the basis of a single specimen.
Similar species
Plectranthias nanus (Randall, 1980) - Reported from New Caledonia. According to Randall (1980): “The complex color pattern of Plectranthias nanus is remarkably similar to that of Plectranthias longimanus, the latter differing mainly in lacking the narrow dark vertical band on the caudal fin base”.
Last update: 16, June 2022
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Perciformes (Order) > Percoidei (Suborder) > Anthiadidae (Family) > Plectranthias (Genus)
Longfin perchlet, Long-finned basslet, Silverspots, Silwervlekkies, Chibi-hanadai, チビハナダイ,
Synonyme
Pteranthias longimanus (Weber, 1913)
------------------------
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-15 (rarely: 15), the fin margin divided to the base before soft-rayed part, fourth spine longest, 1.9-2.5 in head length; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 6-7, second spine longest, twice length of first spine but shorter than longest anal-fin ray; Caudal fin rays: 13-15 branched rays, truncate to slightly rounded; Pectoral fin rays: 12-13, all rays unbranched; Fin length: 1.0-1.3 in head, reaches vertical at 5th anal-fin ray; Pelvic fins not reaching anus: 1.7-1.9 in head. Body oblong; Greatest body depth: 2.6-3.1 in SL; Head length: 2.2-2.4 in SL; Peduncle depth: 2.9-3.3, orbit diameter: 3.0-3.4, snout: 4.4-5.0, bony interorbital width: 10-12, all in head length. Lateral-line incomplete, ending below dorsal-fin rays, with: 12-15 tubed scales, 1 row of scales from 5th dorsal spine to lateral-line; Circumpeduncular scales: 12; Scales on top of head reach middle of interorbital space; Vertebrae: 10 + 16, (rarely 10 + 17); Operculum scaly; Cheek with four oblique series of large scales; Snout, maxilla, suborbitals and lower jaw naked. Maxilla with a low ledge along entire dorsal margin and no supramaxilla. Preopercle posterior edge with about 12 small serrae; Lower edge with two well-separated antrorse spines, subopercle and interopercle serrate. Gill-rakers: 4-6 + 9-12. Max. length: 3.5 cm SL. Depth range: 6 - 75 m.
Color
Fresh color of 23 mm SL fish; Body pale, with longitudinal series of brown zigzag stripes; A square black spot at base of upper and lower 6 caudal fin rays, followed posteriorly by a golden yellow spot above and below a smaller black spot on upper and lower middle caudal rays; A black spot on each side of a white spot at base of anal fin rays; Proximal part of dorsal fins reddish brown; Dorsal-fin spines 4 to 7 with red tips; A dark brown square blotch at base of last 6 dorsal-fin rays; Several small, irregular white spots randomly scattered over head and body; Ventral part of abdomen and head white; Snout and front of lower jaw reddish brown.
Etymology
Plectranthias: from Greek, plektron = anyhting to strike with, spur + from Greek, anthias = a name of an unknow fish given by Aristotle in "History of Animals". This book, written in the fourth century BC, is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), who had studied at Plato's Academy in Athens.
longimanus: from Latin, longus = long + from Latin, manus = hand. Referring to long and pointed pectoral fins, longer than head.
Original description: Pteranthias longimanus Weber, 1913 - Type locality: Paternoster Island, East Indies, Siboga station 315, depth 36 meters.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Seychelles and Madagascar east to Marshall Islands, Fiji and Tonga, north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands, south to Australia (Timor Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, southern Queensland) and New Caledonia.
Biology
A cryptic, shallow-water species. Females mature at about 19 mm SL, males at about 23 mm SL. Secretive amongst small boulders or bommies on coastal sand slopes with rich invertebrate and algae growth. Solitary in crevices. Common in scuba-rotenone collections on coral reefs.
As noted by Chen & Shao (2002), most species are too small for capture by hook and line, live in rocky habitats (and are not easily trawled), occur below scuba-diving depths, and are not commercially important. Therefore, the group remains poorly represented in museum collections and many of the species are known from only one or two sites, frequently on the basis of a single specimen.
Similar species
Plectranthias nanus (Randall, 1980) - Reported from New Caledonia. According to Randall (1980): “The complex color pattern of Plectranthias nanus is remarkably similar to that of Plectranthias longimanus, the latter differing mainly in lacking the narrow dark vertical band on the caudal fin base”.
Last update: 16, June 2022