A new blue-spotted Maskray species (Neotrygon, Dasyatidae) from Fiji.

Abstract

Neotrygon romeoi n. sp. (Dasyatidae), a new species of blue-spotted maskray from Fiji, previously confused with Neotrygon kuhlii (Müller and Henle 1841) or Neotrygon trigonoides (Castelnau 1873), is described based on nine specimens (310-397 mm disc width) from Fiji. Neotrygon romeoi n. sp. is a large maskray with a broadly angled snout, long claspers in adult males and a median row of thornlets extending from the nape to the tail base. Fresh specimens have a brownish dorsal surface with dark mask-like marking covering across and between the eyes (sometimes indistinct), two large brown to black branchial blotches posterior to the spiracles, numerous black pepper-like spots mainly concentrated in masked area and the branchial blotches, and sometimes having small, dark-edged pale blue to whitish spots. The new species is further characterized by ocellated spots in the medial belt usually absent. Molecular analysis based on 570 bp of partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) mitochondrial gene also supports that N. romeoi n. sp. is a distinct species from other congeners. The new species, known only from the Fiji Islands, may thus warrant inclusion in Fiji's Endangered and Protected Species Act.