Vol. 41 No. 4, 2002

Parupeneus insularis, a New Central Pacific Species of Goatfish (Perciformes: Mullidae) of the P. trifasciatus Complex

John E. Randall1,* and Robert F. Myers2

¹Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817-2704, USA
²PO Box 550666, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33355-0666, USA

John E. Randall and Robert F. Myers (2002) Most recent authors have used the name Parupeneus bifasciatus (Lacepède) for a wide-ranging Indo-Pacific goatfish; however, Günther (1859), as 1st revisor, correctly placed bifasciatus in the synonymy of trifasciatus described by Lacepède on the same page. We herein divide P. trifasciatus into 3 species and restrict P. trifasciatus to the Indian Ocean. Parupeneus crassilabris (Cuvier) is recognized as valid for the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific east to Fiji, Tonga, and the Caroline Islands; it differs from trifasciatus in color and in having shorter barbels. Parupeneus insularis is described as a new species from the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, and Pitcairn Islands to the Marshall, Mariana, Phoenix, and Samoa Islands; it differs in color and in having a higher gill-raker count, 37-42 (modally 39), compared to 35-38 for the other 2 species, and it has shorter barbels than P. crassilabris.

Key words: Taxonomy, Mullidae, Parupeneus trifasciatus complex.

*Correspondence: E-mail: jackr@hi.net