Waigeu sea perch

distribution

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 2. — General distribution: Indonesia east to Papua New Guinea, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to northern Australia. Found in coral and rocky reefs, entering estuaries, 3 – 12 m depth. Transitional water and marine.

Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records

materials_examined

Status at New Ireland. First recorded from Kavieng, New Ireland by Kailola (1975: 89). Specimens collected at Kavieng fish market by Barry C. Russell during 7 – 28 June 2014. KFRS material.

Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records

biology_ecology

Biology. Shimose & Tachihara (2006) studied age, growth and reproductive biology of 291 specimens of Psammoperca waigiensis from around Okinawa Island, Japan. Opaque otolith zones formed every year (annual rings), correlated with spawning activity. Growth of this species was rapid during the first 2 years, reaching 186.2 ‒ 270.3 mm in SL. Females (196.6 ‒ 334.0 mm SL) were larger than males (186.2 ‒ 288.6 mm SL), a result of differential growth between sexes, which started before 2 years of age. Such biological information suggests that P. waigiensis does not grow to more than 50 cm TL.

Validity of Psammoperca datnioides Richardson 1848 and redescriptions of P. waigiensis Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1828 and Hypopterus macropterus (Günther 1859) in the family Latidae (Perciformes) from the Indo-West Pacific

description

Description. Counts and proportional measurements as percent of SL of the type and other specimens of Psammoperca waigiensis (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1828) are shown in Table 1. Body compressed, its depth 2.8 ‒ 3.1 times in SL, deepest at dorsal-fin origin; dorsal profile concave in interorbital region, rising steeply (convex) thereafter to dorsal-fin origin; head moderately acute, its length 2.6 ‒ 3.0 times in SL; eye oval, height less than width, orbit diameter 3.8 ‒ 4.1 times in head length; snout 3.3 ‒ 3.9 times in head length; interorbital space 54 ‒ 63 % of eye diameter; mouth oblique, lower jaw projecting beyond upper one when mouth closed; maxilla progressively deeper posteriorly, extending to a vertical beyond posterior of black iris; villiform teeth present on jaws, palatines, pterygoids and vomer; tongue smooth anteriorly and present posteriorly, respectively; three sharp, strong spines on inferior margin of preopercle, the first antrorse; a retrorse spine at angle of preopercle, the posterior margin of which bears 26 ‒ 31 denticulations; a sharp spine at angle of operculum; nares level with middle of eye, separated from eye by distance subequal to horizontal orb

Validity of Psammoperca datnioides Richardson 1848 and redescriptions of P. waigiensis Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1828 and Hypopterus macropterus (Günther 1859) in the family Latidae (Perciformes) from the Indo-West Pacific