MNHN 2002–2930, 213.6 mm SL, Nouméa, Grande-Terre Island, New Caledonia, 1 Aug 2002, purchased at market by P. Béarez.

A species of Scolopsis with the following combination of characters: pectoral-fin rays 17; lateral-line scales 47; no antrorse spine below eye; dorsal scaled area on head reaching anteriorly to between anterior margin of eye and anterior nostril; bony opercular ridge and lower limb of preopercle without scales; 3^rd anal-fin spine longer than 2^nd anal-fin spine; narrow body, its depth at dorsal, pelvic, and anal fin origins 29.2, 29.5 and 26.6% of SL, respectively; caudal-peduncle depth 10.4% of SL; head length 29.9% of SL; upper part of pectoral-fin base with reddish blotch when fresh; two dark bands across dorsum of snout; body below lateral line with a dark longitudinal band, without diagonal lines; no blotches or lines on central area of caudal fin.

Dorsal-fin rays X, 9; anal-fin rays III, 7; pectoral-fin rays (left / right) 17 / 17; pored lateral-line scales 47; pelvic-fin rays I, 5; scale rows above lateral line 5; scale rows below lateral line 10; gill rakers (upper / lower) 5 / 8; preopercle scale rows (behind eye) 3; preopercle scale rows (below eye) 4. The following morphometrics are expressed as percentages of SL: body depth at dorsal-fin origin 29.2; body depth at pelvic-fin origin 29.5; body depth at anal-fin origin 26.6; body depth at posterior margin of orbit 23.7; body depth at anterior margin of orbit 17.5; pre-dorsal-fin length 32.7; pre-pelvic-fin length 37.9; pectoral-pelvic length 15.4; pre-anus length 61.4; head length 29.9; snout length 11.4; posterior nostril (horizontal) 0.8; posterior nostril (vertical) 0.8; upper-jaw length 10.7; orbit diameter 7.8; interorbital width 10.0; suborbital depth 5.7; caudal-peduncle length 22.8; caudal-peduncle depth 10.4; dorsal-fin base length 54.1; 1^st dorsal-fin spine length 6.2; 2^nd dorsal-fin spine length 8.5; 3^rd dorsal-fin spine length 10.4; 4^th dorsal-fin spine length 10.8; 5^th dorsal-fin spine length 11.0; 6^th dorsal-fin spine length 11.0; 7^th dorsal-fin spine length 10.9; 8^th dorsal-fin spine length 11.0; 9^th dorsal-fin spine length 10.7; 10^th dorsal-fin spine length 10.4; longest dorsal-fin soft ray length 16.0; 1^st anal-fin spine length 3.9; 2^nd anal-fin spine length 7.4; 3^rd anal-fin spine length 8.0; anal-fin base length 15.0; pectoral-fin length 21.3; pelvic-fin spine length (measured on right side because the left side damaged) 13.8; longest pelvic-fin soft ray length 24.0.

Body oblong, rather compressed, deepest at pelvic-fin origin. Dorsal profile rising from snout tip to dorsal-fin origin, lowering slightly between origins of 1^st to 10^th dorsal-fin spines, thereafter more steeply to caudal peduncle. Ventral profile of body lowering from lower-jaw tip to anus, thereafter rising to caudal peduncle. Dorsal-fin origin just above posteriormost point of opercle, base extending posterior to posteriormost point of anal-fin base. First to 5^th dorsal-fin spines gradually lengthening, 5^th to 8^th spine lengths similar, 8^th to 10^th spines gradually shortening. Seventh dorsal-fin soft ray longest. All dorsal-fin soft rays non-filamentous. Uppermost point of pectoral-fin base slightly posterior to posteriormost point of opercle. Lowermost point of pectoral-fin base anterior to pelvic-fin origin. Posterior tip of pectoral fin pointed, reaching to vertical through 7^th dorsal-fin spine origin. Pelvic-fin origin posterior to dorsal-fin origin. Posterior tip of depressed pelvic fin reaching anus, not reaching anal-fin origin. Anal-fin origin below 1^st dorsal-fin ray origin, ending below 6^th dorsal-fin ray origin. First anal-fin spine shortest, 3^rd spine longest. Caudal-fin forked, upper lobe longer than lower lobe. Posterior tip of both lobes of caudal fin pointed, non-filamentous. Anus oblong, anterior to anal-fin origin. Eye and pupil round. Lower margin of eye above a line from snout tip to uppermost part of pectoral-fin base. Nostrils round, paired, positioned close together anterior to orbit, anterior nostril with small dermal flap. Snout pointed. Posterior tip of maxilla not reaching to vertical through anterior margin of eye. Distinct suborbital spine posteriorly directed. Small antrorse spine below eye absent. Posterior margins of suborbital and preopercle serrated. Scales ctenoid; both lips, snout, area around eye, and bony opercular ridge and lower limb of preopercle scaleless. Lateral line complete, originating above opercle, extending to central part of caudal-fin base. Both jaws with small conical teeth, forming dense bands. Canine teeth absent. Gill rakers long, slender.

Based on colour photograph of holotype (MNHN 2002–2930; Fig. 1a). Head and body reddish-brown dorsally, silver-white ventrally. Upper lip blue. Two brown bands across dorsum of snout, connecting eyes. Upper band above posterior nostril, lower band below anterior nostril. Blue band on suborbital from anteroventral margin of orbit to just short of upper lip. Gill membrane yellow. A dark longitudinal band below lateral line from behind posterior margin of opercle to caudal peduncle. No diagonal lines on body. Distinct reddish blotch on upper end of pectoral-fin base. Pectoral fin pale yellow. Dorsal-fin membrane yellowish, semi-transparent, with yellow outer margin. Pelvic and anal fins white. Several indistinct yellowish longitudinal stripes on caudal peduncle. Upper base of caudal fin with blue blotch. Caudal fin red with yellowish upper margin. Central area of caudal fin without blotches or lines.

Figure 1. 

Holotype of Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov., MNHN 2002-2930, 213.6 mm SL, Grande-Terre Island, New Caledonia a fresh condition (photo by P. Béarez) b preserved condition.

(Fig. 1b) Head, body, and caudal fin uniformly pale brown. Three dark bands radiating from orbit. A dark brown longitudinal band below lateral-line. Dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins pale yellow.

Currently known only from New Caledonia (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. 

Distribution records of Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov. (star), S. meridiana (circles), and S. taenioptera (triangles), based on specimens examined in Nakamura et al. (2018) and this study.

The specific name lacrima is derived from Latin meaning a tear, in reference to the distinct blue band below the eye of the species.

The new species is assignable to the genus Scolopsis, defined by Russell (1990, 2001), due to its distinct posteriorly-directed suborbital spine, the suborbital area without scales, the posterior margin of the preopercle coarsely denticulate or serrate, and jaws without canine teeth. Scolopsis lacrima (Fig. 1) is similar to S. meridiana (Fig. 4) and S. taenioptera, the three species uniquely sharing the upper pectoral-fin base with a reddish blotch when fresh (Fig. 1a) (vs. reddish blotch absent in all other congeners). Scolopsis lacrima and S. meridiana are easily distinguished from S. taenioptera by having two bands across the top of the snout (Fig. 3) [vs. single band; Nakamura et al. (2018: fig. 4)]; detailed comparisons of S. meridiana with S. taenioptera were given in Nakamura et al. (2018). Scolopsis lacrima is distinguished from S. meridiana by the lack of diagonal lines on the body below the lateral line (Fig. 1) [vs. 18–20 brown diagonal lines in preserved specimens in S. meridiana (Fig. 4)], presence of a dark longitudinal band on the body below the lateral line (Fig. 1) [vs. longitudinal band absent (Fig. 4a), although young individuals (< 108.9 mm SL) may rarely have an indistinct dark longitudinal band (Fig. 4b)], and lack of blotches centrally on the caudal fin (Fig. 5a) [vs. several small poorly-defined blotches (Fig. 5b), although young individuals (< 108.9 mm SL) may rarely lack blotches (Fig. 4b)]. Moreover, body depths at the origins of the dorsal (29.2% of SL vs. 30.8–35.0% in S. meridiana, Fig. 7a), pelvic (29.5% vs. 31.6–38.4%, Fig. 7b), and anal fins (29.6% vs. 28.1–32.5%, Fig. 7c) are narrower in S. lacrima, and the caudal-peduncle depth (10.4% of SL vs. 11.4–13.1%, Fig. 7d) and head length (29.9% vs. 30.1–32.7%) less.

Figure 3. 

Dorsal view of snout of Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov. (MNHN 2002-2930, holotype, 213.6 mm SL).

Figure 4. 

Scolopsis meridiana a CSIRO H 4029–01, holotype, 194.8 mm SL, Western Australia, Australia b AMS I.21957-013, paratype, 94.9 mm SL, Northern Territory, Australia.

Figure 5. 

Caudal fin a Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov. (MNHN 2002-2930, holotype, 213.6 mm SL, flip horizontal) b S. meridiana (CSIRO H 4029–01, holotype, 194.8 mm SL).

Figure 6. 

Colour photographs of Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov., Grande-Terre Island, New Caledonia (photos by P. Béarez) a DASMN-52, 187 mm SL b MNHN-ICOS-00437, 192 mm SL.

Figure 7. 

Relationships of (a) body depth at dorsal-fin origin, (b) body depth at pelvic-fin origin, (c) body depth at anal-fin origin, and (d) caudal-peduncle depth % of SL to SL in Scolopsis lacrima sp. nov. (diamond) and S. meridiana (circles).

Béarez (2003) reported three specimens [MNHN 2002–2930 (designated here as the holotype of S. lacrima; Fig. 1), MNHN-ICOS-00437, and DASMN-52] as Scolopsis taeniopterus (Cuvier, 1830) from New Caledonia. The latter two specimens have been reduced to bones and otoliths only. However, fresh colour photographs of both specimens prior to dissection (Fig. 6) support their identification here as S. lacrima.

Scolopsis meridiana and S. taenioptera are restricted to northern Australia and Southeast Asia, respectively (Fig. 2), probably not occurring in New Caledonia, suggesting that the three species of Scolopsis with a reddish blotch on the upper part of the pectoral-fin base are allopatrically distributed in the Indo-West Pacific.