Bathyuroconger albus

discussion

Remarks. This species has long been identified as Bathyuroconger vicinus, which was originally described from the Atlantic Ocean. After a detailed comparison, Smith et al. (2018 c) found four new species present in this genus, which brings the total number of species in the genus to six. Besides the two new species described from Taiwan, two other species are described here from Hawaii and the Philippines (the latter from the type series of B. parvibranchialis).

Checklist of eels of Taiwan (orders Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes): An update

description

Description. Measurements in % TL: PAL 35.8 ‒ 41.8, PDL 13.8 ‒ 16.2, HL 10.9 ‒ 12.6, TR 24.8 ‒ 30.9, DA 4.0 ‒ 7.0. In % PAL: PDL 33.5 ‒ 43.3, HL 25.6 ‒ 33.7, TR 66.3 ‒ 74.4, DA 10.0 ‒ 19.2. In % HL: S 21.6 ‒ 26.0, E 9.7 ‒ 15.7, IOW 15.0 ‒ 23.2, UJ 30.7 ‒ 42.3, GO 5.1 ‒ 18.6, IB 19.6 ‒ 42.7, PL 29.4 ‒ 49.0. Pores: PALL 42 ‒ 48, PDLL 7 ‒ 11, PPLL 4 ‒ 6, SO 3, IO 5, POM 10 (rarely 9), ST 1. Vertebrae: PDV 10 ‒ 14, PAV 45 ‒ 54, PCV 53 ‒ 58, TV 168 ‒ 177. Body slender, cylindrical anteriorly, gradually tapering and compressed posteriorly, tail thin, anus anterior to mid-body at slightly more than one-third total length. Dorsal and anal fins confluent with caudal fin; dorsal fin begins above posterior half of pectoral fin; anal fin begins immediately behind anus. Head stout, rounded, deeper than body; jaws nearly equal. Snout short and blunt, rounded in dorsal view, about 1.1 ‒ 2.6 times eye diameter. Eye moderate, over posterior third of upper jaw, posterior margin at level of rictus; interorbital space relatively broad, its width greater than eye diameter. Anterior nostril short and tubular, at front of snout; posterior nostril in front of mid-eye, a simple pore. Gill opening moderatel

Eels of the genus Bathyuroconger in the northwestern Pacific, with descriptions of four new species (Anguilliformes: Congridae)

description

Non-types. ASIZP 63293 (4, 398 + ‒ 615 +), 24.81 ‒ 24.82 ° N, 122.07 ‒ 122.18 ° E, off Daxi, Yilan, NE Taiwan, 24 Apr. 2004. USNM 377318 (1, 315 +), 24.83 ° N, 122.00 ° E, Daxi, Yilan, NE Taiwan, 300 ‒ 600 m, 27 Mar. 2004. ASIZP 66175 (1, 290), CD 321, South China Sea, 954 m, 19 Aug. 2005. NMMB-P 1799 (1, 410), Daxi, NT Taiwan, 9 Sep. 2003. NMMB-P 11152 (1, 271), Daxi, NE Taiwan, 5 Jun. 2010. NMMB-P 21654 (1, 230), Dong-gang, SW Taiwan, 27 Aug. 2008.

Eels of the genus Bathyuroconger in the northwestern Pacific, with descriptions of four new species (Anguilliformes: Congridae)

description

TABLE]. Morphometric anđ meristic đata of three Bathyuroconger species anđ comparative đata of B. vicinus. HT = Holotype. Bathyuroconger albus differs from B. parvibranchialis and B. fowleri in the coloration (light gray vs brown) and larger gill opening (very small in B. parvibranchialis and B. fowleri and separated from the pectoral-fin base by a distance greater than the diameter of the gill opening). It further differs from B. parvibranchialis in the more posterior dorsal-fin origin (over middle of pectoral fin vs over base of pectoral fin), more predorsal vertebrae (10 ‒ 14 vs 7 ‒ 10), more preanal vertebrae (45 ‒ 54 vs 43 ‒ 48), and fewer total vertebrae (168 ‒ 177 vs 181 ‒ 189). It also has a greater preanal length (35.8 ‒ 41.8 % TL vs 33.3 ‒ 37.1) and predorsal length (13.8 ‒ 16.2 % TL vs 12.6 ‒ 14.5) Although only six specimens were collected from southwestern Taiwan (South China Sea), some differences are found compared to those specimens collected from northeastern Taiwan (NW Pacific Ocean). The preanal length and trunk length in percentage of total length are slightly larger in the former than the latter. The head length in percentage of preanal length is slightly small

Eels of the genus Bathyuroconger in the northwestern Pacific, with descriptions of four new species (Anguilliformes: Congridae)