Thelubbockigroup houses six members divided evenly into two separate but closely related clades. They are thelubbockiclade and themarjorieclade. All members of this group are small to medium sized species with a recurring red and white color scheme in males. Apart from the biogeographic and phenotypic differences of the two clades, the entirelubbockigroup share very similar and unique traits that set them apart from the otherCirrhilabrus。
Females of all six species are uniformly pink with a single caudal peduncular spot, and are indistinguishable from each other. Successful identification of females can be carried out based on contextual clues, such as the presence of males or by provision of the geographical range. This is fairly straightforward for four of the members with allopatric and disparate distributions, but gets frightfully confusing in the sympatricC. lubbockiandC. flavidorsalis。
With the exception ofC. lubbockiandC. flavirodalis，该组中的其余四个物种是同种异体的。前者的重叠性质引发了两个物种之间的关系，很少在Cirrhilabrus。We will touch more on this later.
在Joe’sprevious article，提出了两个假设的系统发育模型，显示了三个不同的谱系。的确切关系lubbockigroup to otherCirrhilabrusspecies is poorly understood and awaits more rigorous genetic study. Unique attributes (like head shape and female coloration) suggest it may belong on a basal branch within the genus, but there is also reason to suspectC. labouteibelongs as the basal lineage instead. Compare these competing theories presented in the phylogenetic trees below.
The distinctive fusiform head shape as mentioned briefly above is diagnostic of all members in this group regardless of their varying life stages. The holotype ofc . walindibelow for example demonstrates this physical attribute very well. A photo ofCirrhilabrus lubbocki女性的形式也在下面提到的,和它的unremarkable pattern serves as a template to all six members of the group. The distinctive absence of even the faintest stripes or secondary features in the females are unique and characteristic to thelubbockigroup, and this coupled with its head morphology strongly suggests a basal placement in theCirrhilabrusphylogenetic tree.
It is also worth mentioning that unlike otherCirrhilabrus, the males in this group mostly lack any intricacies in their median fins.Cirrhilabrus walindiandC. cenedrawasihboth have spotted anal fins and a metallic iridescence on the caudal, but apart from these two, the other males are rather sombre, possessing at most a simple margin or a few unobtrusive blotches.
Thelubbockiclade
Thelubbockiclade features three members. They areCirrhilabrus lubbocki,C. flavidorsalisandC. adornatus。All are frequent offerings to the aquarium trade withC. lubbockibeing the most commonly encountered. The species in this group predominantly occupy the Eastern Indian Ocean and the Indo-West Pacific; withC. lubbockiandC. flavidorsalisenjoying a large overlapping range which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan and Palau.C. adornatusis restricted to the Eastern Indian Ocean where it can be found in the narrow strip of Sumatra and the Mentawai islands.
The colour patterns amongst the three species are variable and inconsistent, but morphologically they share similar characteristics. The median and ventral fins are simple without any filamentous appendages, and the caudal fin is only very weakly emarginated.
C. lubbocki,C. flavidorsalisandC. adornatusare shallow water wrasses associated closely with loose rubble substrate, especially the last species. It is not uncommon to findC. lubbockiandC. flavidorsalis在很大的群体中，经常被其他物种加入，占据相同的小众市场，例如成员Paracheilinusand other sympatricCirrhilabrusspecies.
Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
这是一个高度可变的物种，雄性有两种形式，每种形式都经历了挥发性的模式和颜色组合。在第一种形式中，男性具有黄色至红头盾，沿着背鳍水平运行，包括背鳍。身体的其余部分从粉红色到紫色，很少有红色，鳞片通常以金属蓝色边缘形成复杂的交叉式图案。
The second male form shares basically the same color scheme as the preceding, but instead possesses a pair of horizontal stripes, both tracing the lateral line and running along the dorsum with one disconnected and placed slightly below the other. The striped form tends to be less colorful, and is very often uniformly opalescent silver just below the yellow or red dorsal demarcation. However intermediates of both forms are not uncommon. The species is in general very haphazard and kaleidoscopic in its coloration and patterning.
Morphologically, the median fins and paired fins lack any embellishments. The ventral fins are short and pointed, and the tail is very weakly emarginated. During nuptial display, the median fins turn white and the males develop a lilac band running through the eye and along the body.
Additionally,C. lubbocki与其他两种物种具有类似的恐惧或夜间色彩，其中采用横向带的斑点图案。在C. flavidorsalisandC. adornatus, the same blotch pattern can be seen in stressed or frightened individuals as well.
Themarjorieclade on the other hand does not develop this blotchy fright coloration, and at least inC. Marjorie, the entire fish turns red with unobtrusive mottling. More differences between the two clades will be touched upon later on when we exploreCirrhilabrus marjorieand the rest of its clade members.
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalisis another variable species, but nowhere near as fickle as the preceding. The males have a pink to white ground color, with a red head capsule and a variable number of transverse red blotches. The dorsal fin coloration ranges from the namesake yellow, to red or blue.
Phenotypically speaking,C. flavidorsalisresemblesC. adornatusmore closely with an overall bone white ground coloration and the possession of red transverse blotches. The red is however more developed inC. flavidorsalis, but it is in less erythric individuals that the real similarities between the two can be observed. Its close assosiation withC. lubbockiin the wild however is curious.
如前所述，同胞与Cirrhilabrus lubbockithroughout its range raises some red flags. Closely allied species usually follow the allopatric model for speciation, in which a single interbreeding population is broken up into two or more by extrinsic forces such as lowering of sea levels or erection of a land mass. Over time, the isolated populations diverge from the original to eventually form separate species.
Sympatric speciation on the other hand occurs when a single species diverges in the same range, which is not at all common for this genus. A few possible explanations to this phenomenon can be put forth. The first possibility would be thatC. flavidorsalisdiverged from the sympatricC. lubbockithrough sexual selection. In a swath of identical looking females, having a unique nuptial coloration would serve as an advantage for mate identification and selection, and this sexual pressure could catalyze the evolutionary start ofC. flavidorsalis。
Another less likely scenario would be that in the past,C. flavidorsalisandC. lubbocki确实是同种异体的，但是沿着线的某个地方消除了外部障碍，这两个物种能够再次重叠。到目前为止，两者已经指定了，两者都无法将其杂交回到一个同质物种中，目前，两个姐妹在他们的许多范围内都在游泳中游泳。
最后一个也可能是最可能的情况是，这两个物种是“flavidorsalis” form serving as the third male morph ofC. lubbocki。如乔先前写的那样，没有任何关于这些变体杂交还是在这里找到哪种遗传差异的研究，任何人如何知道是否有一个单一的杂色分类单元，三个同伴物种或当前接受的模型两个物种？
With the exception of these overlapping species, the rest of thelubbockigroup is rather straightforward.
[Update]The above hybrid photo was added post completion of this article. In a previous hypothesis discussed above, we attributed the sympatry ofC. lubbockiandC. flavidorsalisto the removal of a barrier once keeping the two species apart. Having speciated far enough, the reconnection of both species in the same geographical range have now resulted in the inability to hybridize. A photo ofC. lubbockixC. flavidorsalishas been found, suggesting that hybridization between the two species is possible. In the specimen above, traits fromC. lubbockican be seen as the vestigial manifestation of the double lateral stripes.
However, the hypothesis cannot be discounted yet. Both species might still be genetically distinct enough to undo the divergent process, with hybrids occurring as a great rarity. This would explain the scarcity of photographic documentation despite both species being widely sympatric and abundant.
Cirrhilabrus adornatus
Cirrhilabrus adornatusis the final member of thelubbockiclade. In this simply coloured species, the males are uniformly white and possess a variable (usually two), number of red blotches on the anterior dorsum. The dorsal fin is red, and as with the preceding two species, the tail is very weakly emarginated. Young males are often suffused in pink while terminal males are bone white.
C. adornatus从表面上看很锦鲤，并且与其他成员分享了这种不常见的特征lubbockigroup.
在nuptial display,Cirrhilabrus adornatustransforms into a uniform yellow-green, with red developing along the anal fin base, caudal peduncle and caudal fin. The anal and dorsal fins turn white, and a red blotch develops on the posterior segment of the latter. The characteristic red blotches on the dorsum turn white during this event.C. adornatusdisplays more discernible color changes during nuptial display than any other member of this group.
The relationship betweenC. lubbocki,C. flavidorsalisandC. adornatusis close, to say the least. The placement of these three species in the same clade is not difficult to grasp, and in the following section of this article we will explore why they warrant separation from the secondlubbockigroup clade which includes the wholly PacificC. Marjorieand the two closely allied species –c . walindiand C.cenderawasih。
[Update]The above image ofC. adornatusin nuptial display was added post completion of this article.
Themarjorieclade
Like thelubbockiclade, themarjorieclade also features three members. They areCirrhilabrus marjorie,c . walindiandC. Cenderawasih。However unlike the ostentatious abundance of thelubbockiclade members, all the species in this clade are either rare or unobtainable with regards to the aquarium trade. Of the three, onlyCirrhilabrus marjorieis collected for the hobby, albeit rarely and very sporadically.Cirrhilabrus walindihas entered the trade with such scarcity and irregularity that the species cannot in anyway be considered “available”, whileCirrhilabrus Cenderawasih尚未首次亮相水族馆。
All three species in this group are wholly pacific, with two species having restricted ranges allied to their endemism.Cirrhilabrus Cenderawasihis known only from Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua, whileCirrhilabrus marjoriehas not yet been discovered outside its type locale of Fiji.Cirrhilabrus walindienjoyes a slightly broader range, being found in Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands.
Phenotypically, the three species are rather similar, being mainly white in base coloration.Cirrhilabrus Cenderawasihandc . walindi非常相似，显然是同种姐妹，而C. Marjorielacks an immediate geminate twin.
Despite the similarities with thelubbockigroup, themarjoriegroup can be distinguished based on a few things. Biogeographically speaking, all the species in this clade are closely allied and are strictly Pacific, unlike the former, which strays into the Eastern Indian Ocean. Morphologically, themarjorieclade members strongly possess double emarginated tails with trailing filaments on the ends of each lobe. They are also fond of deeper waters, and can be found at depths of 160ft and above, in whichC. lubbocki,C. flavidorsalisandC. adornatusnever reach.
Cirrhilabrus marjorie
Cirrhilabrus marjorieis a relative newcomer to the genus, being described in 2003. It was known from three specimens collected in Fiji, and was named in honor of Marjorie Awai, wife of Dr. Bruce Carlson. In this beautiful species, the males are alabaster with the head and dorsal half a deep crimson, bleeding slightly into the pectoral fin base to form a stripe. The body is marked with four to five horizontal purplish-grey stripes, each occupying a separate scale row. It has a grayish-white dorsal fin with a black margin edged in blue. The caudal fin is yellow with a sub-marginal white bar posteriorly, and a broad black posterior margin.
Cirrhilabrus marjoriehas a double emarginated tail which often looks lunate when contracted. This tail morphology is a key diagnostic feature of the members in this clade.C. Marjorieis fond of rubble slopes of moderately deep waters where it swims with the likes ofcirrhilabrus unctatusandParacheilinus rubricaudalis。It has not been documented outside of Fiji where it was first discovered, although it may possibly extend further out.
在its description papers, it has been suggested thatC. Marjorie更密切相关C. bathyphilusandC. exquisitusbased on the tail morphology. In comparison toc . walindiandC. Cenderawasih, the similarities between the three are more believable than what has been originally suggested, and in future installations of this series we will explore thatCirrhilabrus bathyphilusis key to its own group with the alliedCirrhilabrus nahackyi; a species which at the time ofC. Marjoriehas not been described yet.
Cirrhilabrus walindi
Cirrhilabrus walindiis an enigmatic species with very little documented photos. The specific epithetwalindicomes from the Walindi Plantation Resort in Kimbe Bay, the type location for the species. InCirrhilabrus walindi, the male coloration is whitish to pale mauve with a more intensely colored dorsum. The dorsal fin is hyaline yellow with two large black blotches that readily sets this species apart. The caudal fin is doubly emarginated and is a lustrous purple-blue featuring two trailing filaments.
c . walindi众所周知从巴布亚新几内亚东部独奏mon Islands where it is fond of waters exceeding 100ft, however it has been reported to swim in depths as shallow as 30ft in Kimbe Bay.Cirrhilabrus walindi在水族馆的爱好中拥有不寻常的往绩。它似乎是多年前在日本市场中一次或两次进口的，但此后就消失了。鉴于所罗门群岛的收藏并不是那么不规则，它在贸易中的稀缺性是不寻常的。manbext客户端
Moving to West Papua, it is replaced by an allied sister species –Cirrhilabrus Cenderawasih。
Cirrhilabrus Cenderawasih
The beautifulCirrhilabrus Cenderawasihis the final member of themarjorieclade as well as thelubbockigroup in general. This species is most closely related toCirrhilabrus walindi这两个物种可能来自曾经游泳新几内亚 - 澳大利亚板的边缘的相同祖先物种。在过去的几百万年中，必须出现物种形成的机会，这引起了康达瓦西地区的同种成员。
在过去的五千万年中，一系列构造过程负责塑造该地区的地质。According to Hill and Hall’s (2003) paleoreconstruction model, a series of island arc terranes arose along the edge of the Caroline Plate, eventually colliding with the Australian Plate, and then sliding parallel to the northern coast of New Guinea before eventually accreting to form the northern ranges.
其中一个被称为TOSEM街区（Hill and Hall，2003年）的弧形地形之一滑过两到五百万年前的Cenderawasih湾入口，然后最终停在了鸟的头部半岛的北边缘。这使该地区隔离了，限制了进出湾的运动，并为同种异体形成奠定了基础。板的转移与该地区波动的海平面同时起作用，进一步扩大了同种异体的隔离，并促进了康达瓦西湾地区内独特物种的丰富发展。
C. Cenderawasihshares the same basal coloration as the preceding species, but instead has a strong and characteristic yellow rectangular blotch smeared across the middle of its body. The stripe only reaches halfway. Above, four to five irregular black blotches pepper the dorsum. The blotches are highly variable in size, and very often the first one is vestigial or even completely absent.
C. Cenderawasih是常见的深度超过100英尺,西南im in aggregations often surpassing twenty individuals with females greatly outnumbering males. In the holotype specimen above, the filamentous tail is very clearly seen. The central caudal rays are longer, giving the leading margins on either side of it a concave appearance leading to the characteristic double emarginated tail.
With the three species of themarjorieclade elaborated and touched upon, it’s easy to see the resemblance amongst each other. From an evolutionary standpoint,c . walindiandC. Cenderawasihare immediately related, withC. Marjoriebeing rather closely grouped alongside based on morphology and biogeographical distribution.
It is easy to see why thelubbockiandmarjorieclades are not merged together, based on difference in classified range, morphology and habitat preference. However the two clades clearly share a similar relationship especially with regards to the nearly identical females of all six species.
Thelubbockigroup is a fascinating start to this long and challenging series, and offers a glimpse into various recurring themes that we will explore such as species groupings, biogeography as well as evolutionary models of speciation. In addition, it is one of the rare instances where two members of the same group are sympatric. In future installations the species groups will only become more complex and confounded, but we hope you’ll stick around until the end to fully soak in the rich diversity that this genus has to offer.
