COLLETTE and CHAO: SYSTEMATICS AND MORPHOLOGY OF THE BONITOS (SARDINI) 



1.5413; 356 mm FL; Queensland, Moreton Bay, 

 Goat Island; G. W. Watson. A second specimen 

 (QM 1.5142) is labelled as a paratype and is men- 

 tioned as having been collected with the first 

 specimen by Whitley (1936:42). However, it is not 

 mentioned in the original description where the 

 statement is made "Described from a specimen in 

 the Queensland Museum from Moreton Bay, 

 Queensland"; therefore, it should not be con- 

 sidered as a paratype. Counts for the holotype: 

 dorsal fin rays XVI + 17 + IX; anal fin rays 

 17 + VII; pectoral fin rays (left-right) 24-24; gill 

 rakers 4 + 10 = 14; upper jaw teeth (left-right) 

 17-20; lower jaw teeth 12-12. 



Distribution.— Ct/6iosarrfa elegans is restricted 

 to the northern three quarters of Australia 

 (Figure 69). It was first described by Whitley 

 (1935) from Moreton Bay, Queensland, and then 

 reported from New South Wales by Whitley (1939) 

 and from Western Australia by Serventy (1941a). 

 We have examined specimens from near Perth, 

 Western Australia, and several localities along the 

 east coast (Shellharbour and Maclean, New South 

 Wales, and Moreton Bay and Lindeman Island, 

 Queensland). In addition, we have examined a 

 250-mm specimen (AMS 1.15557-095) taken by the 

 CSIRO shrimp survey in the Gulf of Carpentaria 

 at lat. 16°40'S, long. 139°50'E. 



Sarda Cuvier 



Sarda Cuvier 1829:199 (type-species Scomber sarda 



Bloch 1793 by monotypy). 

 Pelamys Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes 



1831:149 (type-species Scomber sarda Bloch 



1793 by original designation). 

 Palamita Bonaparte 1831:173 (substitute name for 



Pelamys Cuvier 1831 preoccupied by Pelamys 



Oken 1816 in Reptilia, Hydrophiidae; 



therefore, takes the same type-species 



Scomber sarda Bloch 1793). 

 Creotroctes Gistel 1848:p. x (type-species Scomber 



sarda Bloch 1793; substitute name for Sarda 



Cuvier 1829). 



Comparative Diagnosis.— The species of Sarda 

 all have several stripes dorsally, ranging from 

 horizontal to oblique in orientation. Sarda (and 

 Allothunnus) differ from the other genera of 

 bonitos in having the intestine run straight from 

 the stomach to the anus (versus having two addi- 

 tional loops, Figure 5) and two intermuscular 



bones on each side of the back of the skull {Gym- 

 nosarda has none, the other three genera have one 

 on each side). 



Sarda and Gymnosarda share a number of 

 characters that distinguish them from Orcynapsis 

 and Cybiosarda: the bony caudal peduncle keels 

 are well developed as in higher tunas, but are 

 divided into anterior and posterior sections on 

 each vertebra; the spleen is large and prominent in 

 ventral view versus small and not visible in ventral 

 view; the right and left lobes of the liver are both 

 much longer than the middle lobe versus only the 

 right lobe elongate. Both Sarda and Gymnosarda 

 are fusiform in body shape instead of being more 

 laterally compressed. 



Sarda (Figure Ic) differs from Gymnosarda 

 (Figure 2a) in being completely covered with fine 

 scales posterior to the corselet (instead of being 

 naked posteriorly); in lacking a swim bladder; in 

 having the spleen centrally located in the posterior 

 half of the body cavity in ventral view (instead of 

 on the right side of the anterior half); in having 

 fewer lamellae in the olfactory rosettes (21-39 vs. 

 48-56); more vertebrae (42-55 vs. 38); and in lacking 

 a pair of tooth patches on the glossohyal bone. 



Species of Sarda.— Four allopatric species of 

 Sarda are recognized based on the morphological 

 characters described in the first part of this paper 

 (a summary of 26 of these characters is presented 

 in Table 17). Sarda australis is similar to the other 

 three species in the genus in 11-15 characters. 

 Sarda chiliensis and S. orientalis resemble each 

 other in 12 characters. Sarda sarda stands out as 

 being very different from S. chiliensis and S. 

 orientalis, sharing only eight or nine characters 

 with each. Many of the meristic differences 

 between S. sarda and the other species of Sarda 

 are correlated with its greater number of body 

 segments as reflected by having 50-55 vertebrae 

 (compared to 43-46). Thus, S. sarda also has more 

 dorsal spines, pleural ribs, intermuscular bones, 

 vertebral keels, and the first closed haemal arch is 

 further posterior. Sarda sarda is most similar to S. 

 australis in numbers of anal rays, gill rakers, 

 upper and lower jaw teeth, occasional presence of 

 vomerine teeth, angle of the hyomandibular spine 

 and the condyle, width of the supramaxilla, and 

 relative length of the haemal pre- and post- 

 zygapophyses on the first caudal vertebra. If the 

 several differences between S. australis and S. 

 sarda that are correlated with the higher number 

 of body segments are considered as one character, 

 the two species would appear even more similar. 



597 



