Bagbelly Cusk

biology_ecology

Biology and distribution (Fig. 25). A viviparous species occurring on the upper continental slope. Known from a 36 mm male with well developed testes and intromittent organ, caught off northwestern Australia organ (Fig. 4 G), caught at a depth of 250 – 258 m.

Revision of Hastatobythites and Saccogaster (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with three new species and a new genus

description

Description. The principal meristic and morphometric characters are shown in Table 4. Head and body elongate and compressed with tapering caudal part and blunt snout. Most scales rubbed off but scale-pockets and a few remaining scales (0.8 mm long) indicate squamation on sides of body. Lateral line not visible. Dorsal fin origin above proximal part of pectoral fin and anal fin origin well behind midpoint of fish. Pectoral fin ending less than halfway to anus with peduncle a little longer than broad and free of body. Anterior gill arch with three spiny knobs on upper branch, a developed raker in angle and lower branch with two developed rakers with a knob in between followed by eight knobs. Developed rakers 4 – 5 times length of gill filaments (Fig. 4 D). Two small pseudobranchial filaments. The well developed testes and intromittent organ (Fig. 4 G) show that the specimen is a ripe male. Axial skeleton (from radiographs): Number of precaudal vertebrae 21. Anterior neural spine very short. Neural spines 2 – 4 long, depressed and with pointed tips. Neural spines 5 – 20 short and with large basal parts, length of spines increasing posteriorad. Parapophyses developed on vertebrae 6 – 2

Revision of Hastatobythites and Saccogaster (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with three new species and a new genus

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Saccogaster brayae differs from all other Saccogaster species in having a broken brown stripe between eye and hind margin of opercle (except for S. hawaii), precaudal vertebrae 21 and total vertebrae 53, and becoming ripe at a very small SL (36 mm). Also the following combination of characters is diagnostic: A pair of free spines on frontal above and behind eyes, a large median sub-dermal ethmoidal spine in front of eyes with forward pointed tip; antero-ventrally directed spine at lower angle of preopercle; thin transparent skin; scales present on sides of body; three long gill rakers on anterior arch 4 – 5 times the length of gill filaments; palatines with 1 – 2 rows of teeth; pectoral peduncle longer than high; fin rays in dorsal 85, anal 52 and pectoral 18; otolith length to height = 1.9, otolith length to colliculum length = 3.1, sulcus without anterior projection. Similarity. Saccogaster brayae seems most similar to S. hawaii by the brown stripe behind eye, the forward pointed tip of the ethmoidal spine and the scaled body. They differ by S. brayae having opercular spine ending in one prong (vs. three prongs), by long rakers on anterior arch 4 – 5 times length of fi

Revision of Hastatobythites and Saccogaster (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with three new species and a new genus

etymology

Etymology. Named after Dianne Bray, MNV, for her support with material for this revision.

Revision of Hastatobythites and Saccogaster (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with three new species and a new genus