A NEW SPECIES OF CARDINALFISH (APOGON APOGONIDAE) FROM NORTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 1 decade ago

Abstract - A new species of apogonid fish of the genus Apogon is described from the Northern Terntory and northern Western Australia. Apogon unitaeniatus is described on the basis of 94 trawl-captured specimens from Darwin Harbour and Shoal Bay in the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It is a member of the subgenus Pristiapogon and very similar m appearance to A. abrogramma Fraser and Lachner of the IndoWest Pacific. Both species are distinguished by a blackish midlateral stripe. However, they are readily separated on the basis of counts for gill rakers and pectoral rays (22-25 and 15 respectively for A. unitaeniatus versus 17-19 and 13 for A. abogramma).