A review of the deepwater cardinalfish genus Epigonus (Perciformes: Epigonidae) of the Western Indian Ocean, with description of two new species Author Okamoto, Makoto Author Gon, Ofer text Zootaxa 2018 2018-02-21 4382 2 261 291 journal article 30691 10.11646/zootaxa.4382.2.3 6dc55986-74fa-4ac0-bca6-b301f3831180 1175-5326 1182167 8E248E6F-FDA5-4829-9DD7-4CC0EFDB08B6 Epigonus lenimen (Whitley, 1935) (English name: Bigeye Deepsea Cardinalfish) ( Figs. 3 , 12 ; Tables 1, 2) Scepterias lenimen Whitley, 1935: 230 (in part, original description; type locality: Great Australian Bight; holotype: AMS E.3368); Whitley, 1940: 420, fig. 33 (list and figure, Australia); Whitley, 1968: 56 (in part, list, New Zealand). Epigonus lenimen Scott, 1962: 191 , fig. 1 (Australia); Mayer, 1974 : 193 , fig. 22 (description, Australia and New Zealand); Parin & Abramov, 1986b: 187 (description, New Zealand); Mochizuki, 1990 : 259 (description, New Zealand); Allen & Cross, 1989 : 553 (list, Australia); Paulin et al ., 1989: 180 (key, New Zealand); Abramov, 1992 : 100 (key); Gomon et al ., 1994 : 563 (brief description and photograph, Australia); Hutchins, 2001 : 32 (list, Western Australia); Hoese et al ., 2006 : 1114 (list, Australia); Okamoto & Fukui, 2011 : 391 (key); Okamoto, 2012: 252 (key); Stewart & Gon, 2015: 1222 (key and description, New Zealand). Material examined. MNHN 1989-1121 , 2 specimens , 107.7–108.6 mm SL, 38°48.0 S , 77°34.1 E , off Saint-Paul , South Indian Ocean, 350–412 m depth, 18 July 1986 ; SAIAB 82133 , 105.0 mm SL, 21°36.1 S , 35°42.1 E , off Mozambique , 599–601 m , 17 October 2007 . Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays VII-I, 9; pectoral-fin rays 16–18; total gill rakers 28–33; vertebrae 11 + 14; pyloric caeca 6–9; pored lateral-line scales 46–49 + 3–5; scales below lateral line 9–10; pungent opercular spine present; blunt maxillary mustache-like processes present; ribs on last abdominal vertebra present; tongue toothless; no tubercle or two nub-like structures on symphysis of lower jaw; body depth 23.8–28.1% SL; orbital diameter 14.1– 17.7 % SL; lower-jaw length 14.9–16.4% SL. Measurements (% SL) ; counts are given in Table 1. Head length 34.6–36.0; head width 16.9–18.6; head height 16.9–18.2; body depth 23.8–24.3; body width 14.2–15.2; caudal-peduncle depth 9.4–10.3; caudal-peduncle length 25.8–28.1; orbital diameter 15.7–16.4; interorbital width 9.7–9.8; postorbital length 10.2–13.3; upper-jaw length 15.2–15.4; lower-jaw length 15.7–16.2; snout length 7.2–8.3; pre-first dorsal-fin length 36.9–38.9; presecond dorsal-fin length 57.8–58.8; pre-pectoral-fin length 34.1–34.5; pre-pelvic-fin length 38.8–39.0; pre-anus length 59.1–59.6; pre-anal-fin length 66.3–66.8; first spine length on first dorsal fin 3.1; second spine length on first dorsal fin 16.1–17.4; third spine length on first dorsal fin 16.6–18.1; second dorsal-fin spine length 16.7–17.7; first anal-fin spine length 4.4–5.0; second anal-fin spine length 19.3–19.7; pelvic-fin spine length 17.6–17.7; first dorsal-fin base length 11.9–13.5; second dorsal-fin base length 10.5–11.8; anal-fin base length 9.8–12.1; pectoralfin length 20.5–20.9; pelvic-fin length 20.7–22.2. Distribution. Western South Indian Ocean (Parin & Abramov 1986b; Abramov 1992 ); New Zealand ( Mayer 1974 ; Paulin et al . 1989; Mochizuki 1990 ; Stewart & Gon 2015); southern Australia ( Mayer 1974 ; Hutchins 2001 ; Hoese et al . 2006 ), at 300–1050 m depth. Comparisons and Remarks . Epigonus lenimen belongs to the E. constanciae group by having a pungent opercular spine (Okamoto 2012). This species is similar to E. robustus in having 11 + 14 vertebrae; however, it differs from E. robustus in orbital diameter longer than postorbital length ( Fig. 12 ) (vs. orbital diameter shorter than postorbital length in E. robustus ) and in lacking two nub-like structures on the symphysis of lower jaw (vs. present in E. robustus ). The other 5 species of the group in the Western Indian Ocean, E. bispinosus , E. idai , E. marimonticolus , E. pectinifer and E. waltersensis , have 10 + 15 vertebrae (vs. 11 + 14 in E. lenimen ). Epigonus lenimen is originally described based on holotype and nine paratypes from Australia (Whitley 1935). According to a re-examination of Whitley’s type series by Mayer (1974) , the paratypes were identified as E. denticulatus in his revision of the genus.