Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 15 Oct 2020

Two New Species of Pencil Wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae: Pseudojuloides) from Micronesia and the Marquesan Islands

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Page Range: 679 – 691
DOI: 10.1643/CI-19-327
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Pseudojuloides pluto, new species, is described on the basis of the holotype and 11 paratypes from Wake Island, northeastern Micronesia, and nine paratypes from the Maug Islands, Northern Mariana Islands. The new species has previously been confused with Pseudojuloides atavai, but molecular analysis of mitochondrial COI reveals a difference of 6.8% in sequence data between both species, in addition to differences in meristic, morphometric, and coloration details. A second new species, Pseudojuloides proserpina, is described from Fatu Hiva, Marquesan Islands on the basis of the male holotype. The two new species are closely allied to Pseudojuloides atavai, and together form a species complex that differs from other members of the genus in having males that share the following combination of characters: interspinous membrane between the anterior two to three spines of the dorsal fin with a black spot; head extensively reticulate (reduced in P. pluto, new species); dorsal-fin base with a pink stripe; abdominal region behind pectoral and pelvic fins pale lilac to orangey pink (width of this region dependent on species) with a crosshatch or honeycomb pattern; and extensive black coloration over at least posterior half of body. Additionally, females of both P. atavai and P. pluto, new species, are distinctly bicolored (versus unicolored and suffused in all other congeneric species). Although the female form of P. proserpina, new species, is not known, it is likely that it shares this general coloration pattern, which may serve as an additional character uniting members of the Pseudojuloides atavai complex. We briefly discuss the phylogenetic relationships of Pseudojuloides inferred on the basis of mitochondrial DNA.

Copyright: © 2020 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.

Freshly euthanized specimens of Pseudojuloides atavai: (A) male, USNM 424042, 121.6 mm SL, Rurutu, Austral Islands, French Polynesia; (B) female, USNM 392362, 83.8 mm SL, Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia; (C) male, USNM 424098, 121.0 mm SL, Tubuai, Austral Islands, French Polynesia; (D) female, USNM 392362, 83.8 mm SL, Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia; (E) male, ROM 59428, 86.4 mm SL, Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia; (F) female, USNM 423273, 66.8 mm SL, Maria Atoll, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. Photographs by J. T. Williams (A–D, F) and R. Winterbottom (E).

Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.

Radiographs of selected species of Pseudojuloides. Images not to scale. (A) Pseudojuloides atavai, male paratype, AMS I.21716-001, 89.1 mm SL; (B) Pseudojuloides pluto, new species, male paratype, BPBM 40391, 88.9 mm SL; (C) Pseudojuloides proserpina, new species, male holotype, BPBM 39270, 91.0 mm SL. Radiographs by A. Hay and S. E. Reader.

Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.

Pseudojuloides pluto, new species: (A–C) freshly euthanized males showing various degrees of intensity in black body coloration. (A) BPBM 40392, male holotype, 78.0 mm SL, Wake Island, Micronesia; (B) BPBM 40391, male paratype, 88.4 mm SL, Maug Islands, Northern Mariana Archipelago; (C) BPBM 40391, male paratype, 88.9 mm SL, Maug Islands, Northern Mariana Archipelago; (D) male holotype in preservation; (E) freshly euthanized female paratype, BPBM 40391, 57.6 mm SL, Maug Islands, Northern Mariana Archipelago; (F) female paratype in preservation, BPBM 41375, 65.3 mm SL, Wake Island, Micronesia. Photographs by B. D. Greene (A–C, E) and Y. K. Tea (D, F).

Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.

Underwater photographs of Pseudojuloides pluto, new species, from Ogasawara Islands, Japan, at 20 m. (A) Male, approximately 100 mm TL; (B) female, approximately 80 mm TL; (C) male, approximately 100 mm TL; (D) female, approximately 90 mm TL. Photographs by S. Kobayashi.

Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.

Head detail of Pseudojuloides pluto, new species, female on left, male with muted coloration on right. Note anterior dorsal fin spot in both sexes and reduced facial reticulations in the male. Aquarium specimens from the Maug Islands, Northern Mariana Archipelago. Photographs by B. D. Greene.

Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.

(A) Freshly euthanized and (B) preserved specimen of Pseudojuloides proserpina, new species, BPBM 39270, 91.0 mm SL, male holotype, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas. Photographs by L. A. Rocha and Y. K. Tea, respectively.

Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.

Distribution records for selected species of Pseudojuloides based on examined specimens and literature records: purple circles, Pseudojuloides pluto, new species; orange hexagon, Pseudojuloides proserpina, new species; pink stars, Pseuojuloides atavai. Type localities represented by outlined symbols.

Fig. 8.
Fig. 8.

Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic relationships of Pseudojuloides inferred using mitochondrial COI. Support values at nodes correspond to posterior probability and maximum-likelihood bootstrap percentages, respectively. The new species, Pseudojuloides pluto (purple), is at present most closely related to P. atavai (pink). The Pseudojuloides cerasinus, severnsi, and elongatus complexes are in green, blue, and yellow, respectively. See Data Accessibility for tree files.

Contributor Notes

1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Email: (YKT) yi-kai.tea@sydney.edu.au. Send reprint requests to YKT.
2 Ichthyology, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia.
3 Association for Marine Exploration, 420 N Kalaheo Avenue, Kailua, Hawaii 96740.
4 Macleay Collections, Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
  Authors contributed equally.
Received: 08 Nov 2019
Accepted: 11 Apr 2020
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