Figure 1A–B; Table 1–2
Material examined. NTUM 11085 (tissue voucher: PNG 3127) and NTUM 11212 (tissue voucher: PNG 3163). Both specimens were collected from mid-shelf areas around 20 km west of Kavieng, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea (Fig. 2) on September 2, 2014 by R/V ALIS from station CP4455, 2° 23.4' S, 150° 37' E, 60–72m, and station CP4456, 2°35' S, 150°40' E, 134–144m, respectively (campaign: KAVIENG 2014).
Diagnosis. Morphometric data and meristic data for the two Papua New Guinea specimens are as in Table 1 and 2 respectively. The morphological characteristics fit within the range of the identification key, description of body color pattern, and photographs provided in Polanco et al. (2016): L Sn 6.7–10.0% of HL, L Sn 12.6–18.9% of D B, L Sn 31.6–51.7% of D E, W I 4.0–6.7% of HL; pectoral fin rays 11, anal fin rays 14–16; pectoral, caudal and anal fin yellow; dorsal fin dark yellow; four obvious yellow stripes along the body longitudinally, with several inconspicuous vertical bars across; an oval black spot above the dorsal border of the operculum, and a rather wide dark blotch below the eye (indistinct in NTUM 11212) (Fig. 1A, B). A blunter snout and broader dark blotch beneath the eye distinguish Trachinocephalus gauguini from other species of Trachinocephalus.