122 
A new species of western Atlantic lizardfish 
(Teleostei: Synodontidae: Sy nodus) and 
resurrection of Sy nodus bondi Fowler, 1939, 
as a valid species from the Caribbean with 
redescriptions of S. bondi, S . foetens (Linnaeus, 
1766), and S. intermedius (Agassiz, 1829) 
Benjamin W. Frable (contact author) 1 - 2 
Carole C. Baldwin 1 
Brendan M. Luther 1 
Lee A. Weigt 1 
Email address for contact author: frableb@si.edu 
1 National Museum of Natural History 
Smithsonian Institution 
P.O. Box 37012 
Washington, D C 20013-7012 
2 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife 
Oregon State University 
104 Nash Hall 
Corvallis, Oregon 97331 
Abstract— Western Atlantic synodon- 
tid species were studied as part of 
an ongoing effort to reanalyze Ca- 
ribbean shorefish diversity. A neigh- 
bor-joining tree constructed from 
cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) data 
revealed 2 highly divergent genetic 
lineages within both Synodus inter- 
medius (Agassiz, 1829) (Sand Diver) 
and S. foetens (Linnaeus, 1766) (In- 
shore Lizardfish). A new species, 
Synodus macrostigmus, is described 
for one of the S. intermedius lin- 
eages. Synodus macrostigmus and 
S. intermedius differ in number of 
lateral-line scales, caudal pigmen- 
tation, size of the scapular blotch, 
and shape of the anterior-nostril 
flap. Synodus macrostigmus and S. 
intermedius have overlapping geo- 
graphic and depth distributions, but 
S. macrostigmus generally inhabits 
deeper water (>28 m) than does S. 
intermedius and is known only from 
coastal waters of the southeastern 
United States and the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, in contrast to those areas and 
the Caribbean for S. intermedius. 
Synodus bondi Fowler, 1939, is res- 
urrected from the synonymy of S. 
foetens for one of the S. foetens ge- 
netic lineages. The 2 species differ in 
length and shape of the snout, num- 
ber of anal-fin rays, and shape of the 
anterior-nostril flap. Synodus bondi 
and S. foetens co-occur in the central 
Caribbean, but S. bondi otherwise 
has a more southerly distribution 
than does S. foetens. Redescriptions 
are provided for S. intermedius, S. 
foetens , and S. bondi. Neotypes are 
designated for S. intermedius and 
S. foetens. A revised key to Synodus 
species in the western Atlantic is 
presented. 
Manuscript submitted 11 February 2012. 
Manuscript accepted 8 February 2013. 
Fish. Bull. 111:122-146 (2013). 
Publication date: 28 March 2013. 
doi 10.7755/FB.111.2.2 
The views and opinions expressed 
or implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessar- 
ily reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
The aulopiform lizardfish family 
Synodontidae is represented in the 
western Atlantic by 3 genera: Syno- 
dus (5 species recognized before this 
study), Saurida (4), and Trachino- 
cephalus (1). Lizardfishes are ben- 
thic predators in numerous ecosys- 
tems, including coral reefs, estuaries, 
and reef structure or sandy bottom 
areas on continental shelves (Ander- 
son et al., 1966; Cressey, 1981; Ran- 
dall, 2009). Once thought to occupy 
a mid-trophic position and employ 
a sit-and-wait predation strategy, 
adult lizardfishes now are known to 
occupy a high trophic position — apex 
in some systems — as active hunters 
feeding primarily on other predatory 
fishes (Cruz-Escalona et al., 2005). 
Despite having no commercial 
value as food fishes, Synodus spp. 
and Saurida brasiliensis (Largescale 
Lizardfish) are caught as bycatch in 
shrimp-trawl fisheries in the west- 
ern Atlantic, accounting for 1.5% and 
1.8% of total-catch biomass in the 
Gulf of Mexico and North Carolina, 1 
1 Brown, K. 2009. Interstate fisheries 
management program implementation 
respectively (Jeffers et al., 2008; 
Manjarres et al., 2008). Populations 
of Synodus foetens (Linnaeus, 1766) 
(Inshore Lizardfish) are estimated to 
be at fully exploited levels as bycatch 
in Gulf of Mexico shrimp-trawl fish- 
eries (Garcia-Abad et al., 1999; Wells, 
2007; Jeffers et al., 2008). Proper 
management and ecological inves- 
tigation of commercially fished spe- 
cies require an accurate understand- 
ing of species diversity. For example, 
Collette et al. (1978) discovered that 
the Caribbean and Brazilian popula- 
tions of the commercially important 
Scomberomorus maculatus (Spanish 
Mackerel) constitute a distinct spe- 
cies, which they named S. brasilien- 
sis (Serra). Without this systematic 
study, populations of S. brasiliensis 
would still be managed under the 
same plan as S. maculatus. 
for North Carolina. Job 3: character- 
ization of the near-shore commercial 
shrimp trawl fishery from Carteret 
County to Brunswick County, North 
Carolina. Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center, Miami, FL, 29 p. [Available on- 
line from http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/se- 
dar/download/SEDAR20-ASMFC-DW09. 
pdf?id=DOCUMENT] 
