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Roa rumsfeldi, a new butterflyfish (Teleostei, Chaetodontidae) from mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Philippines
A new species of the butterflyfish genus Roa is herein described from the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, West Pacific Ocean. Roa rumsfeldi sp. n. was found on mesophotic coral ecosystems at Puerto Galera and Batangas, and sampled through technical mixed-gas rebreather diving at 100–130 m d...
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Published in: | ZooKeys 2017-10 (709), p.127-134 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | A new species of the butterflyfish genus
Roa
is herein described from the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, West Pacific Ocean.
Roa
rumsfeldi
sp. n.
was found on mesophotic coral ecosystems at Puerto Galera and Batangas, and sampled through technical mixed-gas rebreather diving at 100–130 m depth. This represents the fifth known species of
Roa
. The main differences between
Roa
rumsfeldi
sp. n.
and its congeners are the lower number of pored scales in the lateral line, longer snout, longer caudal peduncle, shorter caudal fin, pelvic fin color (dark first spine vs. white in all other
Roa
), and genetics (8.4% divergence from its closest relative
Roa
modesta
in the mitochondrial
COI
gene).
Roa
spp. are usually seen in pairs, but the two specimens we collected were solitary individuals. We have kept one of the specimens alive in the California Academy of Sciences’ Twilight Zone exhibit for more than one year, where it thrives and is feeding on a variety of dried and fresh food. |
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ISSN: | 1313-2989 1313-2970 |
DOI: | 10.3897/zookeys.709.20404 |