Protogrammus alboranensis n. sp. is described on the basis of four specimens from the Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean Sea. It is characterized within the genus Protogrammus by a total of nine unbranched rays on the second dorsal fin, eight unbranched rays on the anal fin, a very small preopercular spine with an upcurved main tip and one point on the dorsal margin, which is lacking an antrorse spine at the base, the first and second spines of the first dorsal fin filamentous and much longer than the first ray of the second dorsal fin in males, the tip of the last ray of the second dorsal fin reaching beyond the caudal fin base in males, and the anal fin distally black in the males (translucent in females). A key to the species of Protogrammus is presented; the zoogeography of the species is discussed. |