Figure 4

Acanthoperca gulliveri Castlenau 1878b: 45 (type locality, Norman River).

Castelnau (1878b) described Acanthoperca gulliveri as a new genus and species from the Norman River. It is currently recognised as a valid species of the ambassid genus Parambassis, which occurs in northern Australia and southern New Guinea (Allen & Burgess 1990; Allen et al. 2006; Pusey et al. 2017). Castelnau’s statement (p. 45) “My largest specimen is about eight inches long” and “The specimens are in a dry state” indicates that he had multiple specimens. However, McCulloch (1929b: 196) implied that there was a single specimen: “type in the Paris Museum” [= MNHN]. Similarly, Whitley (1935: 360) indicated that there was a single specimen, but that “the type [...] is preserved in the Macleay Museum” (p. 360). Allen & Burgess (1990) followed McCulloch in assuming the type was in Paris, but—because they were unable to locate the specimen during a visit to the MNHN—believed the specimen had been lost. In so doing, they overlooked Bauchot & Desoutter’s (1987) treatment of the species, which stated that there were two syntypes in Paris (registration numbers MNHN A-4290 and A-4291). The same specimens were listed as the sole syntypes by Allen et al. (2006) and Eschmeyer et al. (2018). However, as noted by Whitley (1935), there is also a specimen in the Macleay Museum, The specimen (MAMU F.426) measures 142 mm SL (ca 177 mm TL). The old external label for the specimen says “ ACANTHOPERCA GULLIVERI, Casteln. NORMAN RIVER ”. There is also an internal label written on card with “ Acanthoperca Gulliveri, Casteln. Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria”. It matches an index card, which states “ Acanthoperca Gulliveri, Cast. [...] 1 sp. 6 ½″ Norman River.” Although the specimen is currently in 70% ethanol, it appears to have dried at some past period of time, and has some debris adhering to the skin. It agrees well with Allen & Burgess’s (1990) description of Parambassis gulliveri and we regard it as a third syntype of the species.