SCOMBEROMORUS BRASILIENSIS, A NEW SPECIES OF 

 SPANISH MACKEREL FROM THE WESTERN ATLANTIC 



Bruce B. Collette,^ Joseph L. Russo,^' ^ and Luis Alberto Zavala-Camin^ 



ABSTRACT 



Scomberomorus brasiliensis is most closely related to S. sierra of the eastern tropical Pacific and more 

 distantly related to S. maculatus £tnd S. regalis of the western Atlantic and to S. tritor of the eastern 

 Atlantic. It differs from all four of these species in having a shorter ptelvic fin (3.6-5.9% fork length, x 

 4.53 compared with 4.4-7.1% in the other four species, means 5.07-5.71). Scomberomorus brasiliensis 

 differs sharply from S. maculatus with which it has previously been confused in having fewer vertebrae 

 (47-49 compared with 50-53). Scomberomorus brasiliensis is a more southern species than S. 

 maculatus , occurring along the Atltmtic coasts of Central and South America from Belize to Rio Grande 

 do Sul, Brazil, while S. maculatus is confined to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. 



RESUMO 



Scomberomorus brasiliensis e uma especie estreitamente relacionada com S. sierra, do Pacifico Orien- 

 tal Tropical, tendo tambem relagao com S. maculatus e S. regalis, do Atlantico Ocidental e S. tritor, do 

 Atlantico Oriental. Diferencia-se dessas quatro especies por ter a nadadeira ventral de menor tamanho 

 (3,6-5,9% do comprimento zoologico, x 4, 53, comparado a 4,4-7, 1% nas outras quatro especies, que tem 

 medias de 5,07 a 5,71). Scomberomorus brasiliensis difere claramente de S. maculatus, com a qual foi 

 confundida anteriormente, por apresentar menor numero de vertebras (47-49 comparado a 50-53). 

 Scomberomorus brasiliensis ocorre na costa Atlantica da America Central e America do Sul, desde 

 Belize (Honduras britanica) ate o Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil), enquanto S. maculatus esta confinada ao 

 Grolfo de Mexico e a cop.ta Atlantica dos Estados Unidos. 



While revising the tribe Scomberomorini (Collette 

 and Russo in prep.), two apparently undescribed 

 species of Scomberomorus were discovered, one 

 from Australia and New Guinea and the other 

 from the Atlantic coasts of Central and South 

 America. Because completion of the revision will 

 be delayed and because Atlantic Spanish macker- 

 els are of recreational and commerical fishing con- 

 cern, we describe the Atlantic species herein. 

 Naming of this species adds one to the currently 

 recognized (Rivas 1951; Mago Leccia 1958) three 

 species of western Atlantic Scomberomorus — the 

 king mackerel, S. cavalla (Cuvier), Spanish 

 mackerel, S. maculatus (Mitchill); and cero, S. 

 regalis (Block). 



'Systematics Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 NOAA, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 

 20560. 



^Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington Uni- 

 versity, Washington, DC 20007. 



^Divisao de Pesca Maritima, Institute de Pesca, Coor- 

 denadoria de Pesquisa de Recursos Naturals, Santos, Brasil. 



METHODS AND MATERIALS 



The methods of counting, measuring, and dis- 

 secting are those used by Gibbs and Collette ( 1967) 

 in revising Thunnus and by Collette and Chao 

 { 1975) in revising the Sardini. Extensive anatomi- 

 cal data on the undescribed species will be pre- 

 sented in a future revision of the Scomberomorini 

 by Collette and Russo. Only relevant diagnostic 

 characters plus standard descriptive meristic and 

 morphometric data are presented here. Statistical 

 tests were performed on the IBM 370-148 compu- 

 ter'* at the George Washington University using 

 computer programs written for the revision of the 

 genus Scomberomorus following the statistical 

 methods presented by Zar (1974). 



Material examined is in the following collec- 

 tions: ANSP (Academy of Natural Sciences, 

 Philadelphia); BMNH (British Museum, Natural 

 History, London); CAS (California Academy of 



Manuscript accepted July 1977. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 76. NO. 1, 



'•Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 



273 



1978. 



