Chelidoperca barazeri Lee, Lee, Matsunuma & Chen, 2019
Barazer's perchlet

Family:  Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Max. size:  3.3 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 150 - 160 m
Distribution:  Western Central Pacific: Papua New Guinea and Taiwan; with possible widespread occurrence in the western Pacific.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 10-10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-10; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 6-6; Vertebrae: 24-24. This species is distinguished by the following characters: pored lateral line scales 34-37 (modally 36); scale rows between lateral line and base of 6th dorsal-fin spine 3 (two full-sized plus a dorsalmost half-sized scales); developed gill rakers 1-2 + 7-8 (modally 2 + 7); cheek scale rows 4-7 (modally 5); dentary surface of the lower jaw naked; interorbital region with a one row of cycloid scales extending to or slightly beyond the mid-orbit level; outermost row of teeth of the upper jaw are enlarged, antrorse and caniniform; outermost row of teeth of the lower jaw at the lateral side near symphysis with ca. 3-4 enlarged antrorse canines, the innermost row of teeth enlarged and caniniform; penultimate and the last dorsal- and anal-fin rays in adult are not elongated. Colouration: a red ocellus on opercular membrane between the spines; soft dorsal fin with series of large yellow spots; anal fin with a yellow margin; caudal fin with yellow spots along basal-half median fin rays; with a faint and discontinuous stripe formed by clusters of melanophores along the mid-lateral body when preserved (Ref, 127472). Description: Along the COI gene, the following apomorphic sites have unique nucleotides shared by the two specimens of this species examined so far; these nucleotide sites can be used for separating the species from other congeners. Nos. 279 (T vs. A or G), 291 (T vs. A or G), 579 (G vs. A or C), 606 (T vs. A or G), 624 (G vs. A) (Ref. 123218).
Biology:  a relatively shallow water species compare to its congeners. It was trawled from seamount and bands at depth 150–160 m in its type locality (Lee et al., 2019). In Taiwan, it is captured by bottom-trawl off southwestern Taiwan, the depth of the trawl operation is assumed to be rubble sandy bottom (topology of seafloor unknown) at depth ca. 100 m, judging from others by-catch species [e.g., Neomerinthe erostris (Alcock, 1896), Scorpaena miostoma Günther, 1877] (Ref. 127472)
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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