Description

SINGLE PAPER

Volume 16, Issue 3 – 15 July 2010

Aaron P. Jenkins and Kinikoto Mailautoka: Hippichthys albomaculosus, a new species of freshwater pipefish (Pisces: Syngnathidae) from Fiji, pp. 111-116

Abstract
A new species of freshwater pipefish, Hippichthys albomaculosus, is described on the basis of 22 specimens, collected from Vanua Levu Island, Republic of Fiji. This species is distinguished from its closest relatives by a combination of characters that include: 13 trunk rings, total rings usually 48; dorsal fin origin on first tail ring; scutella not keeled; pectoral fin rays modally 14, trunk depth about 1.7 in head length, anal ring depth about 2.8 in head length; series of 10-11 white ocelli with dark margins bilateral to median longitudinal ventral keel and below inferior trunk ridge.