Liopropoma santi

Liopropoma santi, the spot-tail golden bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. It has been collected from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean; it is the deepest occurring Liopropoma species in the Atlantic Ocean.[2][3]

Liopropoma santi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Epinephelinae
Genus: Liopropoma
Species:
L. santi
Binomial name
Liopropoma santi
Baldwin & D. R. Robertson, 2014

Discovery

Liopropoma santi, along with another basslet, Liopropoma olneyi, were discovered during dives by manned submersibles in 300 metres (980 ft) deep waters off Curaçao in the Caribbean. The project was funded by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.[4]

Description

Liopropoma santi, like two other related bass species, L. aberrans and L. olneyi, has a golden body but can be differentiated from other Liopropoma species in the Western Atlantic in a number of ways. The diagnostic feature of the fish is the presence of a dark spot on the lower part of its caudal fin (tail fin), which feature gives the species its common name.[5] The lower part of the fish body is of a colour ranging from pale yellow to white.[5] The upper lip of the fish has a yellowish to orange coloured stripe along it and it has a series of white, striped markings on the ventral portion of the trunk resembling "chevrons".[2] The dorsal fin has 13 spines and an indented margin.[2]

Etymology

The specific epithet santi commemorates Roger Sant, a philanthropist and supporter of the Smithsonian Institution[6] who was present at the manned submersible dive in which an exemplar of L. santi was collected.[4]

Habits

Of all the species of Liopropoma, L. santi resides at the deepest levels of the reef, having been sighted only between 182 and 241 metres (597 and 791 ft).[5] When apprioached by a submersible with lights it took shleter in caves and crevices in the reef.[7]

References
  1. Carpenter, K.E. (2015). "Liopropoma santi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T68308851A68308869. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T68308851A68308869.en. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  2. Baldwin, C.C. & Robertson, D.R. (2014). "A new Liopropoma sea bass (Serranidae, Epinephelinae, Liopropomini) from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, with comments on depth distributions of western Atlantic liopropomins". ZooKeys. 409: 71–92. doi:10.3897/zookeys.409.7249. PMC 4042691. PMID 24899845.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Pensoft Publishers (19 May 2014). "The spot-tail golden bass: A new fish species from deep reefs of the southern Caribbean". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  4. de Lazaro, E. (26 May 2014). "Two New Golden Bass Species Discovered in Caribbean". Sci-News.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  5. Adams, J. (20 May 2014). "Liopropoma santi is yet another new species of this popular genus of reef fish". reefbuilders.com. Reef Builders. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. Trescott, J. (27 June 2008). "Sants Donate $15 Million to Smithsonian". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Liopropoma santi" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
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