A multinational group of biologists has described a new species of sweeper from the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Sweeper is the common name used for small, tropical fish in the family Pempheridae, including two genera – Parapriacanthus and Pempheris.

The newly discovered species has been named Pempheris flavicycla.

“The name flavicycla is from the Latin flavi meaning yellow, and cycla for ring, in reference to the bright yellow ring encircling the pupil, a color feature often still apparent in recently preserved specimens,” said Dr John Randall of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and his colleagues from Russia, Germany, Thailand, Canada and Saudi Arabia in a paper published in the Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation (full paper in .pdf).

Pempheris flavicycla measures about 12-14 cm in length and has a bright yellow ring around the pupil of the eye, a black outer border on the anal and caudal fins and a black spot at the base of the pectoral fins.

The species can be found in clear-water, coral-reef areas not exposed to heavy seas, and usually in less than 15 m.

The team also identified two subspecies of the new fish: Pempheris flavicycla flavicycla and Pempheris flavicycla marisrubri.

Pempheris flavicycla flavicycla can be found in the waters off Oman, Tanzania, Kenya, Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and islands of the Andaman Sea.

Pempheris flavicycla marisrubri is known from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Tadjoura off Djibouti. It differs in having a larger eye, longer pectoral fins, more ctenoid scales, the posterior nostril largest, and modally one fewer pectoral-fin rays. The name of this subspecies, marisrubri, derives from the Latin for Red Sea, in reference to its principal distribution.

“Both subspecies have usually been misidentified as Pempheris vanicolensis, which differs in having a brownish green iris, no black spot at the base of the pectoral fins, 63–68 lateral-line scales, and 26–29 gill rakers,” the biologists wrote.

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John E. Randall et al. 2013. Pempheris flavicycla, a new pempherid fish from the Indian Ocean, previously identified as P. vanicolensis Cuvier. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 9: 1-23