Oven's Halosaur

description

Description. Body shape eel-like, moderately compressed, elongated and attenuated to the caudal peduncle; top and sides of head anterior to tip of lower jaw and opercle scaled; snout relatively short, contained 2.4 – 2.6 times in the head length; pelvic fin base anterior to dorsal fin base; palatine tooth patches meet on midline; the interior of the mouth is dark with conspicuous pale areas; lateral line scales unpigmented and only slightly larger than body scales; pyloric caeca unpigmented. The main morphometric and meristic characteristics are presented in Table 4. Habitat and distribution. Benthopelagic species at depths ranging from 440 to 2,800 m, but usually less than 800 m (D'Onghia et al. 2004). Present on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea. Occurs in the eastern Atlantic in the south of Ireland, Gulf of Biscay, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Azores, and Canary Islands and the western African coast from Morocco to South Africa (Quéro et al. 1994; Sulak 1990; Bañón et al. 1997) and in the western Atlantic from New York to Colombia, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Antilles (McEachran & Fechhelm 1998; Saavedra-Díaz et al. 2004); only a f

Halosaur fishes (Notacanthiformes: Halosauridae) from Atlantic Spanish waters according to integrative taxonomy

materials_examined

Material examined. MHNUSC 25010 - 1, 538 mm TL, 4 th August 2011, Galicia Bank; 42 º 41.771 ' N — 11 º 33.647 ' W; 916 m depth; MHNUSC 25010 - 2, 578 mm TL, 29 th July 2009, Galicia Bank; 42 º 73.58 ' N — 11 º 73.580 ' W; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010 - 3, 516 mm TL, 29 th July 2009, 42 º 73.58 ' N — 011 º 73.580 ' W; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010 - 4, 517 mm TL, 29 th July 2009, 42 º 73.58 ' N — 011 º 73.580 ' W; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010 - 5, 523 mm TL, 27 th August 2009, 42 º 73.58 ' N — 011 º 73.580 ' W; 779 m depth.

Halosaur fishes (Notacanthiformes: Halosauridae) from Atlantic Spanish waters according to integrative taxonomy