Luzonichthys kiomeamea (Teleostei: Serranidae: Anthiadinae), a new species from a mesophotic coral ecosystem of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

A new species in the anthiadine genus Luzonichthys Herre, 1936 is described from a specimen collected at a depth of 83 m in a mesophotic coral ecosystem at Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Luzonichthys kiomeamea n. sp. can be distinguished from the 7 other valid Luzonichthys species by anal-fin and pectoral-fin counts, the number of lateral-line scales, the number and arrangement of gill rakers, and coloration pattern. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing shows that the new species is more than 11% divergent in the COI sequence (and about equally distant) from Luzonichthys waitei, L. seaver, L. earlei, and L. aff. earlei (Coral Sea). Given the isolation of the island, and the uniqueness of its fish fauna, we suspect that the new species is endemic to the mesophotic reefs of Rapa Nui.