Vol. 45 No. 3, 2006

A Review of the Goatfishes of the Genus Upeneus (Perciformes: Mullidae) from New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Bank, with a New Species and Four New Records

John E. Randall¹ and Michel Kulbicki²

¹Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817-2704, USA
²IRD c/o EPHE, Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan cedex, France

John E. Randall and Michel Kulbicki (2006) Only 2 species of the goatfish genus Upeneus have been recorded from New Caledonia: U. tragula Richardson and U. vittatus (Forsskål). Upeneus filifer (Ogilby) was listed by name only in a report on experimental trawling on the Chesterfield Bank. New records are herein reported of U. australiae Kim and Nakaya, U. guttatus (Day), U. moluccensis (Bleeker), and U. sulphurus Cuvier for the New Caledonia region, and U. mouthami is described as a new species. A key, diagnoses, and color illustrations are given for all 8 species; summary notes on food habits are provided.

Key words: Mullidae, Upeneus, New Caledonia, Chesterfield Bank, New species, New records.

*Correspondence: E-mail:jackr@hawaii.rr.com