Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 13 Aug 2021

Redescription of Cirrhilabrus solorensis Bleeker, with Description of Two New Species of Fairy Wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae: Cirrhilabrus)

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Page Range: 669 – 684
DOI: 10.1643/i2021022
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The labrid fish Cirrhilabrus solorensis was first described in 1853 by Bleeker, based on specimens collected from the Indonesian island of Solor, off the eastern tip of Flores in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Although sufficient at the time, Bleeker's description of the species was brief, resulting in subsequent taxonomic confusion concerning the true identity of this taxon. Presently, the name has been applied to several fishes with notable differences in coloration, particularly in the terminal males. On the basis of additional non-type material and photographic examination of Bleeker's holotype, we redescribe Cirrhilabrus solorensis and resolve the long-standing contention regarding its taxonomic identity. In doing so, we describe two species as new, Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, on the basis of the holotype and eight paratypes from Sulawesi and the surrounding islands of Banggai and Wakatobi, Indonesia, and Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, described on the basis of the holotype and nine paratypes from Bali, Indonesia. These three species are closely related and, together with C. aurantidorsalis, C. cyanopleura, C. luteovittatus, C. randalli, and C. ryukyuensis, form a complex of species that differ from congeners in having the following combination of characters: caudal fin in males weakly rhomboidal; median fins hyaline with sinuous filigree in both sexes; body with scales edged in inky blue to indigo, their margins often patterned in an argyle motif; and osseus elements that preserve blue to blue-green in alcohol. We briefly discuss the phylogenetic relationships of species in this complex based on results of a companion study detailed elsewhere.

Copyright: © 2021 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.

Cirrhilabrus solorensis, freshly euthanized and wild individuals showing coloration in life. (A) BPBM 30166, 71 mm SL, male, Gili Ayer, Lombok, Indonesia; (B) BPBM 32146, 75 mm SL, male, Maumere Bay, Flores, Indonesia; (C) BPBM, 18612, 56 mm SL, male, Ambon Bay, Indonesia; (D) a large harem of C. solorensis comprising both sexes, underwater photograph from Flores, Indonesia. Note extensive hard coral cover; (E) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, male, underwater photograph from Flores, Indonesia. Photographs by J. E. Randall (A–C) and R. Whitton (D, E).

Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.

X-radiograph of select species of Cirrhilabrus. (A) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, AMS I.46115-048, 74.7 mm SL, male, Atauro Island, Timor-Leste; (B) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, AMS I.49509-001, 55.0 mm SL, male, Kendari, Sulawesi; (C) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, MZB 26052 (holotype), 60.1 mm SL, male, Bali, Indonesia. Radiographs by A. Hay, S. E. Reader, and K. Parkinson.

Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.

A selection of freshly euthanized and preserved species of Cirrhilabrus. (A–B) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, NTM S.17835-002, 93.0 mm SL, male, Franklin Shoal Timor Sea; (C) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, RMNH.PISC.6547 (holotype), 87.5 mm SL, male, Solor Island, Indonesia; (D) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, AMS I.49509-001, 55.0 mm SL, male, Kendari, Sulawesi; (E) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, MZB 26051 (formerly WAM P.34500-001), 77.4 mm SL, male, Lintea Selatan Channel, Wakatobi Group, Banda Sea, Indonesia; (F) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, WAM P.34500-001, 73.8 mm SL, male, Lintea Selatan Channel, Wakatobi Group, Banda Sea, Indonesia; (G–H) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, MZB 26052 (holotype), 60.1 mm SL, male, Bali, Indonesia; (I) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, WAM P.35201-001, 65.1 mm SL, male, Bali, Indonesia. Photographs by M. Hammer (A–B), E. Dondorp (C), Y. K. Tea (D), G. R. Allen (E–F), H. H. Tan (G), and Y. K. Tea (H–I).

Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.

Pectoral-fin base of (A) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, AMS I.46115-048, 66.1 mm SL, male, Atauro Island, Timor-Leste; (B) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, AMS I.49509-001, 55.0 mm SL, male, Kendari, Sulawesi; and (C) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, MZB 26052 (holotype), 60.1 mm SL, male, Bali, Indonesia, showing preserved coloration in alcohol. Note the darkened pectoral-fin base of C. chaliasi versus C. solorensis. Note the blue-black scales of C. aquamarinus compared to the blue-green of C. solorensis and C. chaliasi. Photographs by Y. K. Tea.

Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.

A selection of species of Cirrhilabrus in life. (A) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, male, underwater photograph from Rinca, Indonesia; (B) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, male, underwater photograph from Pura, Indonesia; (C) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, underwater photograph from Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Note Pseudanthias tuka and live hard coral cover; (D) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, transitioning male, underwater photograph from Wakatobi, Sulawesi, Indonesia; (E) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, terminal male, aquarium specimen from Kendari, Sulawesi, Indonesia; (F) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, males and females, underwater photograph from Kendari, Sulawesi; (G) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, young male, underwater photograph from Bali, Indonesia; (H–I) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, terminal males and females, underwater photograph from Bali, Indonesia. Photographs by F. Libert (A–B), S. Penisson (C), G. R. Allen (D), K. Kohen (E), V. Chalias (F), J. Heard (G), H. Chan (H), and V. Chalias (I).

Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.

Species of the Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura complex. (A) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, underwater photograph from Komodo, Indonesia; (B) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, underwater photograph from Waha, Sulawesi, Indonesia; (C) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, underwater photograph from Bali, Indonesia; (D) Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura, underwater photograph from Bitung, Sulawesi, Indonesia; (E) Cirrhilabrus ryukyuensis, underwater photograph from Yakushima Island, Japan; (F) Cirrhilabrus aff. ryukyuensis, underwater photograph from Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia; (G) Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus, underwater photograph from Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia; (H) Cirrhilabrus randalli, underwater photograph from Rowley Shoals, Western Australia; (I) Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis, underwater photograph from Togean Island, Indonesia. Photographs by T. Cameron (A), M. Rosenstein (B), K. Nishiyama (C), E. Schlogl (D), S. Harazaki (E), and G. R. Allen (F–I).

Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.

Distribution records for species of the C. cyanopleura complex. Dashed line represents the Coral Triangle. Shaded regions (open circles) represent general distributional ranges. Closed circles represent locality records. Photographs of C. ryukyuensis by S. Harazaki; C. aff. ryukyuensis by G. R. Allen; all others by Y. K. Tea.

Fig. 8.
Fig. 8.

Patterns of red autofluorescence for a selection of species of Cirrhilabrus. Figures A1–E1 show coloration in life. Figures A2–E2 show fluorescent patterns under broad-spectrum white light and monochromatic blue illumination, combined with orange long pass filter. (A) Cirrhilabrus solorensis, (B) Cirrhilabrus aquamarinus, new species, (C) Cirrhilabrus chaliasi, new species, (D) Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis, (E) Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura. Photographs by Y. K. Tea (A1, A2, C1, E1), and T. Gerlach and J. Theobald (all others).

Contributor Notes

1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Email: yi-kai.tea@sydney.edu.au. Send reprint requests to this address.
2 Ichthyology, Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia.
3 Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Perth, Western Australia 6986, Australia.
4 Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia.

Associate Editor: M. T. Craig.

Received: 11 Feb 2021
Accepted: 04 May 2021
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