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Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology
Vol. 31 No. 1, P. 140-145, 2013
http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s00343-013-2039-9
A redescription of grey pomfret Pampus cinereus (Bloch,
1795) with the designation of a neotype (Teleostei:
Stromateidae)*
LIU Jing (刘静)
** , LI Chunsheng (李春生), NING Ping (宁平)
Laboratory of Marine Organism Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao
266071, China
Received Mar. 20, 2012; accepted in principle May 3, 2012; accepted for publication Aug. 3, 2012
© Chinese Society for Oceanology and Limnology, Science Press, and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Pampus cinereus (Bloch, 1795) (Stromateidae), a species believed to be widely distributed
throughout the Indo-Western Pacifi c region, was redescribed and a neotype was designated. The designation
of a neotype was necessary because of ambiguous data in Bloch’s original description and the loss of the
original type specimen. Morphological data indicated that 10 recently-collected specimens from the coasts
of southern China agreed well with Bloch’s original description and fi gure of P . cinereus . A neotype for this
species was selected from among the 10 specimens, and a detailed description is presented in this paper.
Keyword : Pampus cinereus ; neotype; China seas
1 INTRODUCTION
The genus Pampus (Stromateidae) was proposed
by Bonaparte (1837) and currently comprises six
species worldwide (Liu and Li, 1998a, b; Wu et al.,
1999; Nakabo, 2002; Liu, 2008; Froese and Pauly,
2012), Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen, 1788),
P . chinensis (Euphrasen, 1788), P . cinereus (Bloch,
1795), P . punctatissimus (Temminck et Schlegel,
1844), P . echinogaster (Basilewsky, 1855), and
P . minor (Liu et Li, 1998). The grey pomfret,
P . cinereus Bloch (1795), is a common species
distributed mainly in the Indo-Western Pacifi c. This
species was originally described by Bloch in 1795 in
the genus Stromateus , which is characterized by a
greatly extended anal fi n and notably long pectoral
fi ns. Subsequent workers, however, have long treated
the species as a member of Pampus (Day, 1959; Deng
et al., 1981; Wu, 1985; Liu and Li, 1998a, b; Wu et al.,
1999; Nakabo, 2000, 2002; Liu et al., 2002a, b; Liu,
2008; Shao, 2009; Cui et al., 2010; Froese and Pauly,
2011). However, Haedrich (1967) recognized only
three species of Pampus as valid: P . argenteus ,
P . echinogaster , and P . chinensis . Similarly, Last
(2001) treated only these three species in his recent
review of Stromateidae for the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Some previous
authors considered P . cinereus to be a synonym of
P . argenteus (Lindberg and Krasyukova, 1975; Parin
and Piotrovsky, 2004).
During our revisional studies of the genus Pampus ,
we encountered problems in identifying P . cinereus
and locating its type specimens. Fortunately, between
May 2010 and April 2011, we found 10 examples that
morphologically agreed well with the original
description and fi gure of P . cinereus by Bloch (1795).
Accordingly, P . cinereus (Bloch, 1795) is herein
redescribed based on 10 specimens from the coasts of
southern China, and a neotype is designated.
2 MATERIAL AND METHOD
Methods for measurements generally followed
Haedrich (1967) with some modifi cations, and counts
of vertebrae and dorsal and anal rays were made from
radiographs. Total vertebrae were counted as the
number of precaudal vertebrae plus the number of
* Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.
31172053, 41276166)
** Corresponding author: jliu@qdio.ac.cn
141No.1 LIU et al.: Redescription of Pampus cinereus
caudal vertebrae, including the urostylar vertebra
(=1). Lengths of specimens were given as standard
length; maximum body depth was given as body
depth, measured vertically at the origin of the fi rst
anal ray; head length was taken from the upper lip to
the posterior margin of the operculum; eye diameter
was the greatest distance between the free orbital
rims; interorbital width was the smallest distance
between the eyes; snout length was measured from
the anterior-most point of the upper lip to the nearest
fl eshy margin of the orbit; length of the upper jaw was
the distance from the symphysis of the premaxillaries
to the posterior end of the maxilla; length of the dorsal
fi n base was the distance from the base of fi rst dorsal
ray to the base of the last one; length of the anal fi n
base was the distance from the base of fi rst anal ray to
the base of the last one; predorsal distance was
measured from the tip of the snout to the base of the
fi rst dorsal ray; preanal distance was measured from
the anterior-most point of the lower jaw to the base of
the fi rst anal ray; caudal peduncle length was the
horizontal distance from the base of the last anal ray
to the origin of the caudal fi n base; caudal peduncle
depth was the least depth of the peduncle; lengths of
dorsal, anal, caudal, and pectoral fi ns were the lengths
of the longest rays. The morphometric data are
presented as percentages of standard length (SL) or
head length (HL). Measurements were made using a
vernier caliper and read to the nearest 0.1 mm. Gill
rakers were counted on the fi rst gill arch on both the
upper and lower limbs. Color and pigmentation were
noted in digital images of fresh specimens, but
detailed observations were made on specimens stored
in 70% ethanol after 10% formalin preservation.
Neotype: IOCAS41607, 145.0 mm SL, April 16,
2011, Zhuhai Fish Market, Guangdong Province,
China.
Other specimens: IOCAS6015, IOCAS6016,
IOCAS6070, three specimens, 141.5–147.5 mm SL,
May 9, 2010, Zhuhai Fish Market, Guangdong
Province, China; IOCAS30016, IOCAS30017, two
specimens, 115.5–142.0 mm SL, October 30, 2010,
Zhuhai Fish Market, Guangdong Province, China;
IOCAS14001, IOCAS14002, IOCAS14003, three
specimens, 143.5–158.5 mm SL, April 14, 2011,
Humen Fish Market, Guangdong Province, China;.
IOCAS41609, 142.0 mm SL, April 16, 2011, Zhuhai
Fish Market, Guangdong Province, China.
Comparative materials: IOCAS96-04,
IOCAS96-05, IOCAS96-13, IOCAS96-1001,
IOCAS98-19, IOCAS2123, IOCAS1076,
IOCAS1077, IOCAS1005, IOCAS1006, 10
specimens, 130.0–191.0 mm SL.
All specimens examined in this study are deposited
in the Museum of Marine Biology, Institute of
Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS).
3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Pampus cinereus (Bloch, 1795)
(English name : grey pomfret, Fig.1)
Stromateus cinereus Bloch, 1795: 90, pl. 420 (no
locality); Bloch & Schneider, 1801: 491 (Tranquebar,
India); Günther, 1860: 346 (Malayan Peninsula).
Stromateus griseus Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1833:
391 (Pondichéry, Tamil Nadu, India).
Stromateoides cinereus Bleeker, 1864: 56 (Amoy,
China); Regan, 1902: 205 (China).
Pampus cinereus Fowler, 1934: 150 (Bangkok,
Thailand); Wu, 1985: 433, fi g. 665 (Fujian, China; in
part); Li, 1995: 195, fi g. 266 (East China Sea, in part);
Liu et al., 2002a: 243 (East China Sea, South China
Sea, in part).
Stromateus nozawae Cheng, 1962: 760, fi g.615
(South China Sea; in part); Yang and Cheng, 1987:
425, fi g.2216 (East China Sea and South China Sea;
in part).
3.1 Diagnosis
Pampus cinereus is distinguished from its
congeners in having the following combination of
characters: dorsal fi n rays 37–41; anal fi n rays 36–41;
anterior rays of dorsal and anal fi ns produced distinct
falcate lobes, preceded by 5–10 small blade-like
spines embedded in skin and not obvious in larger
specimens; anterior lobe of anal fi n greatly extended,
reaching behind the peduncle; fi rst anal fi n ray
originated below 5
th –6 th dorsal fi n ray; pectoral fi ns
extremely long (mean 44.8% of SL); caudal fi n deeply
forked, the lower lobe usually longer than the upper
one; gill rakers vestigial with 7–10 minute tubercular-
like spinules; total vertebrae 36, including 15
precaudal and 21 caudal vertebrae.
3.2 Description
Counts and proportional measurements of 10
specimens (including the neotype and nine non-type
specimens) of P . cinereus are given in Table 1.
D. viii–x, 37–41; A. v–vii, 36–41; P. 20–22; C.
22–24. Gr. 1–2+6–8=7–10; vertebrae 15+21=36.
As percentages of standard length: Maximum body
depth 61.3%–68.1%, head length 24.2%–27.7%,
142 CHIN. J. OCEANOL. LIMNOL., 31(1), 2013 Vol.31
dorsal-fi n length 33.5%–43.8%, anal-fi n length
48.4%–59.9%, pectoral-fi n length 42.0%–47.2%,
caudal-fi n length 43.3%–49.8%, predorsal distance
51.3%–59.7%, preanal distance 46.2%–55.8%, length
of dorsal-fi n base 49.8%–53.6%, length of anal-fi n
base 48.4%–55.9%, caudal peduncle length 9.4%–
10.1%, caudal peduncle depth 10.6%–11.7%.
As percentages of head length: Snout length
20.6%–23.2%, interorbital distance 42.1%–47.0%,
eye diameter 27.7%–30.7%, length of upper jaw
27.6%–29.3%.
Body deep, compressed and rhombic, covered by
small deciduous scales, of silvery grey color. Head
compressed; dorsal profi le strongly keeled, being
more prominent behind the eye; snout slightly
pointed. Eye small, greater than snout length. Mouth
small, subterminal; mouth slit curved downward
posteriorly, reaching to middle of eye; upper jaw
covered with skin, not moveable. Teeth on the jaws
minute, in a single row, narrowed from the sides;
teeth absent on the vomer and palatinum. Teeth absent
on entopterygoideum and metapterygoideum. Papillae
present in both halves of pharyngeal sacs.
Branchiostegal membrane fused with isthmus. Gill
membranes joined to belly; gill slit longer, its lower
margin below the level of pectoral-fi n base; total gill
rakers on fi rst gill arch vestigial with 7–10 min
tubercular-like spinules. Dorsal fi n rays 37–41; anal
fi n rays 36–41; both lobe-like anteriorly, originating
behind pectoral-fi n bases, preceded by 8–10 and 5–7,
respectively, short, blade-like spines with pointed
ends and embedded in skin in adults; anterior lobe of
anal fi n greatly extended, reaching behind the
peduncle. Caudal fi n long, deeply forked, lower lobe
usually extended. Pectoral fi ns notably long, with
20–22 rays. Pelvic fi ns absent.
Scales very small, cycloid, and deciduous,
extending onto bases of all fi ns. Head and nape with
well-developed network of longitudinal sensory
canals, posterior ends extending posterior to the
pectoral-fi n base. Lateral line high, following dorsal
profi le to caudal peduncle. Total vertebrae 36 (Fig.4).
3.3 Color of specimens
Color of fresh specimens: Dorsal and lateral
surfaces of head and body silvery grey, slightly bluish
grey on back, fading to pale grey on ventral sides.
Pectoral, anal, and caudal fi ns yellowish grey with
dark margins posteriorly; dorsal fi n dark grey.
Color of preserved specimens: Dorsal and lateral
surfaces of head and body brownish tan, fading to
pale brownish grey on ventral sides. The upper part of
pectoral fi ns and caudal fi n yellowish brown; dorsal
fi n brownish tan; anal fi n pale grey; all fi ns with dusky
margin posteriorly (Fig.1a).
Table 1 Comparative counts and proportional measure-
ments of neotype and non-type specimens of
Pampus cinereus and P . punctatissimus
P . cinereus P . punctatissimus
( n =10)
Neotype Non-type ( n =9)
Counts
Dorsal fi n ray ix, 39 viii–x–x, 37–41 vi–ix, 38–42
Anal fi n ray v, 37 v–vii, 36–41 v–vii, 34–42
Pectoral fi n ray 22 20–22 22–24
Caudal fi n rays 22 22–24 22–24
Gill rakers
(upper+lower=total) 1+7=8 1–2+6–8=7–10 2–3+8–10=10–13
Precaudal vertebrae 15 15 15
Caudal vertebrae 21 21 19
Total vertebrae 36 36 34
Measurements
Standard
length (mm) 145.0 117.5–158.5 130.0–191.0
As percentages
of SL
Maximum
body depth 62.1 61.3–68.1 58.5–68.5
Dorsal-fi n length 35.9 33.5–43.8 31.9–38.4
Anal-fi n length 50.3 48.4–59.9 40.3–50.8
Pectoral-fi n length 46.9 42.0–47.2 30.6–38.1
Caudal-fi n length 44.8 43.3–49.8 38.7–47.3
Predorsal distance 57.8 51.3–59.7 52.2–59.9
Preanal distance 50.7 46.2–55.8 53.0–56.9
Length of dorsal-
fi n base 53.3 49.8–53.6 48.1–57.4
Length of anal-
fi n base 53.0 48.4–55.9 46.3–54.5
Caudal-peduncle
length 10.0 9.4–10.1 10.0–11.7
Caudal peduncle
depth 11.7 10.6–11.6 9.2–11.5
Head length 25.5 24.2–27.7 22.5–28.3
As percentages
of HL
Snout length 22.2 20.6–23.2 23.0–29.4
Interorbital distance 42.4 42.1–47.0 41.2–48.1
Eye diameter 29.7 27.7–30.7 20.8–25.0
Length of upper jaw 28.6 27.6–29.3 25.4–30.2
143No.1 LIU et al.: Redescription of Pampus cinereus
3.4 Distribution
Pampus cinereus is known from China (Deng et
al., 1981; Wu, 1985; Wu et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2002a,
2002b; Liu, 2008), Japan (Nakabo, 2002), the
Malayan Peninsula (Günther, 1860), Thailand
(Fowler, 1934; Nakabo, 2002), and India (Bloch and
Schneider, 1801) and may range throughout the Indo-
Western Pacifi c.
3.5 Remarks
Pampus cinereus was fi rst described by Bloch
(1795) as Stromateus cinereus (Fig.1b) based on a
single stuffed specimen. The original description in
Bloch (1795) is brief and does not mention some
diagnostic characters used in this redescription to
discriminate Pampus species. The only data of
possible diagnostic value were the counts of dorsal
and anal fi n rays and the distinctly long pectoral fi ns.
However, the dorsal- and anal-fi n ray counts given in
the text of original description (D.35; A.29) did not
match those shown in the fi gure of the holotype (D.40;
A.41). Apparently, the values given in the text (D.35;
A.29) were a clerical error made by Bloch (1795),
because those characters are never observed in
Pampus . The values shown in the fi gure of the
holotype (D.40; A.41) could refer to at least two
species ( P . cinereus and P . punctatissimus ), which
both have greatly extended anal fi ns. However,
P . punctatissimus (Fig.2) lacks the long pectoral fi ns
of P . cinereus (over 40% SL).
Moreover, the type locality was not clear. Bloch
(1795) did not mention where the type specimen was
collected. For a long time, authors considered a single
specimen (ZMB 8754), which was originally
registered as a stuffed specimen deposited in the
Berlin Zoological Museum (ZMB), to be Bloch’s
holotype of Stromateus cinereus . Unfortunately,
Paepkes (1999) stated that type specimen ZMB 8754
was lost on page 145 in the book Bloch ’ s Fish
Collection in the Museum fuer Naturkunde der
Humboldt-University zu Berlin . Its loss was confi rmed
by Dr. Peter Bartsch, the curator of fi sh division in the
Museum fuer Naturkunde (personal communication).
In the absence of a type specimen, the lack of critical
information in the original description, and the
uncertainties regarding the type locality, the identity
of this species can only be clarifi ed by a neotype
designation (International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature, art. 75. 3. 4).
To compare with P . cinereus
, only P . punctatissimus
from the Chinese coasts of the Yellow and East China
seas were used, because they have extended anal fi ns
and clearly conform with the species described by Liu
et al. (2002a). In overall body appearance, P . cinereus
is most similar to P . punctatissimus . However, it can
be clearly distinguished from the latter in having a
subterminal (vs. terminal) mouth, a shorter snout
(20.6%–23.2% vs. 23.0%–29.4% HL), a bigger eye
diameter (27.7%–30.7% vs. 20.8%–25.0% HL),
longer pectoral fi ns (42.0%–47.2% vs. 30.6%–38.1%
SL), and different numbers of total vertebrae (36 vs.
34). Furthermore, the gill rakers in P . cinereus
(Fig.3a) are vestigial with 7–10 minute tubercular-
like spinules (shorter than 1 mm) on the fi rst gill arch,
a
b
Fig.1 Pampus cinereus , neotype, IOCAS41607, 145.0 mm
SL (a); original fi gure (b) from Bloch (1795)
Fig.2 Pampus punctatissimus (Temminck et Schlegel, 1844),
IOCAS1005, 162.5 mm SL
144 CHIN. J. OCEANOL. LIMNOL., 31(1), 2013 Vol.31
but they are longer (more than 2 mm) with 10–13 in
the latter (Fig.3b).
4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are very grateful to Dr. Peter Bartsch,
Curator of Fishes, Museum fuer Naturkunde, and Dr.
Michael Tuerkay, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut,
for providing important literature and information.
We also thank Prof. J. Y. LIU (Ruiyu LIU), Institute
of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his
critical reading of the manuscript and Ms. Ying-Chun
SONG for translating Bloch’s article into Chinese.
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