Deep-sea ophidiiform fishes collected on the Brazilian continental slope, between 11 ° and 23 ° S
Author
Mincarone, Michael M.
Museu Oceanográfico Univali, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, CP 360, 88302 - 202, Itajaí, SC, Brazil. E-mail: mincarone @ univali. br Natural History Museum of Denmark, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK- 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. E-mail: jgnielsen @ snm. ku. dk Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Marinhos, Av. Pasteur, 458, sala 410, Urca, 22290 - 240, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: pauloascosta @ uol. com. br
Author
Nielsen, Jørgen G.
Author
Costa, Paulo A. S.
Author
Rv, Rv
text
Zootaxa
2008
2008-05-16
1770
1
41
64
https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1770.1.2
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.1770.1.2
11755334
5123954
0F66DF83-9427-4D01-A0A8-6CC4B2A81F32
Neobythites
Goode & Bean 1885
Type
species.
Neobythites gilli
Goode & Bean 1885
, by monotypy.
Diagnosis.
Ophidiid with horizontal diameter of eye window equal to or slightly shorter than snout; opercular spine strong and straight; 2 median basibranchial tooth patches; pelvic fins with two rays in each; often with ocelli and dark blotches in dorsal and anal fins.
Remarks.
Examination of the present 18
Neobythites
specimens showed three different ocellus-patterns:
one specimen
with one ocellus in the dorsal and none in the anal fin (=
N. monocellatus
),
12 specimens
with two ocelli in the dorsal fin (= the
holotype
of
N. ocellatus
caught at
9°5’S
,
34°50’W
) and
five specimens
with 3–5 ocelli in the dorsal and
2–4 in
the anal fin (= the
308 specimens
of
N. ocellatus
caught in the Caribbean Sea and further north [see Nielsen 1999, fig. 10]). This indicates that the typical
N. ocellatus
specimens are restricted to the continental slope off mid-Brazil and that the
five specimens
with more ocelli are similar to the 308 more northerly caught specimens. A manuscript dealing with the West Atlantic ocellus-bearing
Neobythites
species
is under preparation.