Aulopus chirichignoae, a new flagfin from the eastern Pacific Ocean (Teleostei, Aulopiformes, Aulopidae) Author Béarez, Philippe 0000-0003-0397-2393 UMR 7209 AASPE, CNRS, MNHN, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France. bearez@mnhn.fr Author Zavalaga, Fabiola 0000-0001-8680-4795 Área Funcional de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad (AFIB), Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE), Esq. Gamarra y General Valle s / n, Callao, Lima, Perú. fzavalaga@imarpe.gob.pe Author Miranda, Junior 0000-0001-9601-3591 Universidad Nacional de Piura, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela de Posgrado, Maestría en Ciencias del Mar, Piura, Perú. mirandaromerojr@gmail.com Author Mennesson, Marion I. Unité Biologie des organismes et écosystèmes aquatiques (BOREA 7208), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Université de Caen Normandie, Université des Antilles, CNRS, IRD, CP 26, 57 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris, FranceUMR 7208 BOREA, CNRS, MNHN, Sorbonne Université, Université de Caen Normandie, Université des Antilles, IRD. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, CP 26, 75005 Paris, France. marion.mennesson@mnhn.fr Author Campos-León, Sarita 0000-0001-6361-0883 Laboratorio costero de Camaná, Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE), Carretera Panamericana Sur km 848, La Pampa, Camaná, Arequipa, Perú. scampos@imarpe.gob.pe Author Jiménez-Prado, Pedro 0000-0002-7681-9309 The Nature Conservancy, Quito, Ecuador. pedro.jimenez@tnc.org text Zootaxa 2024 2024-05-27 5458 1 108 118 http://zoobank.org/b01ec614-27ed-423d-beef-d34b2011cbcf journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5458.1.6 1175-5326 11348437 B01EC614-27ED-423D-BEEF-D34B2011CBCF Aulopus chirichignoae , sp. nov. Béarez, Zavalaga & Miranda English vernacular name: Pacific royal flagfin Spanish vernacular name: Lagarto real del Pacífico French vernacular name: Limbert royal du Pacifique ( Fig. 2 , Tables 2–3 ) Aulopus bajacali (non Parin & Kotlyar)— Ambrose (1996) in part, description; Thompson (1998) in part, description, Fig. 1 A–C , and distribution; Nakaya et al. (2009: 133) , description, Fig. 88. Aulopus sp. —Chrichigno et al. (2001: 21). Aulopus n. sp. —Jiménez-Prado and Béarez (2004: 25). Holotype . IMARPE-19082, mature male, 301 mm SL, Pacific Ocean , Cabo Blanco , Peru ( 4°13’46.50”S , 81°14’37.39”W ), 91.4 m , jigging, coll. J. Miranda , 22 May 2022 ( Fig. 2A ). Paratypes . MNHN-IC-1997-3820, mature female, 236 mm SL, Puerto López , Ecuador ( 1°33’S , 80°49’W ), bottom longlining, coll. P. Béarez , 13 Dec. 1996 ; MNHN-IC-1999-0963 mature male, 335 mm SL, Puerto López , Ecuador , bottom longlining, coll. J. Vera , 15 Nov. 1998 ; IMARPE-19086, mature female, 325 mm SL ( Fig. 2B ) and IMARPE-19087, mature male, 308 mm SL, Cabo Blanco , Peru ( 4°15’S , 81°14’W ), 73 m , jigging, coll. J. Miranda , 29 May 2022 ; MEPN-I 19659 , mature male, 300 mm SL and MECN-DP 5536 , female, 188 mm SL, Puerto López , Ecuador , bottom longlining, coll. P. Béarez , 24 June 2000 . Other specimens examined but not designated as paratypes : MNHN-IC-2001-1364 ( three specimens , males and females, ranging from 176 to 280 mm SL) collected with paratypes from Ecuador ; IMARPE-19083 (female, 262 mm SL) collected with the holotype ; IMARPE-19084 (male, 252 mm SL), IMARPE-19085 (male, 290 mm SL), IMARPE-19088 (male, 307 mm SL), IMARPE-19089 (male, 317 mm SL), IMARPE-19090 (male, 313 mm SL), collected with paratypes from Peru . Diagnosis. A species of Aulopus as defined by Thompson (1998) , characterized by the following combination of characters: adult males possessing elongate filaments on dorsal rays 2–4 with females lacking these filaments; small (29.4–31.4% SL) head length; narrow (4.8–5.5% SL) bony interorbital width; dorsal and anal fin rays counts modally 15 and 11, respectively, and 50–51 vertebrae ( Tables 2 and 3). A large species for the genus, largest specimen examined 335 mm SL. Molecular analysis. Among the five paratypes used for DNA barcoding, only two sequences of the COI gene (623 bp) from IMARPE-19086 and 19087 were obtained. The two sequences were deposited in the BOLD under process numbers ACHIR001-24 and ACHIR002-24. The maximum likelihood tree supported the recognition of a new species of Aulopus near the coasts of Peru and Ecuador ( Fig. 3 ), which differs from Aulopus filamentosus ( Italy , Portugal , Cape Verde and Bermuda ) and A. bajacali ( Mexico ) with a 4.2% and 2.8% divergence, respectively. A sequence of an Aulopus sp. collected in the TEP (MPD-2008, Paramount) matches the new species with a 0.4% divergence ( Table 4 ). FIGURE 2. Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov. A. IMARPE-19082, fresh holotype, male, 301 mm SL, Cabo Blanco, Peru; B. IMARPE-19086, fresh paratype, female, 325 mm SL, Cabo Blanco, Peru (Photos by J. Miranda). Description —Head length 30.2% (29.4–31.4%) of SL; body width at pectoral fin 13.6% (12.0–16.3%) of SL; big and rounded eyes, horizontal diameter about 6.6% (6.6–8%) of SL; bony interorbital width about 5.5% (4.8– 5.5%) of SL. Large, slightly oblique mouth, extending almost to the rear edge of the eye. Dorsal fin rays 15 (14–15, modally 15); anal fin rays 10 (10–12, modally 11); caudal fin rays 20 (18–20, modally 10+9); pectoral fin rays 12 (12–14, modally 13); pelvic fin rays 9, the fourth being the longest. Lateral line scales 52 (49–52). Predorsal scales 18 (14–18). Total gill rakers on first arch 11 (10–12, modally 11): 2–3 on upper limb, 1 at the junction, 7–8 on lower limb. Branchiostegal rays 15 (12–15, modally 15). Body covered with strong ctenoid scales. Total vertebral number 51 (50–51: 30 + 20–21). See Tables 2 and 3 for additional meristic and morphometric values. Sagitta (saccular otolith) oblong with regularly rounded ventral margin ( Fig. 4 ); rostrum long, pointed, dorsally flexed; dorsal margin irregular, antirostrum poorly developed; sulcus almost straight, slightly curved posteriorly, ending close to the postero-ventral corner; posterior region irregular, more prolonged dorsally than ventrally. FIGURE 3. Maximum likelihood tree of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of aulopid and paraulopid species. Aulopus clade in bold. Numbers at each node represent bootstraps. Fresh colors: Body dark brown dorsally, with darker greenish patches, gray ventrally. Dorsal fin whitish with irregular-shape orange and yellow spots. Pelvic fin yellowish with yellow and orange markings distally. Translucent pectoral fin with no markings. Whitish anal fin with two more or less visible longitudinal yellow stripes, one at the base of the fin and the other more or less in the middle. Adipose fin with orange spot. Caudal fin brownish at base, becoming paler distally, with alternating transverse orange mottling. Color pattern scarcely varies between males and females, but males seem to have more pronounced yellow and orange markings on their fins. TABLE 2. Frequency distributions of fin rays, lateral-line scales, and vertebrae counts for Aulopus bajacali * and Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov.

Dorsal rays											Number of specimens
14		15
Aulopus bajacali	27		2	29
Aulopus chirichignoae	4	12	16
Anal rays
10		11	12	13
Aulopus bajacali	-	2	21	7	30
Aulopus chirichignoae	2		10	4	-	16
Pectoral rays
12		13	14
Aulopus bajacali	-	27	3	30
Aulopus chirichignoae	3		12	1	16
Lateral-line scales
48	49		50	51			52
Aulopus bajacali	5	17		6	1	-	29
Aulopus chirichignoae	-	7	1	6	2	16
Vertebrae
47	48	49	50	51		52
Aulopus bajacali	1	24	4	-	-	-	29
Aulopus chirichignoae	-	-	-	1	12		3	16

*The data for Aulopus bajacali considered herein were taken from Thompson (1998) , though only the information referring to specimens from Baja California was used. TABLE 3. Morphometric and meristic data of Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov. from Ecuador and Peru.

Museum catalogue N°	IMARPE-19082 (holotype)	MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype)	IMARPE-19086 (paratype)	IMARPE-19087 (paratype)	MEPN-I 19659 (paratype)	MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype)	MECN-DP 5536 (paratype)	Non type material (n=9) Ranges
Body measurements (mm)
Total length	350	400	383	365	355	288	227	216–330
Standard length	301	335	325	308	300	236	188	176–317
Measurements (% SL)
Head length	30.2	31.3	31.4	29.4	29.5	29.9	29.7	29.2–31.9
Snout length	8.6	9.2	9.2	8.4	8.1	8.1	8.2	7.8–9.0
Postorbital head length	13.6	15.0	15.1	14.3	14.0	14.9	13.8	13.8–15.1
Horizontal eye diameter	6.6	6.9	8.0	6.8	6.7	7.7	7.7	6.7–9.1
Vertical eye diameter	5.6	6.4	6.2	6.3	5.8	5.9	6.5	5.4–7.3

......continued on the next page TABLE 3. (Continued)

Museum catalogue N°	IMARPE-19082 (holotype)	MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype)	IMARPE-19086 (paratype)	IMARPE-19087 (paratype)	MEPN-I 19659 (paratype)	MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype)	MECN-DP 5536 (paratype)	Non type material (n=9) Ranges
Bony interorbital width	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.2	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.4–5.5
Upper jaw length	14.8	16.7	16.0	15.3	15.4	15.1	15.3	14.5–15.8
Body depth at dorsal fin origin	17.1	17.4	15.4	17.5	17.4	16.1	18.3	15.3–19.2
Body depth at adipose fin	9.0	10.1	9.5	9.1	9.3	10.0	9.6	8.8–10.1
Body width at pectoral fin	13.6	16.3	14.5	14.3	14.7	12.0	13.9	12.1–16.3
Caudal peduncle depth	6.3	6.7	6.5	6.0	6.2	6.7	5.9	6.0–6.9
Caudal peduncle length	17.3	15.1	16.3	16.9	16.8	17.1	16.2	12.1–17.9
Distance from tip of snout to dorsal corner of gill slit	21.1	22.9	23.8	21.1	21.3	22.0	21.9	20.6–22.5
Length of anal fin base	10.3	12.0	10.8	11.0	10.7	11.4	10.3	10.3–11.9
Length of dorsal fin base	20.4	19.5	21.2	20.3	18.5	21.7	21.2	19.2–22.8
Predorsal length	36.5	37.7	38.5	35.7	36.1	36.7	37.2	36.4–39.4
Prepectoral length	30.2	32.6	32.0	31.7	31.8	31.8	31.5	30.9–32.8
Prepelvic length	35.5	37.9	37.4	36.7	37.5	36.2	35.3	34.1–37.5
Preanal length*	71.4	74.0	73.8	72.4	70.7	69.5	72.3	71.0–75.0
Distance between dorsal and adipose fins	23.4	24.4	23.4	24.0	18.2	22.1	21.9	18.6–25.2
Counts
Number of vertebrae	51	51	51	51	51	51	50	51–52
Number of predorsal scales	18	16	17	16	16	14	15	14–19
Number of lateral line scales	52	52	49	49	51	51	51	49–51
Number of branchiostegal rays	15	12	15	15	15	14	10*	14–16
Number of gill rakers	8+1+2	8+1+3	7+1+2	8+1+2	8+1+2	8+1+2	8+1+2	8+1+2
Number of dorsal fin rays	15	14	15	14	14	15	15	14–15
Number of anal fin rays	10	11	12	11	11	11	11	10–12
Number of pectoral fin rays	12	14	13	13	13	13	13	12–13

......continued on the next page TABLE 3. (Continued)

Museum catalogue N°	IMARPE-19082 (holotype)	MNHN-1999-0963 (paratype)	IMARPE-19086 (paratype)	IMARPE-19087 (paratype)	MEPN-I 19659 (paratype)	MNHN-1997-3820 (paratype)	MECN-DP 5536 (paratype)	Non type material (n=9) Ranges
Number of pelvic fin rays	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Number of caudal fin rays	20	19	18	19	20	19	19	18–19
*This count is incomplete because the specimen was damaged.

TABLE 4. Pairwise distance matrix (percentage of divergence) between the Aulopus sequences used in this study based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Intraspecific divergence is indicated in italic bold.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1	Aulopus_filamentosus _CSFOM013-10_Italy
2	Aulopus_filamentosus _MLFPI76_Portugal	0.5
3	Aulopus_filamentosus _CDFOM-103_Italy	0.5	0.4
4	Aulopus_filamentosus _USNM405132_Cape_Verde	0.5	0.4	0
5	Aulopus_filamentosus _KU3816_Bermuda	3.4	3.3	2.9	2.9
6	Aulopus_filamentosus _USNM_Unknown	2.7	2.6	2.2	2.2	0.7
7	Aulopus_chirichignoae _IMARPE-19086_Peru	3.9	3.3	3.7	3.7	5.5	4.7
8	Aulopus _ sp._MPD-2008_Paramount_Seamount	4.1	3.5	3.9	3.9	5.6	4.9	0.6
9	Aulopus_chirichignoae _IMARPE-19087_Peru	3.9	3.3	3.7	3.7	5.5	4.7	0.4	0.2
10	Aulopus_bajacali _b23_Mexico	4.5	4.1	4.3	4.3	5.3	4.9	2.8	2.9	2.8
11	Hime_curtirostris _AMSF177-09_Australia	21	20.6	20.6	20.6	22.3	21.8	20.2	19.8	19.8	19.4

FIGURE 4. Inner view of left (A) and right (B) sagittae of Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov. (IMARPE-019088) Size. The largest specimen of A. chirichignoae is a mature male 400 mm TL, 335 mm SL (MNHN-IC-1999- 0963, paratype from Ecuador ). It is larger than the largest known A. bajacali sensu Thompson (1998) , a 191 mm SL female (NB—Several large A. bajacali listed in Thompson (1998) are probably A. chirichignoae ). Distribution. Aulopus chirichignoae sp. nov. is known from the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean along mainland Ecuador and northern Peru coasts, at depths between 70 and 150 m . However, the specimen MPD-2008 caught in 2002 on the Paramount Seamount ( 3°20.35’N , 90°47.88’W ) genetically corresponding to Aulopus chirichognae sp. nov. , indicates that the species probably has a much larger distribution. Etymology. This species is named for Norma Chirichigno Fonseca in recognition of her research on Peruvian marine fishes and for her first mention of an Aulopus species in Peru ( Chirichigno, 1976 ; Chirichigno & Cornejo, 2001 ).