Kasatkia seigeli: A new species of stichaeid (Perciformes : Stichaeidae) from California

We describe a new species of stichaeid collected from central and northern California. Kasatkia seigeli, the six-spot prickleback, is distinguished fr om the only other member of the genus, K. memorabilis, by the presence of s cales on the head and cheek, six ocelli on the dorsal fin membrane, a trunk lateral line with a dorsal branch and several meristic characters. This ne w species does not belong to the genus Askoldia, as has been suggested, bec ause it lacks a number of characters shared by members of the genera Askold ia and Opisthocentrus. A cladistic analysis of the subfamily Opisthocentrin ae is necessary to confirm that characters shared by K. seigeli and K. memo rabilis are synapomorphic.