A New Species of Halichoeres (Teleostei: Labridae) from the Western Gulf of Mexico

A new labrid fish, Halichoeres burekae, is described from specimens collected at Stetson Bank, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico over claystone, sponge, and coral substrata. The bright purple, blue-green, and yellow body coloration, and anterior black pigmentation of the dorsal fin in the terminal male, large black irregular spot at the base of the caudal peduncle, salmon body coloration, yellow snout in the initial stage/female, and diagnostic differences in the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene separate this species from all other western Atlantic labrids. Adult H. burekae were observed in small schools along the reef crest mixed with Thalassoma bifasciatum and Chromis multilineata, and small juveniles were observed in mixed schools with juvenile Clepticus parrae. It feeds primarily on calanoid copepods and other plankton and is a close relative of H. socialis from Belize. This species is currently known from the FGBNMS and reefs off Veracruz, Mexico, in the western Gulf of Mexico.

Figure 1

Color photographs of the (A) holotype (UF121176), the (B) paratype (UF121257), and underwater photographs of a (C) terminal phase male, (D) initial phase/female, and (E, F) transitional males of Halichoeres burekae. Photographs by (A) D. Weaver, (B) T. Johnson, and (C–F) J. and F. Burek.

Figure 2

Dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of preserved Halichoeres burekae: (A) holotype (UF121176) and (B) paratype (UF121257). Photographs by D. Weaver.

Figure 3

Phylogenetic relationships of Halichoeres burekae based on maximum likelihood analysis of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene. Numbers above nodes are bootstrap support values from 500 replicates. A phylogenetic reconstruction using maximum parsimony resulted in the same tree topology. Time scale in the bottom of the tree is based on the split between H. pictus and H. dispilus (indicated by arrow), which approximately coincides with the closure of the Isthmus of Panama; this same point was used to calibrate a larger tree containing 35 species of Halichoeres (Barber and Bellwood, 2005).

Figure 4

Lateral and dorsal views of cranial bones of (A) Halichoeres burekae holotype (SL = 77.4 mm) and (B) H. pictus (SL = 100.5 mm). Image provided by J. Maisano.

Figure 5

Distribution of Halichoeres burekae and H. socialis.

Contributor Notes

Section editor: D. Buth.

Douglas C Weaver, (DCW) Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston, Texas 77551, e-mail: (DCW) doug.weaver@noaa.gov(LAR) Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, P.O. Box 1346, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744, e-mail: (LAR) RochaL@hawaii.edu. Send reprint requests to DCW.

Received: 20 Dec 2006

Accepted: 10 Apr 2007