Kami’s Perchlet, Plectranthias kamii Randall 1980


Kami's Perchlet, Plectranthias kamii, from south of Lord Howe Island, March 2018. Source: tukula / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Plectranthias kamii in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5570

Kami’s Perchlet, Plectranthias kamii Randall 1980

More Info


Distribution

Murrays Islands to Lihou Reef in the Coral Sea, off Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. elsewhere the species is known from  the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, Palau and Guam, Samoa, Moorea, Taiwan, New Caledonia and Sulawesi, Indonesia. Inhabits deep reefs.

Features

Australian specimens:
Dorsal rays X,18, all or all but first segmented rays branched; anal rays III,7, all segmented rays branched; pectoral rays 13/13, all but upper ray branched; pelvic fin I,5, all segmented rays branched; upper procurrent caudal-fin rays 7–8; lower procurrent caudal-fin rays 6; principal caudal-fin rays 9+8; branched caudal fin rays 8+7; total caudal-fin rays 30–31; lateral line complete with 34–37 scales; scales above lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 4–5; scales above lateral line to base of fifth dorsal spine 3–4; scales below lateral line to origin of anal fin 16–20; diagonal rows of scales on cheek 9–10, including 2 overlying preopercular canal; predorsal scales 19–20, extending to anterior interorbital area, at about vertical through anterior edge of eye; circumpeduncular scales 16; gill rakers 5–6+11–12=17, the upper 4–5 and lower 3–4 rudiments; pseudobranchial filaments 19–22; branchiostegal rays 7. Vertebrae 10+16.
Dorsal-fin spines with fleshy tabs on their distal tips, the tab on third spine longest; third dorsal spine longest.
Opercle with 3 flat spines, middle spine longest, upper spine concealed by scales; preopercle with 26–30 serrations on posterior margin, and two enlarged antrorse spines ventrally; interopercle and subopercle smooth.

Colour

Head and body reddish pink to white, paler ventrally, marked with following yellow-brown to bright yellow blotches and bars: several small blotches dorsally on head, nape and snout tip; a short stripe from anterior edge of eye to middle of jaws; a diffuse oblique bar from posteroventral part of eye to preopercle angle; a diffuse blotch covering most of operculum; a curved stripe from posterior edge of eye to posterior part of nape and dorsal origin; an oblique bar extending from bases of fourth through sixth dorsal spines to just behind posterior edge of opercle; an oblique bar extending from bases of seventh through ninth dorsal spines to upper third of body; an oblique bar extending from bases of first through third segmented dorsal rays to upper third of body; a pupil-sized spot or short bar beneath bases of eighth through tenth segmented dorsal rays; a similar spot beneath terminal three or four dorsal segmented rays; a median spot on mid-dorsal part of caudal peduncle, a bar over posterior edge of caudal peduncle; a large elongate blotch mid-laterally below bars from seven through ninth dorsal spines and first through third segmented dorsal rays; smaller elongate mid-lateral blotch beneath middle part of soft dorsal fin; and elongate blotch over middle part of caudal peduncle; adjacent yellow-brown to bright yellow markings sometimes coalescing, sometimes overlain with small blue-grey to dark grey spots and blotches; eye pale pink to white, yellow-brown to orange where adjacent to yellow-brown to yellow stripes on head, with dark blue-grey to black crescent in front of pupil; dorsal fin reddish pink to white, with yellow-brown to bright yellow markings from body extending on to fins; first dorsal spine with dark grey basal spot; anal fin pale pink or white to orange; caudal fin pink to white dorsally and ventrally, pinkish hyaline to orange centrally; distal margins of caudal, soft dorsal and soft anal fins of larger specimen dusky grey; pelvic fins white to pink or orange, paler on fin spine; pectoral fins whitish hyaline to pink.

Similar Species

The following combination of characters distinguishes Plectranthias kamii from congeners: dorsal rays X,17–18; third dorsal spine longest; pectoral rays 13; lateral line complete, with 32–38 tubed scales; scales below lateral line to origin of anal fin 16–20.

Etymology

The species is named in honour of Harry T. Kami of the Division of Fish and Wildlife on Guam who donated the specimen to the Bishop Museum. Mr. Kami suspected that it might represent an undescribed species.

Species Citation

Plectranthias kamii Randall 1980, Micronesica 16(1): 141, Fig. 14. Type locality: Naha fish market, Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2021

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Kami’s Perchlet, Plectranthias kamii Randall 1980

References


Gill, A.C., Pogonoski, J.J., Moore, G.I. & Johnson, J.W. 2021. Review of Australian species of Plectranthias Bleeker and Selenanthias Tanaka (Teleostei: Serranidae: Anthiadinae), with descriptions of four new species. Zootaxa 4918(1): 1-116. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4918.1.1

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/ (as Plectranthias yamakawai)  

Randall, J.E. 1980. Revision of the fish genus Plectranthias (Serranidae: Anthiinae) with description of 13 new species. Micronesia 16(1): 101-187. See ref online

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311240

Depth:183-534 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:34 cm TL

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