Species Macroramphosus gracilis (Lowe, 1839)
Little Bellowsfish, Little Bellows-fish
- Centriscus gracilis Lowe, R.T. 1839. A supplement to a synopsis of the fishes of Madeira. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 7: 76-92 [86].
Type data:
Status unknown, whereabouts unknown, Madeira. - Macroramphosus molleri Whitley, G.P. 1930. Additions to the checklist of the fishes of New South Wales No. 3. The Australian Zoologist 6(2): 117-123 fig. 14 [117].
Type data:
Holotype AM B.7163, Maroubra Beach, NSW.
Paratype(s) AM.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 [389]
Generic Combinations
- Macroramphosus gracilis (Lowe, 1839). —
Waite, E.R. 1899. Scientific results of the trawling of H.M.S. Thetis off New South Wales. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 4(1): 14 [60, Pl. 7 fig. 2] (changed combination) - Orthichthys molleri (Whitley, 1930). —
Whitley, G.P. & Allan, J. 1958. The Sea-horse and its Relatives. Melbourne : Georgian House 84 pp. 25 figs. [71] (changed combination cited)
Miscellaneous Literature Names
- Macrorhamphosus gracilis Lowe, 1839 [broadly applied misspelling of the genus Macroramphosus by many authors (see Introduction to Family)].
- Macrorhamphosus mollleri Whitley, 1930 [misspelling of generic name]. —
Munro, I.S.R. 1961. Handbook of Australian fishes. Nos 1–42. Australian Fisheries Newsletter 15–17, 19, 20: 1-172 [published as separates 1956–1961] [95]
Introduction
There has been considerable uncertainty over the status of species of Macroramphus. Two morphological forms have been recognised, distinguished by coloration and body form. In recent years, most workers treated both as distinct and widely distributed species, largely found in temperate environments. Clarke (1984) showed that males and females could be recognised of each morphological form using discriminate function analyses. Matthiessen et al. (2003) found similar results for western Ocean material. However, genetic studies of specimens from the eastern Atlantic did not find any genetic differences between the two forms. That study also found several individuals that were morphologically intermediate) between the two forms (Robalo et al 2009). Subsequently, Noguchi et al. (2015) also found no genetic differences between the two forms. The scolopax form is known to be a benthic feeder and the gracilis form a planktonic feeder. Consequently Noguchi et al. (2015) suggested that these forms represent ecological morphotypes. They did note a genetic difference between material from the North Pacific and North-eastern Atlantic. Matthiessen et al. (2003) suggested that western Indian Ocean material differed morphologically from Australian material, which is also supported by publicly available DNA barcoding results. Fritzsche (2016) suggested that the separation of the two forms has not been fully resolved. Tentatively we retain the two names because they represent ecological forms, but recognise that they are probably not distinct species. At present Australian material has not been studied extensively and we retain the names scolopax and gracilis until more detailed studies are carried out.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Extra Distribution Information
Coral Sea, east of Swains Reefs (22º09'S, 153º33'E) to south of Lake Tyers, VIC (38º12'S, 148º06´S), also Lord Howe Rise; temperate, circumglobal
IMCRA
Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Northeast Province (18), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)
Ecological Descriptors
Benthic, continental shelf, continental slope.
Extra Ecological Information
100-1000m
General References
Assis, C. A. 1993. On the systematics of Macrorhamphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758) and Macrorhamphosus gracilis (Lowe, 1839). II-- multivariate morphometric analysis. Arquivos do Museu Bocage Nova série 2(22): 383-402 [399]
Clarke, T.A. 1984. Diet and morphological variation in snipefishes, presently recognized as Macrorhamphosus scolopax, from southeast Australia: evidence for two sexually dimorphic species. Copeia 1984(3): 595-608
Gomon, M.F. 1994. Family Macroramphosidae. pp. 436-440 figs 388-390 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs. [438]
McCulloch, A.R. 1929. A check-list of the fishes recorded from Australia. Part I. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 5: 1–144 [83]
Miyazaki, E., Sasaki, K., Mitani, T., Ishida, M. & Uehara, S. 2004. The occurrence of two species of Macroramphosus (Gasterosteiformes: Macroramphosidae) in Japan: morphological and ecological observations on larvae, juveniles and adults. Ichthyological Research 51: 256-262 [256]
Munro, I.S.R. 1961. Handbook of Australian fishes. Nos 1–42. Australian Fisheries Newsletter 15–17, 19, 20: 1-172 [published as separates 1956–1961] [95] (654, as M. molleri)
Paxton, J.R., Gates, J.E., Bray, D.J. & Hoese, D.F. 2006. Macroramphosidae. pp. 851-855 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [853]
Robalo, J.I., Sousa-Santos, C., Cabral, H., Castilho, R. & Almada, V.C. 2009. Genetic evidence fails to discriminate between Macroramphosus gracilis Lowe 1839 and Macroramphosus scolopax Linnaeus 1758 in Portuguese waters. Marine Biology 156: 1733-1737
Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds) 1986. Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls. [460] (as Macroramphosus scolopax Linnaeus 1758)
Whitley, G.P. 1964. A survey of Australian Ichthyology. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 89(1): 11-127 [37] (461 as Orthichthys molleri)
Common Name References
Munro, I.S.R. 1961. Handbook of Australian fishes. Nos 1–42. Australian Fisheries Newsletter 15–17, 19, 20: 1-172 [published as separates 1956–1961] [95] (Little Bellows-fish)
Seafood Services Australia 2008. Australian Fish Names Standard. http://www.fishnames.com.au/. (Little Bellowsfish)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2017 | SYNGNATHIFORMES | 02-Jul-2017 | MODIFIED | Dr Doug Hoese Dr Matthew Lockett |
| 25-Jun-2015 | SYNGNATHIFORMES | 24-Feb-2015 | MODIFIED | Dr Dianne Bray (NMV) Dr Doug Hoese (AM) Dr Matthew Lockett (AM) |
| 27-Jul-2010 | MODIFIED |