A new species of Anemonefish from French Polynesia, Amphiprion maohiensis, (Pomacentridae, Amphiprioninae), the Polynesian anemonefish

Abstract

Anemonefishes (Teleostei, Pomacentridae) comprise approximately 28 species of dam-selfishes that exclusively live symbiotically with sea anemones. Distribution ranges vary, with some species only found in few isolated islands and others with ranges that span almost the entire Indo-Pacific. The orange-fin anemonefish, Amphiprion chrysopterus shows a wide distribution, from Australia to French Polynesia, extending north to Micro-nesia and the Marshall Islands. Two main color morphs exist, with a morph that displays a white tail and a second morph that has an orange tail. In French Polynesia, only the orange-tail morph is present, while in the rest of the range, the white-tail morph is preva-lent, while the orange-tail morph is also present, but very uncommon. Here we assessed the potential presence of a cryptic species in French Polynesia based on morphology, mitochondrial markers, and full genome sequencing. Morphological and genetic results were consistent in identifying a separate group in French Polynesia, which we describe here as a new species: the Polynesian anemonefish, Amphiprion maohiensis.