Neobythites monocellatus Nielsen 1999

Nielsen, Jørgen G., Uiblein, Franz & Mincarone, Michael M., 2009, Ocellus-bearing Neobythites species (Teleostei: Ophidiidae) from the West Atlantic with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2228, pp. 57-68 : 62-63

Neobythites monocellatus Nielsen 1999

( Figs. 1 , 4–5 )

Neobythites monocellatus Nielsen 1999: 351 , fig. 8 (type locality off Venezuela, 9°53’N, 59°53’W). Neobythites monocellatus: Mincarone et al. 2008: 53 , fig. 3N.

Material examined. 71 specimens, SL 36–154 mm. Holotype and 69 paratypes: for catalog numbers and localities see Nielsen (1999: 351). Additional material: MOVI 39139, unripe, 97 mm SL, 13°22.057’S, 38°40.204'W – 13°19.472’S, 38°38.035’W, RV THALASSA, st. E500, bottom trawl, 360–433 m, 8 Jun. 2000.

Diagnosis. Neobythites monocellatus differs from all other Atlantic Neobythites species by having only one ocellus on the dorsal fin, placed anteriorly to the midpoint of the fish (snout to ocellus-spot 41.0–51.0 % SL) and by the following combination of characters: preopercle lacking a distinct spine on the posterior edge (rather developed as a flat, broad process), dorsal fin rays 93–99, anal fin rays 78–83, and total vertebrae 54– 58.

Similarity. Judging from the number of ocelli on the dorsal fin ( Table 3 ) N. monocellatus is closest to N. gilli and N. ocellatus which both have two distinct ocelli. In meristic characters N. monocellatus is closest to N. multiocellatus and N. ocellatus .

Description. Table 1 shows a comparison between the Brazilian specimen and the type material (70 specimens). In spite of the large geographical separation between the type material and the new Brazilian specimen the latter falls within the variation of all characters. For comparison reasons the sagittal otolith is shown on Figure 5 . See Nielsen (1999: 351) for a detailed description.

Distribution. Neobythites monocellatus is found from Honduras and along the north coast of South America to French Guiana and now also off Bahia, Brazil (13°S), an extension of ca. 3000 km ( Fig. 1 ). Caught on the continental shelf and upper slope, at depths from 117 to 439 m.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Records of ocellus-bearing Neobythites species in the West Atlantic. The numbers indicate the number of neighbouring stations.

FIGURE 4. Neobythites monocellatus, 97 mm SL, MOVI 39139.

FIGURE 5. Neobythites monocellatus, 141 mm SL, USNM 309244. Right sagitta: A—Median view, B— Anterior view, C—Dorsal view.