Festucalex rufus, a new species of pipefish (Syngnathidae) from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdmann
aqua International Journal of Ichthyology, pp. 47-51, Volume 21 issue 1, 15 January 2015
Abstract
A new species of syngnathid pipefish, Festucalex rufus is described from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea on the basis of four specimens, 26.5-37.8 mm SL collected from coral reef habitat in 10-20 m depth. It is distinguished from other members of the genus on the basis of a combination of features including a short snout (2.8-3.2 in head length), relatively low pectoral-ray count (10-11), and a lateral trunk ridge that terminates on the penultimate trunk ring. It is a small species with observed and collected individuals generally less than 40 mm SL and the single brood-pouch male collected measures 36.3 mm SL.
REFERENCES
ALLEN, G. R. & ERDMANN, M. V. 2012. Reef Fishes of the East Indies. Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research, Perth, Australia, 1292 pp.
ALLEN, G. R., STEENE, R., HUMANN, P. & DELOACH, N. 2010. Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific. Fourth edition. New World Publications, Jacksonville, Florida, 457 pp.
DAWSON, C. E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, 230 pp.
FRICKE, R. 2004. Review of the pipefishes and seahorses (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) of New Caledonia, with descriptions of five new species. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) 668: 1-66.
KUITER, R. H. 2009. Seahorses and their relatives. Aquatic Photographics, Seaford, Australia, 333 pp.
No Comment