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Unusual colour patterns of territorial damselfish (Pomacentridae: Stegastes) in the south-western Atlantic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2011

Allan T. Souza ,
Martina I. Ilarri ,
Paulo Roberto Medeiros ,
Cláudio L.S. Sampaio  and
Sergio R. Floeter
Allan T. Souza*
Affiliation:
CIMAR/CIIMAR Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Portugal ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Lg. Prof. Abel Salazar, 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal
Martina I. Ilarri
Affiliation:
CIMAR/CIIMAR Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Portugal ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Lg. Prof. Abel Salazar, 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal
Paulo Roberto Medeiros
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58059-900, João Pessoa, PB, Brasil
Cláudio L.S. Sampaio
Affiliation:
Departamento de Pesca, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Campus Arapiraca, Unidade de Ensido Penedo, 57200-000, Alagoas, AL, Brasil
Sergio R. Floeter
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88019-970, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.T. Souza, CIMAR/CIIMAR Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação, Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Portugal email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Reef fish usually display a remarkable variety of colours and coloration patterns. The colour patterns are largely used for species identification, and some morphologically conservative genera are highly dependent on coloration for this purpose. In this context, this paper aims to briefly describe unusual colour patterns recorded for territorial damselfish of the genus Stegastes in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. Four unreported coloration pattern types were observed in three species (S. fuscus, S. rocasensis and S. pictus). The pale morph which is characterized by individuals presenting whitish marks over the regular coloration pattern was recorded in S. fuscus in north-eastern reefs and S. rocasensis in Fernando de Noronha archipelago. On the other hand, S. fuscus and S. pictus presented other types of unusual coloration patterns, which are characterized by an irregular cover (blue or dusky) over the regular colour pattern. Another type of unusual coloration pattern was recorded for S. fuscus, which presented a yellowish/reddish dorso-anterior band. Additionally, two distinct colour patterns of adult S. variabilis, from the south-eastern and north-eastern Brazilian reefs are reported.

Keywords

Brazilpale morphreef fishStegastes variabilis
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 4 , December 2011 , e101
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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