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Issue: Vol. 4894 No. 4: 11 Dec. 2020
Type: Article
Published: 2020-12-11
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.4.2
Page range: 521–534
Abstract views: 171
PDF downloaded: 8

A new species of Pegasus (Syngnathiformes: Pegasidae) from the South China Sea

CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China 4University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, PR China
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, PR China Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, PR China University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Pisces Pegasus nanhaiensis South China Sea sea moth genetic divergence

Abstract

A new fish species from the South China Sea, Pegasus nanhaiensis sp. nov., is described herein. The new species is readily distinguished from all other species of the genus Pegasus with the following characteristics: A rounded hump-like tubercle on each of dorsal plates I, II, and III. Noticeable hexagonal patterns on the dorsal carapace with a clear boundary, and two paired caudolateral plates overlapping the junctions between tail rings II and III, and between tail rings IV and V. The integrated evidence from both morphological and genetic studies indicates that P. nanhaiensis represents an independent lineage within the genus Pegasus.

 

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