Common Name
Aphrodite Anthias
Year Described
Pinheiro, Rocha & Rocha, 2018
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 15-16
Anal Fin: III, 9
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 13-14 branched
Caudal Fin: 9+7+6+8-9
Lateral Line Scales: 32-35
Gill Rakers: 8+22 = 30 total in first arch
Vertebrae: 10 precaudal, 17 caudal; 27 total
Fairly slender body, head 16.5-20-8% SL, and eye large (5.3-6.7% SL). Orbit longer than snout. Mouth oblique with lower jaw about equal and not projecting. Upper jaw teeth villiform with scattered larger canines. Lower jaw similar to upper. Palatine toothed. Vomerine toothed. Tongue smooth. Nostrils without rims or tubes. Preopercle serrated. Opercle with two flat spines. No fleshy filaments present on dorsal fin spines. Last dorsal spine the longest. Caudal fin likely deeply forked with thin filaments on each lobe (sometimes multiple). Pelvic fin with short filaments. Most of head, and maxilla, covered in scales. Fins scaled on bases. Lateral line continuous and high on body. Three scale above and 9-10 below lateral line.
Color
Males bright pink, grading to whitish on the belly and red near the dorsal fin origin. Three neon yellow bands on head: one above eye, one through eye, and one under eye through upper jaw. Yellow bands break up into blotches on the body and become more fragmentary rearward. Dorsal fin bright neon yellow with red markings basally and a thin margin. Anal and pelvic fins yellow with thin pink edging. Caudal fin pink with yellow blotches and thin yellow filaments. Eye yellow ringed with purple. Females and juveniles with a similar overall pattern but more muted orange-red with less distinct yellow markings (except yellow head bands still present). Fins yellow with orange rays. Front of dorsal fin with a dark blotch. Caudal fin yellow with fine orange markings and rings.
Size
Specimens range from 47-60mm for adults.
Habitat
Known only from the mesophotic zone from 100-260m. Stays close to structure like many anthiadine fishes.
Range
Known only from St. Paul's Rocks off eastern Brazil.
References
Pinheiro, H. T., C. Rocha, C., & L. A. Rocha. 2018. Tosanoides aphrodite, a new species from mesophotic coral ecosystems of St. Paul’s Rocks, Mid Atlantic Ridge (Perciformes, Serranidae, Anthiadinae). ZooKeys, (786), 105.
Other Notes
The only known Tosanoides from the Atlantic Ocean.