Munroe: Western Atlantic tonguefishes of the Symphurus plagusia complex 



259 



commun. 8 Nov. 1986) informs me that no remarks 

 were made in Bloch's ledger to indicate that specimens 

 were available for examination when Schneider wrote 

 the description of Pleuronectes plagusia. Additional- 

 ly, Paepke also stated that there are no specimens of 

 this species in the Bloch and Schneider collection. 

 Therefore, it appears that the description of Pleuro- 

 nectes plagusia Schneider, in Bloch and Schneider 

 1801, was copied directly from Browne's work and that 

 no type exists for this species. 



Although quite vague, the original description of 

 Pleuronectes plagusia by Schneider does refer to a 

 species of Symphurus and is the oldest available name 

 for a tropical, western Atlantic species in the genus. 

 This name represents the oldest binomial generally con- 

 sidered to represent a member of this species group 

 and has been the one name most consistently applied 

 to any shallow-water tonguefish possessing 12 caudal 

 fin rays. In order to stabilize the nomenclature for this 

 species, it is necessary to designate a neotype. Since 

 the original description is based on a specimen from 

 Jamaica, a topotypic specimen would be the most ap- 

 propriate neotype. Unfortunately, no specimens of S. 

 plagusia from Jamaica were available to Munroe (1987) 

 and several more recent attempts to procure a speci- 

 men during the present study have also been unsuc- 

 cessful. All tonguefishes collected from Jamaican 

 waters that I have examined are specimens of S. 

 tessellatus trawled at depths generally exceeding those 

 usually occupied by S. plagusia. Therefore, designation 

 of a neotype for S. plagusia, based on a topotype 

 specimen from Jamaica, is not possible. Instead, ANSP 

 132030, a mature female measuring 103.2mm SL, col- 

 lected by beach seine at Puerto Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, 

 24-27 July 1974, is selected as the neotype for this 

 species. Meristic features for this specimen are: ID 

 pattern 1-4-3; caudal fin rays 12; dorsal fin rays 93; anal 

 fin rays 78; total vertebrae 50; longitudinal scales 79; 

 transverse scale count 39; and 18 scale rows on head 

 posterior to eyes. 



Many authors have included Achirus ornatus La- 

 cepede 1802 in the synonymy of Symphurus plagusia. 

 The description of this species is very brief and does 

 not include figures or locality data, and it is unknown 

 if any type(s) exists. The information provided is that 

 the fish was donated to France by Holland, and has the 

 following characteristics: dorsal and anal fins joined, 

 95 dorsal fin rays, 82 anal fin rays, 8 or 9 dark trans- 

 verse bands, and a lateral line on each side. Notably 

 absent in Lacepede 's account is the caudal-fin-ray count 

 for this specimen. The lateral line referred to in the 

 description may refer to the mid-lateral junction of the 

 myomeres that is apparent on some tonguefish speci- 

 mens (especially those partially dehydrated during 

 preservation). Based on counts listed by Lacepede, it 



is possible his specimen is a S. plagusia (sensu strictu). 

 However, the dark, transverse bands and meristic 

 features listed in the description of Achirus ornatus 

 could also apply to several other western Atlantic 

 tonguefishes. Among shallow-water species possessing 

 12 caudal fin rays, the data fit at least three species: 

 S. caribbeanus (described below), S. plagusia (Schnei- 

 der, in Bloch and Schneider 1801), and S. tessellatus 

 (Quoy and Gaimard 1824). Of these, the description is 

 more typical of S. tessellatus, especially the reference 

 to darkly-pigmented crossbands. Nonetheless, the 

 exact identity of Achirus ornatus Lacepede cannot be 

 determined from the vague original description, par- 

 ticularly given the unknown site of capture for the 

 specimen on which this name is based. Achirus ornatus 

 Lacepede 1802 is therefore regarded as a nomen 

 dubium. 



In 1824, Quoy and Gaimard described Plagusia tes- 

 sellata from Rio de Janeiro Bay ( = Guanabara Bay), 

 Brazil. Although no figure of this specimen was pro- 

 vided, the descriptive account of meristic features, 

 color pattern, and other characters leave little doubt 

 as to the identity of the species. Quoy and Gaimard 

 described the dorsal fin as originating above the eyes 

 and consisting of 99 rays; the anal fin has 78 rays. 

 The color is described as brown with small transverse 

 bands of the same color. Although no type exists for 

 this species (M.L. Bauchot, Ichtyologie Generale et 

 Appliquee, 43 Cuvier, Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Paris 

 Cedex 05 75231, pers. commun. 23 June 1982), the 

 original description is sufficient to allow identifica- 

 tion of this species. Unfortunately, most authors begin- 

 ning with Kaup (1858) and continuing to Ginsburg 

 (1951) regarded this species as a junior synonym of 

 S. plagusia (Schneider, in Bloch and Schneider 1801). 

 It is unlikely that the specimen described by Quoy 

 and Gaimard belongs to S. plagusia (sensu strictu), 

 because the S. tessellatus specimen has slightly higher 

 meristic features, darker banding, and the dorsal fin 

 origin is described as being above and not anterior 

 to the eyes, which is the typical condition found in 

 S. plagusia. 



A second nominal species of tonguefish from Brazil- 

 ian waters, Plagusia brasiliensis, described by Agassiz 

 (in Spix and Agassiz 1829-1831), has also been placed 

 in the synonymy of S. plagusia. The possible holotype 

 or syntype (MHNN 691; see Kottelat 1984, 1988) was 

 illustrated and an adequate description provided. The 

 specimen has 99 dorsal fin rays, 83 anal fin rays, 12 

 caudal fin rays, 53 total vertebrae, several small ctenoid 

 scales on the blind sides of the dorsal and anal fin rays, 

 the dorsal fin origin at the vertical through the front 

 margin of the pupil of the upper eye, and a relatively 

 large eye (10.6% HL). It agrees in all these features 

 with S. tessellatus and is removed from the synonymy 



