A preliminary checklist of the cardinalfishes ( Actinopterygii : Gobiiformes : Apogonidae ) of Singapore

We record the presence of 35 cardinalfish species from the marine waters of Singapore based on a review of existing literature and examination of museum specimens. Another 13 species previously recorded as occurring in Singapore are considered doubtful records. Five of the 35 species reported here ( Apogon crassiceps , Apogonichthyoides timorensis , Jaydia lineata , Nectamia similis , and Siphamia tubifer ) are new records for Singapore, while another four species have not been encountered in more than a century.

specimens not readily identifiable as coming from Singapore, and those based on specimens of unknown provenance are considered separately in Table 1.We also did not use unpublished museum records for which the provenance of the specimens could not be identified (i.e. the specimens could have been purchased from markets or ornamental fish exporters, but not necessarily caught, in Singapore).

Results
We record 35 species of cardinalfishes from Singapore waters, with another 13 species being considered doubtfully occurring (Table 1).Five species are recorded from Singapore for the first time: Apogon crassiceps, Apogonichthyoides timorensis, Jaydia lineata, Nectamia similis, and Siphamia tubifer.The degree of uncertainty surrounding the occurrence and identity of some of the cardinalfish species treated here renders further survey and study of Singapore's cardinalfish fauna necessary.Garman, 1903.Dusky Red Cardinalfish Figure 1 Material examined: ZRC 29504 (n=1); ZRC 40666(n=2); Pulau Hantu.Remarks: Apogon crassiceps was described as having two scales between the lateral line and the first dorsal fin.Our specimen exhbits one large scale and one smaller scale between the lateral line and first dorsal fin, a character found in most members of the A. coccineus species complex (to which A. crassiceps belongs; Greenfield and Schaefer,

Introduction
The family Apogonidae (cardinalfishes) is a circum tropical group found primarily in marine environments.They are one of the largest groups of reef fishes in the IndoPacific, with about twothirds of the 270 or so species known in the family being found there.Cardinalfishes are easily distinguished by their distinctly separate dorsal fins (with the first consisting of six to eight spines), two anal spines, relatively large eyes and mouth, and preopercle with a ridge preceding the margin.They are primarily nocturnal, and predominantly consist of micropredators or piscivores.
Despite its ubiquity in IndoPacific waters, the cardinalfishes of Singapore have been poorly studied, with the only comprehensive checklist being those of Bleeker (1860b), who recorded 30 species, and Fowler (1938), who recorded 32 species.The objective of this study is to reassess the status of Singapore's cardinalfish fauna with the view of producing an annotated checklist that incorporates recent changes to cardinalfish classification.

Material and Methods
The present checklist was compiled from the examination of museum specimens (deposited in the Zoological Reference Collection of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore), correspondence with local divers, as well as specimenbased records in the literature.Nomenclature and classifications of the fishes follow Mabuchi et al. (2014), with common names following those of Kuiter and Kozawa (2001).All material examined in this study is deposited in the Zoological Reference Collection, Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Singapore (ZRC).
We consider records to be verifiable only if there is physical evidence such as specimen(s), drawing(s) or photograph(s) to substantiate the presence of a cardinalfish speices in Singapore.Records based on A preliminary checklist of the cardinalfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiiformes: Apogonidae) of Singapore Heok Hee Ng 1 * and Kelvin K. P.

Abstract:
We record the presence of 35 cardinalfish species from the marine waters of Singapore based on a review of existing literature and examination of museum specimens.Another 13 species previously recorded as occurring in Singapore are considered doubtful records.Five of the 35 species reported here (Apogon crassiceps, Apogonichthyoides timorensis, Jaydia lineata, Nectamia similis, and Siphamia tubifer) are new records for Singapore, while another four species have not been encountered in more than a century.DOI: 10.15560/10.5.6643 2. Apogonichthyoides melas (Bleeker, 1848).Black Cardinalfish Figure 2 Apogon melas- Remarks: The assignment of this species in Apo gonichthyoides follows that of Mabuchi et al. (2014).

Cheilodipterus singapurensis
The single specimen of Jaydia obtained from Serangoon Harbour is identified as J. lineata (and not the very similar J. novaeguineae) following Gon (1996) on the account of the following characters: 15 pectoralfin rays (vs.16 in J. novaeguineae), 11 gill rakers on the lower limb of the first gill arch (vs.9-10 in J. novaeguineae)   and 3 predorsal scales (vs. 4 in J. novaeguineae).This is a new record for Singapore, representing a considerable southward extension of its range (it is otherwise known only from China and Japan southwards to Taiwan; Gon 1996).
14. Jaydia truncata (Bleeker, 1854) Remarks: The description of A. taeniopterus was based on two paintings of a specimen collected from Singapore by Castelnau (illustrated in Russell et al. 2010: Figs. 1 and 2), which has been identified as J. truncata by Russell et al. (2010).This species has not been encountered in Singapore waters since it was first recorded by Bleeker (1860b).
Remarks: This species was recorded from Singapore for the first time by Tan et al. (2010).

Discussion
The record of 35 of cardinalfish species from Singapore waters represents about one quarter of the approximately 120 species found in the region (Randall and Lim 2000).This small number is largely a result of poor sampling, although it is worrying that four of the 35 species (11.4%) have not been encountered in Singapore in over a century.The strong association of many cardinalfish species to live coral (Gardiner and Jones 2005) and the vulnerability    of coral reef habitats in Singapore to anthropogenic disturbance (Hoeksema and Koh 2009) does not bode well for the future of the cardinalfish fauna of Singapore.