Abstract
Anguilla luzonensis, a new species of freshwater eel, family Anguillidae, is described on the basis of 29 specimens collected from the Pinacanauan River system, which is a tributary of the Cagayan River on northern Luzon Island of the Philippines. The new species and A. celebesensis, which is distributed in the same region, both have variegated color marking and broad maxillary bands of teeth, but show statistically significant differences in the following characters of the new species: predorsal-fin length 28.6–33.1% of total length (TL); preanal length 39.6–44.8% of TL; trunk length 26.4–31.3% of TL; distance between the verticals through the anus and origin of the dorsal fin 9.3–13.9% of TL; length of gape 35.5–46.9% of head length; the total number of vertebrae 103–107; and number of abdominal vertebrae 40–42. These morphological differences, together with the present knowledge about anguillid eel taxonomy, genetics, and ecology, strongly support the presence of the new species A. luzonensis in the area of northern Luzon Island of the Philippines.
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Acknowledgments
This study could not have been carried out without the kind help of the local fishermen and people who are each independently permitted by federal, regional and local authorities in the Philippines. We sincerely thank the following colleagues: R. V. Azanza, B. Ai, S. Hagihara, T. Ishikawa, T. Umehara, N. Nanato, and J. Abadu. The paper greatly benefited from critical comments and suggestions by K. Matsuura and M. J. Miller. We also thank M. Oya for her support in many aspects of the project. We thank the fish curators and collection managers of several institutions for making specimens under their care available: M. McGrouther (AMS); E. Feunteun, P. Pruvost, and C. J. Gregorio (MNHN); P. Bartsch and C. Lamour (ZMB); and K. Matsuura (NSMT). S.W. was partly supported by the Ito Foundation for Promotion of Ichthyology, a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society, and Research Fellowships for Young Scientists (No. 18780143) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This study was supported partly by Grants-in-Aid (No. 07306022, 08041139, 11691177 and 12NP0201) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, “Research for the Future” program No. JSPS–RFTF 97L00901 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Touwa Shokuhin Shinkoukai, and the Eel Research Foundation of Nobori-kai.
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Watanabe, S., Aoyama, J. & Tsukamoto, K. A new species of freshwater eel Anguilla luzonensis (Teleostei: Anguillidae) from Luzon Island of the Philippines. Fish Sci 75, 387–392 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-009-0087-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-009-0087-z