A New Species of Rainbow Sardine in the Genus Dussumieria (Teleostei: Clupeiformes: Dussumieriidae) from New Guinea and Australia
Dussumieria apollo, new species, is described based on 34 specimens collected from the southern coast of Papua New Guinea and northern coast of Australia. The unique combination of characters including forms of body scales (numerous longitudinal striae on posterior part), teeth on mouth roof (numerous rows of conical teeth on anterior parts of palatine and pterygoids forming a band), deep body, low number of gill rakers, and several proportional measurements separated the new species from all congeners. To evaluate the validity of the new species, four barcode sequences (three of them newly determined for this study) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene were compared with those of 35 specimens belonging to seven other valid species of Dussumieria. Our molecular analysis corroborated the validity of D. apollo, new species, which forms a monophyletic group diverging from any congener by >8.0% mean uncorrected genetic distances.
Dussumieria apollo, new species. (A) Holotype from Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia (CSIRO H 8762-34, 111.4 mm SL, frozen for 3 months before imaging) and (B–C) paratypes from Gulf of Papua, New Guinea (B: CSIRO H 8823-07, 110.9 mm SL; C: CSIRO H 8821-12, 100.5 mm SL; frozen for about 6–7 years before imaging).
Ventral view of mouth roof of paratype of Dussumieria apollo, new species (USNM 439022, 123.7 mm SL, north of Croker Island, Australia). PL, palatine; PT, pterygoid; alizarin red S stain. Bar indicates 1 mm.
Stained scale removed from lateral surface of right side of body (just below dorsal fin) of paratype of Dussumieria apollo, new species (CSIRO H 6898-03, 130.9 mm SL, Torres Strait, Australia; alizarin red S stain, left-right inverted). Bar indicates 1 mm.
(A) Lateral, (B), dorsal, and (C) ventral views of holotype of Dussumieria apollo, new species, in preserved condition (CSIRO H 8762-34, 111.4 mm SL).
Pectoral-fin rays of a paratype of Dussumieria apollo, new species (NTM S.13001-014, 111.4 mm SL, Fog Bay, Northern Territory, Australia; preserved condition).
Distributional records of Dussumieria apollo, new species, based on specimens examined in this study.
Relationships (as % of standard length; SL) of (A) body depth, (B) maxilla length, (C) lower-jaw length, (D) predorsal-fin length, and (E) pelvic-fin length to SL in Dussumieria apollo, new species (red circles), D. acuta (orange diamonds), D. albulina (yellow inverted triangles), D. elopsoides (blue triangles), D. hasseltii (green squares), D. modakandai (pink crosses), and D. productissima (purple hexagons).
Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of seven species (out of nine) of Dussumieria, based on the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene (648 bp) of 39 specimens. In this tree, each species forms a monophyletic group. Each specimen is identified by its GenBank number followed in brackets by type status (if any), then museum registration (if any), specimen code (if any), and location (see text and Table 1 for details). GB indicates GenBank source. Tree is rooted at its midpoint. Branch lengths are proportional to number of substitutions. Only bootstrap proportions supporting species monophyly are indicated at corresponding nodes. See Data Accessibility for tree file.
Contributor Notes
Associate Editor: T Grande.