Apogon pseudomaculatus Longley

Apogon pseudomaculatus Longley

Identification. One wild-caught adult specimen of A. pseudomaculatus from Florida provided the basis for genetic identification of one juvenile reared from a wild-caught larva from Belize and one juvenile specimen from Curaçao (Appendix 1). An adult collected off Curaçao but not yet analyzed genetically is shown in Figure 18. The combination of characters that distinguishes A. pseudomaculatus adults from other Apogon species is the presence of eight segmented anal-fin rays, body and lateral-line scales of similar size, dark pupil-size spot below posterior end of second dorsal fin, 14–16 circum-caudal-peduncle scales, and a dark pupil-size spot on the caudal peduncle (Böhlke & Chaplin 1993; Gon 2002). A color image of FWRI 20646, the genetically analyzed adult (quality of specimen and image too poor to reproduce here), shows the dark spot beneath the second dorsal fin and another on the caudal peduncle. The spot beneath the second dorsal fin is well below the base of the fin, a diagnostic feature of A. pseudomaculatus. However, there is black pigment on the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins on the FWRI specimen that is not present in the adult specimen from Curaçao (Fig. 18). Further comparative study, including genetic analysis of the Curaçao specimen, is needed.

Juveniles (Fig. 19). The two juveniles are pale to bright orange. Most fins have some orange coloration, and the first dorsal is predominantly orange. There are melanophores on the anterior rays of the first dorsal, second dorsal, and anal fins, as well as on the anterior base of the second dorsal fin. The outer rays of the caudal fin are densely pigmented. There is a dark spot behind the eye on the opercle and two white stripes in the eye, one above and one below the pupil. There are two dark spots on the body, one on the trunk well below the posterior base of the second dorsal fin and one on the caudal peduncle. The latter is mostly situated above the lateral line and tapers ventrally. There are 13–14 gill rakers on the lower limb of the first gill arch.

Comparisons Among Juveniles. Juveniles of A. pseudomaculatus most closely resemble juvenile A. maculatus and A. lachneri in having a spot or blotch of pigment beneath the second dorsal fin (vs. bars of pigment in juveniles of A. binotatus, A. pillionatus, A. phenax and A. townsendi, and no pigment beneath the second dorsal fin in A. aurolineatus). Juvenile A. pseudomaculatus differs from juvenile A. lachneri in having the trunk blotch positioned well below the second dorsal-fin base (vs. just behind the second dorsal-fin base) and in having a dark blotch on the caudal peduncle (lacking in A. lachneri). Apogon pseudomaculatus juveniles can be distinguished from A. maculatus juveniles by the position of the spot beneath the second dorsal fin (well below it in A. pseudomaculatus, on the fin base in A. maculatus), and by the shape of the caudal-peduncle mark (mostly concentrated above the lateral line in A. pseudomaculatus, extending well below the lateral midline in A. maculatus).