Epigonus atherinoides ( Gilbert 1905 )

Okamoto, Makoto, Chen, Wei-Jen & Shinohara, Gento, 2018, Epigonus okamotoi (Perciformes: Epigonidae), a junior synonym of E. draco, with new distributional records for E. atherinoides and E. lifouensis in the West Pacific, Zootaxa 4476 (1), pp. 141-150 : 147-148

Epigonus atherinoides ( Gilbert 1905)

English name: Slender DeepWater Cardinalfish

Japanese name: Hira-yasemutsu

( Fig. 3 ; Table 1)

Hynnodus atherinoides GIlbERT, 1905: 618, Pl. 79 (ORIgInAl dEscRIPTIOn, TyPE lOcAlITy: PAIlOlO CHAnnEl [21°15′59″N, 157°52′12″W], sOuTH cOAsT Of OAHu, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); JORdAn & JORdAn 1922: 44 (lIsT And nOTE, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); FOWlER & BEAn 1930: 121 (dEscRIPTIOn, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); TInKER 1944 (nOTE, HAWAIIAn IslAnds).

Epigonus occidentalis (nOT Of GOOdE & BEAn, 1896): MAyER 1974: 170 (In PART); GOn 1985: 222 (KEy TO THE HAWAIIAn sPEcIEs Of Epigonus ); BORETs 1986: 6 (lIsT, COlAHAn SEAmOunT, HAWAIIAn SEAmOunTs); WIllIAms et al. 1996: 153 (lIsT, WEsTERn AusTRAlIA); HuTcHIns 2001: 32 (lIsT, WEsTERn AusTRAlIA); HOEsE et al. 2006: 1114 (bAsEd On WIllIAms et al. 1996, WEsTERn AusTRAlIA).

Epigonus atherinoides : MOcHIzuKI 1982: 226 (dEscRIPTIOn, KyusHu-PAlAu RIdgE); MOcHIzuKI & SHIRAKIHARA 1983: 202, fIg. 2 (dEscRIPTIOn, HAWAIIAn IslAnds, KyusHu-PAlAu RIdgE); MOcHIzuKI 1984: 146, Pl. 133-Q (cOlOR PHOTOgRAPH And nOTEs); PARIn & AbRAmOv 1986: 176 (dEscRIPTIOn, NAzcA And SAlA y GOmEz RIdgEs); PARIn 1991: 679 (lIsT, NAzcA And SAlA y GOmEz RIdgEs); AbRAmOv 1992: 95 (nOTEs And KEy); HAyAsHI 1993: 682 (KEy); CHAvE & Mundy 1994: 397 (lIsT, HAWAIIAn ARcHIPElAgO); MOcHIzuKI 1997: 306 (cOlOR PHOTOgRAPH And nOTEs); CHAvE & MAlAHOff 1998: 102 (lIsT, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); GOn 1999: 2613 (KEy And nOTEs); HAyAsHI 2000: 780 (KEy); HAyAsHI 2002: 780 (KEy); Mundy 2005: 357 (lIsT And nOTEs, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); RAndAll 2007: 217 (nOTEs, HAWAIIAn IslAnds); OKAmOTO & FuKuI 2011: 391 (KEy); OKAmOTO 2012: 252 (KEy); HAyAsHI 2013: 865 (KEy); OKAmOTO 2016: 182 (PHOTOgRAPH And dEscRIPTIOn, HAWAIIAn IslAnds, KyusHu-PAlAu RIdgE, AusTRAlIA, SOcIETy IslAnds, NAzcA And SAlA y GOmEz RIdgEs).

Material examined. 2 specimens. Japan: NSMT-P 102607 , 69.5 mm SL, 36°55.51′N, 141°24.91′E; 36°54.01′N, 141°24.15′E, off Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan , 276–279 m depth, 26 October 2006 . Papua NeW Guinea: NTUM 11045 (tissue voucher: PNG2351 ), 111.4 mm SL, 06°08′S, 149°10′E, 430–620 m depth, St. CP 4334, 6 May 2014, R/ V Alis, MADEEP Expedition.

Diagnosis. A species of Epigonus With the folloWing combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays VII–I, 10 or rarely VII–I, 9; pectoral-fin rays 20–22; total gill rakers 20–23; vertebrae 10 + 15; pyloric caeca 11–15; pored lateral-line scales 46–50 + 3–5; scales beloW lateral line 7–8; opercular spine pungent; maxillary mustache-like processes blunt; ribs on last abdominal vertebra absent or rarely present but reduced; upper margin of pectoral-fin base subequal to level of horiZontal line through center of eye; proximal radial of first anal-fin pterygiophore broad; cycloid scales on lateral sides of body; head length 28.2–32.7% SL; upper-jaW length 10.2–11.9% SL; caudal-peduncle depth 6.4–8.2% SL.

Distribution. KnoWn from the northeastern Japan (present study), Kyushu-Palau Ridge (MochiZuki 1982), HaWaiian Islands ( Gilbert 1905), Western Australia (Okamoto 2016), Society Islands (Okamoto 2016), Papua NeW Guinea (present study), and NaZca and Sala y GomeZ Ridges (Parin 1991), at depths of 276–755 m ( Fig. 2 ).

Remarks. The Japanese specimen is a juvenile With dense pigmentation on the posterior half of the lateral side of the body. Epigonus megalops (Smith & Radcliffe in Radcliffe, 1912) had been regarded as a junior synonym of E. atherinoides ; hoWever, the former Was recogniZed as a valid species by Okamoto (2016).

Figures

FIGURE 2. DIsTRIbuTIOnAl REcORds Of Epigonus draco (OPEn TRIAnglEs = PREvIOus sTudIEs And AddITIOnAl sPEcImEns In PREsEnT sTudy; sOlId TRIAnglE = TyPE lOcAlITy Of E. okamotoi), E. atherinoides (OPEn sTARs = PREvIOus sTudIEs; sOlId sTARs = PREsEnT sTudy), And E. lifouensis (OPEn cIRclE = TyPE lOcAlITy; sOlId cIRclE = PREsEnT sTudy) In WEsTERn PAcIfIc OcEAn.

FIGURE 3. Epigonus atherinoides. A, NSMT-P 102607, 69.5 mm SL, PREsERvEd sPEcImEn, nORTHEAsTERn JAPAn; B, NTUM 11045, 111.4 mm SL, fREsH sPEcImEn, PAPuA NEW GuInEA.