Bartlett vs Evansi anthias ID

[SDguy]

So I thought I had this figured out, but now I'm not so sure. How exactly do you ID the two?

From WetWebMedia, clearly evansi:

http://wetwebfotos.com/Home?actionRequest=mediaView&ID=1221

But then from reefkeeping magazine, this is listed as evansi:

Which to me looks like a barlett "super"male for lack of a better term. Kind of like this:

from maxpower2112's gallery....

Doesn't that bar of yellow running down into the pink mean it's a bartlett? And neither of the two last pics have the yellow fading into dots like the first pic. So are these both barlett males??

Not much different than the male I had:

 

[Angel*Fish]

FWIW, I agree with you, it looks more like a Bartlett's in that photo, or even N. carberryi - Is Maxpower's supposed to be evansi also? It looks like Bartlett's also.

Oh I just noticed that link was to Wetweb fotos - I had a problem with an ID on that site the other day - it appeared they possibly mislabeled a dispar anthias as an ignitus

 

[anydarnthing]

The picture could be washed out by a flash.

 

[Amphiprion]

I also have trouble differentiating these two species. The yellow bar does not necessarily mean that the male is a P. bartlettorum--many also lack it, as well. When browsing fishbase, they mention that P. evansi is 'readily' distinguished by its blue and yellow coloration-- . I checked the reference and it didn't check out too well, so that may be an error on their part. Their lovely photo is of a preserved male, so you can't readily distinguish living coloration. Other photos showing males are pretty unmistakable, with some remarkable coloration (such as that on liveaquaria's website). As an aside, I believe many of the fish identified as P. evansi are wrongfully so--they appear to be P. bartlettorum, much like what you say.

One thing I have noticed is that in supposed specimens that were male, they possessed a sort of speckled patterning around the scales--unfortunately a characteristic sometimes shared by P. bartlettorum. The markings around the eye, however, seem to be at a lesser angle than those of P. bartlettorum, which may be a bit of a better measure, combined with characteristics. Also, P. evansi males tend to not have a filament on the first dorsal spine like P. bartlettorum. Females seem to also have a more outwardly pointed tip to the dorsal fin.

 

[SDguy]

Thanks for the insight. Glad I'm not the only one with difficulty. So I don't think I've ever seen an evansi in person. I'd be interested if anyone has kept them, or currently keeps them, and has pictures. The pic on liveaquaria I remember from burgess's atlas 15 years ago.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7744398#post7744398 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Angel*Fish
Oh I just noticed that link was to Wetweb fotos - I had a problem with an ID on that site the other day - it appeared they possibly mislabeled a dispar anthias as an ignitus

Yes, noticed that myself. Another two species I'd be hard pressed to ID correctly... I just don't think ignitus get imported.

 

[SDguy]

OK, so I happen to visit the LFS today (not sure why since my rock is still curing ) and they had both evans and bartlett anthias. Wow! They really look nothing alike, and are quite easy to distinguish. The evans have a very distinct diagonal line of demarcation between the yellow and purple (note: purple, not pink). It begins at or above the eye/forehead and runs to the bottom base of the tail. The male (or simply larger specimen) had a series of purple spots running this same diagonal, not a distinct line. Overall, they are much narrower than bartlett.

Conclusions: Evansi are basically half yellow and half deep almost dark purple, and narrow. Evans do NOT get that bar of yellow running down into the pink midbody. Larger evans (males?) have definite, distinct spots of purple running into the yellow. Bartlett have various hues of pink, lavender, yellow and orange.

And most important: Most of the online pictures of Evansi are actually Bartlett.

Anyway, just a little FYI. Hope it helps someone.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Thanks for that post! I love it when RCers appreciate the archival aspects of this board and take the time to follow up like you did. I'm sure this will help someone.

 

[SDguy]

:thumbsup: Thanks.

To clarify..when I say narrow, I mean like Pseudanthias lori, if you've ever seen those in person. Long, thin, and narrow.