A New Record and Species of Pygmy Pipehorse of the Genus Cylix (Teleostei, Syngnathidae) from South Africa and the African Continent

Abstract

Cylix nkosi , new species, of the formerly monotypic pygmy pipehorse genus Cylix , is described on the basis of the female holotype and the male paratype collected between 14–50 m over inshore warm-tropical coral reefs from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The new taxon possesses derived characters consistent with the diagnosis of the type species Cylix tupareomanaia from Aotearoa New Zealand, including a prominent supraoccipital bone bearing a highly derived bony protuberance and the presence of distinct midventral head spines. The new species is distinguished from its congener primarily by the distinct shapes of the supraoccipital protuberance, midventral head spines, and the dorsomedial crest-like ridge on the first trunk ridge. Cylix nkosi , new species, can be further differentiated by genetic divergence in the mitochondrial COI gene from C. tupareomanaia and the morphologically similar members of the Indo-Pacific pygmy pipehorse genera Acentronura and Idiotropiscis (estimated uncorrected p -distances of 10.0% C. tupareomanaia , 16.6% A. breviperula , 20.6% A. tentaculata , 18.1% I. australe , and 18.8% I. lumnitzeri , respectively). Cylix nkosi , new species, is the first confirmed record of the genus in South Africa and the African continent. In addition, the occurrence of C. nkosi , new species, in the western Indian Ocean represents a substantial expansion of the geographical distribution of the genus beyond its original type locality in New Zealand.