Description

SINGLE PAPER

Volume 14, Issue 3 – 10 July 2008

John E. Randall, John L. Earle and Luiz A. Rocha: Xyrichtys pastellus, a new razorfish from the southwest Pacific, with discussion of the related X. sciistius and X. woodi, pp. 149-158

Abstract
Five species of razorfishes of the genus Xyrichtys are known from the central and western Pacific: X. woodi from the Hawaiian Islands; X. sciistius (formerly a synonym of X. woodi) from Japan and Taiwan; X. pastellus, described as new from two specimens from Lord Howe Island and three from Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, New South Wales; X. halsteadi from Papua New Guinea to Tahiti; and X. koteamea from Easter Island. The first three form a complex of closely related species that are distinguished mainly by color, but also by DNA. In addition, X. woodi has a lower modal gill-raker count than the other two sister species.