2 NEW SPECIES OF THE TRIPLEFIN FISH GENUS HELCOGRAMMA (TRIPTERYGIIDAE) FROM THE WESTERN PACIFIC-OCEAN

Two new species of Helcogramma are described and compared with other members of the H. fuscopinna species complex, a monophyletic group comprising two distinct sub-groups: a pale-bodied sub-group that includes H. aquila (n. sp., Batan Islands), H. sp. 1 (Papua New Guinea), H. sp. 2 (Rotuma Island, Fiji), and H. sp. 3 (Vatoa Island, Fiji); and a dark-bodied sub-group that includes H. habena (n. sp., Batan Islands to Taiwan), H. fuscopinna (western Indian Ocean), H. sp. 4 (Philippines), and H. sp. 5 (Flores Island, Indonesia). Zoogeographic implications of the geographic distribution patterns are briefly discussed.