Anglers snag ‘large’ bottom-dweller with ‘big’ eyes — and discover a new species
Off the coast of South America, an angler dropped a weighted fishing lure into the water and waited. A “large” bottom-dwelling creature fell for the bait.
It turned out to be a new species.
Anglers caught 16 of these “large” bottom-dwelling fish off the coast of Peru and Ecuador between 1996 and 2022, according to a study published May 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. They hauled their catch to port where the scaly animals caught the attention of scientists.
Researchers suspected these bottom-dwellers were being misidentified, the study said. They took a closer look at the fish, analyzed the DNA and soon realized they were right. They’d discovered a new species: Aulopus chirichignoae, or the Pacific royal flagfin fish.
Pacific royal flagfin fish are considered “large,” reaching almost 16 inches in length, the study said. They have “small” heads with “big” eyes and “large” mouths. Their bodies are “dark brown” and covered in spiky scales.
Photos show the coloring of a male and female Pacific royal flagfin. The fish both have silvery-brown bodies and colorful fins.
Males of the new species have long extensions on their top fins and “more pronounced yellow and orange markings on their fins,” the researchers said.
Pacific royal flagfin fish were caught along “rocky bottoms” between depths of about 240 to 500 feet, the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species “chirichignoae” after Norma Chirichigno Fonseca “in recognition of her research on Peruvian marine fishes and for her first mention of an Aulopus species in Peru.”
So far, Pacific royal flagfin fish have been found off the northeastern coast of Peru, southwestern Ecuador and north of the Galápagos Islands, the study said. The new species “probably has a much larger distribution.”
The new species was identified by its coloring, fin shape, head shape and skeleton, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least about 3% genetic divergence from other related flagfin fish.
The research team included Philippe Béarez, Fabiola Zavalaga, Junior Miranda, Marion Mennesson, Sarita Campos-León and Pedro Jiménez-Prado.
This story was originally published June 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Anglers snag ‘large’ bottom-dweller with ‘big’ eyes — and discover a new species."
