A new zoarcid,lycenchelys aurantiaca, from the pacific coast off northern japan (teleostei: Perciformes)

A new zoarcid fish,Lycenchelys aurantiaca, is described on the basis of 10 specimens (86.3–135.8 mm SL) from depths of 500–700 m along the Pacific coast of northern Honshu, Japan. Although this species resemblesLycenchelys alta andL. squamosa in having a smaller number of vertebrae (85–88) and a rather short body, it is distinguished from them by the following characters: pectoral fin rays 13–16; preoperculomandibular pores 7 (4 mandibular pores+3 preopercular pores); reddish yellow body.     

Description of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gosztonyia antarctica</Emphasis>, a new genus and species of Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes) from the Antarctic Ocean

A new genus and species of zoarcid fish, Gosztonyia antarctica, is described on the basis of four specimens collected from the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctic Ocean, at a depth of 615 m. Gosztonyia is placed in the subfamily Lycodinae and can be distinguished from all other zoarcid genera by the following combination of characters: seven branchiostegal rays, interdigitating ceratohyal–epihyal articulation, palatal arch reduced, posterior hyomandibular ramus longer than anterior, cranium narrowed, supratemporal commisure and occipital pores absent. A new species, Gosztonyia antarctica, is described and the relationships of the new genus are discussed.     

Lycodes nishimurai, a new deep-sea eelpout (Teleostei: Zoarcidae) from the Sea of Japan

A new zoarcid fish, Lycodes nishimuari, is described on the basis of four specimens from the Yamato Bank, the Sea of Japan, at depths of 642–669 m. Although this species resembles Lycodes diapterus, L. hubbsi, L. pectoralis, L. macrochir, and L. nakamurae in having a deep notch in the pectoral fin and a single lateral line on the body, it is distinguished from them by the following combination of characters: no scales on pectoral fin base; scales on dorsum before dorsal fin origin; suborbital, preopercular, and last postorbital pores with risen rim; whitish lips; no whitish transverse bars on body; pectoral fin membrane and anterior part of dorsal fin membrane without black spots; basal color of vertical fins black. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic format at .     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Magadania skopetsi</Emphasis>, a new genus and species of Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes) from the Sea of Okhotsk

A new genus and species of zoarcid fish, Magadania skopetsi, is described on the basis of 17 specimens (83.4–115.9mm SL) from the intertidal zone of the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, near Magadan, Russia. This species differs from other known zoarcid genera and species by having the following combination of characters: suborbital bones 5, the suborbital canal with 6–8 small pores; first epibranchial fan-shaped; palatopterygoid series reduced; supraoccipital broadly contacting exoccipital; posttemporal ventral ramus weak; upper lip continuous at symphysis; palatine teeth, pelvic fins and scales present; lateral line configuration mediolateral, incomplete, absent on posterior half of body; vertebrae 18–22+78–83=97–104. The closest genus cannot be determined cladistically except that the species is a member of the subfamily Gymnelinae. During the spawning season, M. skopetsi lives under stones near the outer marginal area of the intertidal zone.     

A new species, Parupeneus procerigena, from the Saya de Malha Bank in the western Indian Ocean (Perciformes: Mullidae)

A new mullid fish, Parupeneus procerigena, is described on the basis of 13 specimens (118.9–198.4 mm SL) from depths of 92–148 m off the Saya de Malha Bank in the western Indian Ocean. This species resembles P. chrysopleuron and P. heptacanthus in color pattern without black stripes or spots, but it differs from them in having more gill rakers, two scales in lachrymal region, deeper body, deeper cheek, and longer distance between nostrils. Received: April 4, 2000 / Revised: July 27, 2000 / Accepted: August 27, 2000     

Pseudanthias calloura (Teleostei: Perciformes), a new serranid fish from Palau, Central Pacific

A new anthine fish, Pseudanthias calloura, is described on the basis of three specimens from Palau. The new species differs from other congeners in having a complicated color pattern of the caudal fin and the following characters: moderately forked caudal fin; dorsal fin with 10 spines, the anterior ones being shorter than the rest, and with 16 soft rays; second anal spine shorter than the third; 19 pectoral rays; scales on lateral line 51 (holotype) to 53 (paratypes) in number; tongue without teeth; circumorbital rim with several fleshy projection on posterior part; a row of fine scales occurring asymmetrically behind alternate dorsal spines on both left and right sides; preopercle margin finely serrated; interopercle and subopercle margins smooth. Received: June 9, 1999 / Revised: September 23, 2000 / Accepted: February 23, 2001     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycenchelys</Emphasis> (Perciformes: Zoarcidae) from the Pacific coast of northern Japan

 Lycenchelys tohokuensis sp. nov. is described from five specimens, 199–270 mm SL. Unknown before 1997, specimens were collected along the Pacific side of the Tohoku coast, from off Aomori to Fukushima prefectures at depths of 543–709 m. The species differs from all congeners in the northwestern Pacific chiefly in the lack of pelvic fins, having a double lateral line configuration, relatively low vertebral counts, two rows of palatine teeth, and its head pore pattern. The new species does not appear to be closely related to any other northwestern Pacific Lycenchelys including the only other one without pelvic fins, Lycenchelys fedorovi Anderson and Balanov, 2000. Received: March 26, 2002 / Revised: July 8, 2002 / Accepted: July 9, 2002 Acknowledgments We are indebted to Dr. Daiji Kitagawa, Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institution, and participants in his research cruises, including Drs. T. Hattori, Y. Shimizu, K. Uchikawa, and T. Nobetsu, for collecting and supplying the five specimens described here. We also thank the crews of the R/V Wakataka-Maru and T/V Tanshu-Maru for their help aboard ship. Elaine Heemstra, J.L.B. Smith Institute, South Africa, rendered the figures. Correspondence to:M. Eric Anderson     

Diversity of isopods (Crustacea): new data from the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans

New data on the diversity pattern of isopods (Crustacea) from the northern most part of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans is presented. The pattern of diversity with depth is similar at depths <1000m, but differs considerably below about 1000m. In the Arctic the diversity of isopods (expressed both as numbers of species per sled and expected number of species) increased with increased depth to a maximum at depths of about 320 to 1100m, but then declined towards deeper waters. There was a significant increase in numbers per sled and in the expected number of species with increased depth in the northernmost part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, changes occurred in the relative composition of the shallow and deep water fauna, with asellote isopods being relatively larger part of the isopod fauna in the Arctic than in the northern most part of the North Atlantic. This indicates major faunistic changes occurring at the Greenland-Iceland-Faeroe Ridge, possibly caused by rapid changes in the temperature. Furthermore, that the low diversity of the Arctic deep-sea is a regional phenomenon, and not a part of a large scale latitudinal pattern in the North Atlantic.     

A new species of the genus Malakichthys (Perciformes: Acropomatidae) from Japan

A new acropomatid, Malakichthys barbatus, is described on the basis of 27 specimens (76.3–180.1 mm SL) collected from Suruga Bay to Tosa Bay, along the southern Pacific coast of Japan. The new species is unique in having numerous pairs of spines on the chin (a pair of spines in other congeners). Although the new species resembles M. elegans in having a slender body (the depth less than 35% SL), the former is further distinguishable from the latter in having a slender first proximal radial of the anal fin with no hollow (broad with a cone-shaped hollow in M. elegans), 43–48 lateral line scales (48–51), modally 21 gill rakers on the lower arm (modally 23), and a dark blotch on the opercle (no remarkable blotch). Received: July 2, 2000 / Revised: September 27, 2000 / Accepted: January 30, 2001     

A new species, Gazza squamiventralis, from the East Coast of Africa (Perciformes: Leiognathidae)

Gazza squamiventralis sp. nov. is described as the fifth species of the genus, based on the holotype and eight paratypes, 42–96 mm in standard length, collected along the east coast of Africa, from Kenya to Mozambique. The species is similar to other congeners in general appearance, differing clearly from them in having the ventrolateral surface of the body scaled anterior to a line from the pectoral fin base to the pelvic fin origin (vs naked) and a smooth supraorbital ridge (vs finely serrated). Additionally, the species differs from G. dentex, G. rhombea, and G. achlamys in having the dorsolateral surface of the body scaled anterior to a vertical through the tip of the posterior branch of the supratemporal canal (vs corresponding region naked), and from G. minuta in having the first dorsal fin pterygiophore narrowly expanded anteriorly, with a concave margin (vs broadly expanded, with a convex or linear margin), and a short antrorse extension of the first anal fin pterygiophore (vs long). A key to the five species of the genus Gazza is provided. Received: May 30, 2000 / Revised: September 16, 2000 / Accepted: January 16, 2001     

A new Early Miocene genus of the family Sciaenidae (Teleostei, Perciformes) from the eastern Paratethys

A new genus of sciaenid fish Caucasisciaena is erected to accommodate the Early Miocene eastern Paratethys species Perca ignota Smirnov, 1936, which, subsequently, was variously attributed to the modern genera, either Larimus or Otolithoides. The materials examined include 32 specimens from four Caucasian and Crimean localities of Sakaraulian age (Lower Burdigalian). The new genus is based on a unique combination of features, including: parasphenoid with a dorsal rounded bony flange; basisphenoid present; premaxilla with short ascending process forming obtuse angle with alveolar process and ascending/alveolar process ratio about 0.17; anterior premaxillary teeth enlarged; posttemporal with few robust spines along its posterior margin; presence of 25 vertebrae; presence of three tiny supraneurals; dorsal fin with 11 spines plus 22–24 soft rays; anal fin with two spines and 7–8 soft rays; second anal-fin spine long and massive; pectoral fin elongate; scales ctenoid on body and cycloid on head (except for one or two rows of ctenoid scales on the cheek). Paleoecological considerations suggest that Caucasisciaena probably was a predatory fish that inhabited the coastal waters of the eastern sector of the Paratethyan basin.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Careproctus kidoi</Emphasis>, a new Arctic species of snailfish (Teleostei: Liparidae) from Baffin Bay

Careproctus kidoi sp. nov. is described from the Baffin Bay between Greenland and Canada, in the northern most part of the western North Atlantic. During a series of bottom trawl surveys conducted in 1988–2004, 22 specimens of an undescribed species of Careproctus were caught at depths between 952 and 1,487 m. It differs from Arctic and North Atlantic congeners in the combination of the characters: pectoral fin rays 21–26, dorsal fin rays 54–60, anal fin rays 50–54, vertebrae 61–64; sucking disc oval, 4.2–6.6% SL; teeth simple; pyloric coeca 3–12; head pore formula (2-6-7-1); color light to dark brown, stomach dusky to dark brown, peritoneum black. It is generally found in deeper waters than the sympatric C. reinhardti.     

On the miocene centracanthidae (Teleostei, Perciformes) from the eastern Paratethys

A new genus, Naslavcea, is erected for the Middle Miocene species Spicara fundata Bannikov, 1990 (Centracanthidae) from the Lower Sarmatian of northern Moldova. This genus is characterized by the relatively small number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins. At the same time, Pelates islamdagicus Prokofiev, 2001 from the Lower Miocene of the Apsheron Peninsula (Azerbaijan) is transferred from the family Terapontidae to Centracanthidae and referred to the genus Spicara.     

A new species, Trichiurus australis (Perciformes: Trichiuridae), from Australia

Trichiurus australis, a new trichiurid fish, is described on the basis of four specimens collected off Burnett River mouth, Pialba and Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. The new species strongly resembles Trichiurus brevis Wang and You, 1992 (distributed in the South China Sea), T. russelli Dutt and Thankam, 1967 (the northwestern Bay of Bengal and the northern Gulf of Thailand), and T. nickolensis Burhanuddin and Iwatsuki, 2003 (northwestern Australia) in having the highest point of the supraoccipital crest situated directly above the posterior margin of the eye and being relatively small in size (less than ca. 700mm in total length: TL). It differs from those three species in having spinescent gill rakers almost with 2 equally long cusps [vs. (1, rarely 2 but 1 of them clearly shorter than another)], posterior caudal peduncle vertebrae bearing neural spines (vs. neural spines absent), longer caudal peduncle length (mean 16% TL vs. 6% in T. brevis, 8% in T. nickolensis, and 8% in T. russelli), and shorter precaudal length (83% vs. 93%, 91%, and 91%), preanal length (26% vs. 33%, 31%, and 35%), and head length (9% vs. 12%, 11%, and 13%). We have tentatively classified this new species under the Trichiurus russelli complex because the foregoing diagnostic characters are identical to this species complex except for the presence of neural spines in the posterior caudal vertebrae.     

A new species of Platygobiopsis from Vietnam (Teleostei: Perciformes: Gobiidae)

Platygobiopsis dispar sp. nov. is described on the basis of four specimens from the South China Sea off central Vietnam. The species differs from the only previously described species, P. akihito, in the morphology of the cephalic laterosensory system; in the distribution of scales on top of the head; in the absence of scales at the base of the pectoral-fin; in having 11 branched rays in the second dorsal and anal fins; in the lower predorsal, transverse, and lateral scale counts; and in other minor details. The genus Platygobiopsis is recorded for the South China Sea for the first time. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Sinocyclocheilus donglanensis, a new cavefish (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) from Guangxi, China

Sinocyclocheilus donglanensis, a new cyprinid species from a subterranean river in Donglan County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of southern China, is described. It is distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of characteristics: a completely scaled body with well-developed eyes; a curved lateral line possessing 57–64 scales; pectoral fin not reaching pelvic fin origin and last unbranched ray of the dorsal fin clearly serrated along its posterior edge; 8–9 predorsal vertebrae; 8–9 gill rakers; joints of dentary-angulars not close to each other at the isthmus; and a slightly inferior mouth with the upper jaw (6.2–7.4% in standard length: SL) protruding slightly beyond the lower one (5.7–6.7% SL). Sinocyclocheilus donglanensis is sympatric with the peculiarly shaped, hunchbacked S. altishoulderus.     

中国广西盲鳅一新种——环江高原鳅(英文)

2007年4月,在广西壮族自治区环江县川山镇乐衣村附近一洞穴采集到一批盲鳅类标本。经鉴定,为高原鳅属(Triplophysa)鱼类一新种,被命名为环江高原鳅(Triplophysa huangjiangensis)。该新种以以下组合特征与高原鳅属的其他已知种类相区别:无眼;通体无鳞;尾鳍分叉;尾柄上、下叶具发达的软鳍褶;背鳍后缘平截;背鳍起点距尾鳍基的距离短于距吻端的距离;背鳍分枝鳍条数为8~9;胸鳍分枝鳍条数为10~11;腹鳍分枝鳍条数为6~7;臀鳍分枝鳍条数为6;尾鳍分枝数为13~14;胸鳍长为胸鳍起点至腹鳍起点间距的52.3%~70.7%;腹鳍起点位于背鳍起点之前下方;外侧吻须最长,为侧面头长的47.0%~73.8%;前鼻孔位于一短管中,末端延长呈须状;鳔后室发达,末端可伸达腹鳍起点。     

A new marine goby of genus Callogobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from Taiwan

A new marine goby Callogobius sheni collected from coral reefs off southern Taiwan is described. The new species can be distinguished from congeneric species by the following combination of features: dorsal fin rays VI-I, 9; anal fin rays I, 7; pectoral fin rays 18; longitudinal scale rows 27–28; predorsal scale rows 9–10; no posterior oculoscapular and preopercular canals; body pale white with five blackish brown cross bands; caudal and pectoral fins each with a large blackish brown blotch.     

A new species of the cardinalfish genus Gymnapogon (Perciformes, Apogonidae) from the Red Sea

 A new cardinalfish species, Gymnapogon melanogaster, is described from two specimens collected at night in the Gulf of Aqaba, Eilat, Israel. This species is characterized by having 9 dorsal and 8 anal fin soft rays; 14–15 pectoral fin rays; 2 + 11 gill rakers; a flat, bifurcated preopercular spine; a naked body without a papillae network; black pelvic fins; and a black stomach. It is similar to Gymnapogon vanderbilti (Fowler, 1938) that is known only from the Line Islands of the Central Pacific Ocean. Received: December 26, 2001 / Revised: June 10, 2002 / Accepted: June 24, 2002 Acknowledgments We thank D. Didier and M. Sabaj of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, for loans of and for taking data from type specimens; T.H. Fraser of the Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, kindly provided data on type specimens. We are grateful to E. Heemstra of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, South Africa, for the artwork presented in this article and to A. Lerner of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, for his assistance in collecting the specimens. Correspondence to:Ofer Gon