Dermatias platynogaster Smith & Radcliffe 1912

Ho, Hsuan-Ching, Kawai, Toshio & Amaoka, Kunio, 2016, Records of deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) from Indonesia, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 4121 (3), pp. 267-294 : 290-291

Dermatias platynogaster Smith & Radcliffe 1912

Fig. 20

Dermatias platynogaster Smith & Radcliffe, in Radcliffe, 1912:206 , pl. 17, fig. 3 (type locality: eastern coast of Luzon Island, 549 m). Pietsch & Kharin, 2004:123. Kharin & Pietsch, 2007:806. Pietsch, 2009:423.

Material. HUNZ 191357 (1, 122.1), st.23, 3°17.43'N, 94°55.54'E – 3°18.07'N, 94°56.16'E, off Sumatra, Indonesia, eastern Indian Ocean, 760–960 m, 7 Oct. 2004.

Description. Dorsal-fin rays 6; pectoral-fin rays 15; anal-fin rays 4; caudal-fin rays 9. Vomerine teeth 4 (2, 2); upper jaw teeth 24 (12, 12); lower jaw teeth 34 (17, 17). Head length 33.7% SL; head depth 40.1; head width 29.2; illicial length 11.5; width of esca 3.7; frontal width 9.0; upper jaw length 28.5; lower jaw length 34.6.

Body slightly elongate, oblong, compressed; caudal peduncle very deep, 21.2% SL. Mouth large, slightly oblique. Sphenotic and quadrate spines well developed. Illicium relatively short. Gill opening very large. Subopercle slender, pointed dorsally and rounded ventrally.

Esca with stout, cylindrical anterior appendage, slightly pigmented internally at its base, bearing pair of stout cirri at its tip; simple, slender posterior appendage, its length about 4 times of length of esca; pair of median appendages, each with many secondary branches, total length about 3 times that of esca; and small rounded terminal papilla.

Body uniformly dark brown; appendages and filaments on esca semi-transparent.

Distribution. Previously known from three specimens collected in the Philippines and off northeastern Australia in the western Pacific Ocean and above the Magellan Seamounts in the central North Pacific Ocean. Bathymetric range 549–1342 m.

Remarks. Pietsch & Kharin (2004) confirmed the validity of this species. A third specimen collected off northeastern Australia was reported by Kharin & Pietsch (2007). Our specimen represents the fourth known specimen of this species.

Differences observed on our specimen include: slightly larger head, its length 33.7% SL (vs. 29.7–30.5% SL, in Pietsch, 2009) and depth 40.1% SL (vs. 33.7–36.6% SL); shorter illicium, 11.5% SL (vs. 15.3–17.5% SL); 34 teeth on the lower jaw (vs. 20–31); pair of stout small appendages at the tip of the anterior escal appendage (vs. absent); and all filaments on median escal appendage colorless (vs. black distally).

Figures

FIGURE 20. Dermatias platynogaster Smith & Radcliffe, 1912, HUMZ 191357, 122.1 mm SL, fresh.