A revision of the eastern Pacific snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with the description of six new species

36 Pages·1998·17.2 MB·English

Wood'
PROCEEDINGS
FEB 1 1999
OF THE
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Vol. 50, No. 19, pp.397-432, 16 figs.,3 tables. December 18, 1998
A REVISION OF THE EASTERN PACIFIC SNAKE-EEL GENUS
OPHICHTHUS (ANGUILLIFORMES: OPHICHTHIDAE) WITH
THE DESCRIPTION OF SIX NEW SPECIES
By
John E. McCosker
DepartmentofAquaticBiology, CaliforniaAcademyofSciences
Golden GatePark, San Francisco, California 94118
and
Richard H. Rosenblatt
ScrippsInstitution ofOceanography
LaJolla, California 92093
The eastern Pacific species ofthe tropical snake-eel genus Ophichthus, family Ophichthidae,
subfamily Ophichthinae, are reviewed. An identification key, synonymies, diagnoses, and
illustrationsareprovided foreachofthe 11 species recognized: O. apachusn.sp.(from Mexico
toColombia),O.arneutesn.sp.(GalapagosIslands),O.frontalis(GulfofCaliforniato Panama),
O. longipenisn.sp.(Mexico to Panama),O. mecopterusn.sp.(MexicotoCosta Rica),O. melope
n.sp.(CostaRicatoColombia),O.remiger(NicaraguatoChile),O.rugifer(GalapagosandCocos
islands), O. tetratrema n. sp. (Costa Rica to Ecuador), O. triserialis(California to Peru), and O.
zophochir(CaliforniatoPeru).TheGalapagosandCocosislandsendemicO.rugiferisrecognized
as distinct from O. triserialis.Thestatusofall nominal eastern Pacific speciesofOphichthus is
discussed.Charactersusefulforthestudyofophichthidphylogenyarecomparedanddiscussed.
The following new synonymies are proposed: Ophiehthys (Herpetoichthys) ater, Ophichthys
callaensis, Ophisurus dicellurus, Ophichthys exilis, and Ophichthys uniserialis=O. remiger;
Ophichthysbiserialis =O. rugifer; OphisurusCaliforniensisand Ophichthysgrandimaculatus =
O. triserialis; Ophichthus chamensis=O. zophochir. Lectotypes for the following species are
designated: O.frontalis,O.pacifici,O. remigerand O.zophochir.
Received March27, 1998.AcceptedOctober 19, 1998.
The snake-eels and worm-eels (family 1989). By farthemostspeciosegenusofeastern
Ophichthidae) ofthe eastern Pacific Ocean con- Pacific ophichthids is Ophichthus with 1 1 spe-
stitutearich and diverseassemblage.At least40 cies, six ofwhich are new anddescribed here,
speciesdistributedamong21 generaoccupyben- Inthisworkwehaveattemptedtoreferenceall
thic habitats ranging from the shallow intertidal oftheeastern Pacific ophichthids that havebeen
to depths of 975 m or more (McCosker and described either as Ophichthus or Ophichthys.
Rosenblatt 1995, and ourunpublisheddata). Al- Besides the recognized species and their syno-
though the eastern Pacific lacks coral reefs and nyms that occur in ourspecies accounts, we list
its tropical band is restricted, the eastern Pacific the following: Ophichthys miurus Jordan and
diversity ofthis primarily tropical eel family is Gilbert (1882), described from Cape San Lucas,
comparabletothatofthewesternAtlanticwhich is now known as Scytalichthys miurus; Ophich-
has 25 genera and 54 species (McCosker et al. thus evionthas Jordan and Bollman (1890), de-
[397]
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scribedfrom theGalapagosIslands,andOphich- Genus Ophichthus Ahl, 1789
thysnothochirGilbert(1890),describedfromthe
Gulf of California, are placed in Quassiremus; OphichthusAhl, 1789:5 (typespeciesMuraenaophis
Ophichthys quincunciatus Giinther (1870), lo- Linnaeus 1758,byoriginal designation).
cality unknown,andOphichthysxysturusJordan —
and Gilbert (1882), from Mexico, are synonyms DIAGNOSIS. Body moderatelytoveryelon-
of Myrichthys tigrinus Girard (1859); and gate, cylindrical, laterally compressed posteri-
Ophichthus afuerae Hildebrand (1946) from orly; body stouter and shorter than tail. Snout
Peru is ajuniorsynonym ofHerpetoichthysfos- moderately developed, subconical. Eye moder-
satus (Myers and Wade 1941). ate to large. Anterior nostril tubular, posterior
nostril just above lip or opening into mouth.
Materialsand Methods Dorsal finaboveorbehindgill opening; pectoral
fin well developed. Dentition variable, from nu-
merous, small and multiserial to few, large, and
Measurements are straight-line, made either
mm mm uniserialorbiserial;teethnevercaniniform.Col-
witha300 rulerwith0.5 gradations(for
oration usually uniform, although some species
troetcaolrdleemndgmttho,tthreunnkealreensgtth0,.5amndm,taiolrlaeng1thm),rualnedr maEyTYbeMObLaOndGeYd.o—rspFortotemd.theGreekotyiq(snake)
w1imthm.1 All gortahdeartimoenassaunrdermeecnotrsdeadretomthaedneeawrietsht and^xOoq(more properly"ixOuoq, fish), mascu-
dial calipersordividersandrecordedtothenear- linRe.EMARKS. —A complete generic synonymy
eHseta0d.1lemnmg.thBiosdmyealseunrgethdifsrhoemadthaensdntoruutntkipletnogtthh.e o(1f98O9p)h.icPhetnhduisngisaawvoarilladbwliedeinrMevciCsioosnk,ewreettreaalt.
posterodorsal margin ofthe gill opening; trunk
Ophichthus broadly, recognizing that several
length is taken from the end ofthe head to mid-
anus; maximum body depth does not includethe subgeneraand lineages exist.
median fins. Headporeterminology followsthat
of McCosker et al. (1989:257): such that the Keytothe EasternPacific Speciesof
Oph/chthus
supraorbital pores are expressed as the ethmoid
pore+ poresinsupraorbitalcanal,e.g., 1 + 3,the
infraorbital pores are expressed as pores along la. Body ground coloryellow to tan, with a
the upper jaw + those in vertical part of canal series ofprominent, subcircularbrown
behind eye (the "postorbital pores"), e.g., 4 + 2, blotches orsaddles centered above
in thatfrequentlythelastporeincludedalongthe midline on sides; head with smallerspots
upper jaw is part ofthe postorbital series. Gill and speckles 2
arch examination was accomplished after re- lb. Body ground colorbrown, gray orblack-
moval and clearing and counterstaining with al- ish; plain orwith spots ordarkerbars, not
cian blue and alizarin red dyes (Dingerkus and as above 3
Uhler 1977).Vertebralcounts(which includethe 2a. Vertebrae 145-152 O. triserialis
hypural)weretakenfrom radiographs.Vertebral (California to Peru)
notation and definitions are described in Bohlke 2b. Vertebrae 157-162 O. rugifer
(1982). The mean vertebral formula (MVF) is (Galapagos and Cocos islands)
expressed as the average ofpredorsal, preanal, 3a. Posteriornostril in atube above upper lip
and total vertebrae. Galapagos island names fol- 4
low those ofWoram (1989). Institutional abbre- 3b. Posteriornostril openingjustabove edge
viations follow Leviton et al. (1985) except ofupper lip, coveredby a flap (lower
specimensidentifiedbytheacronym"W."These margin ofopening with athickened or
specimensnowresideattheLosAngelesCounty raised rim, but flap attached to lip, rather
Museum ofNatural History (LACM). than to lowermargin ofnostril) 6
4a. Preopercular(PO) pores4; teeth in mandi-
ble in a single row, vomerine teeth biserial
O. tetratrema n. sp. (Costa Rica to
Ecuador)
MCCOSKERANDROSENBLATT: SNAKE-EELGENUS OPHICHTHUS 399
4b. PO pores 2 or3; teeth in mandible in two in inner maxillary row; bodywith aseries
rows, vomerine teeth uniserial 5 offaintbands; anteriornostrils notcon-
5a. Pectoral fin pointed; a series ofpale spots, spicuously lighterthan snout
about a snout length apart, along lateral O. melope n. sp. (CostaRicatoColombia)
line; body not banded O. remiger 10b. Head pores not so marked; vomerine
(Nicaraguato Chile) tooth-row ending underposteriornostril;
5b. Pectoral fin rounded; no pale spots on teeth small, 25 in innermaxillary row;
head orbody, body with palebrown back and uppersides evenly colored, with-
bands orsaddles (often fading in olderpre- out bands; anteriornostrils white, con-
served specimens), at least posteriorly . . spicuously lighterthan snout
O.frontalis (GulfofCaliforniato Panama) O. arneutes n. sp. (Galapagos Islands)
6a. Tail 74-80% ofTL; anterior lateral line
pores ofbody in brown spots orunmarked Species DescriptionsandDiagnoses
7
6b. Tail 56-70%ofTL; lateral linepores on Ophichthus apachus new species
body unmarked 8 (Figs. 1,3a, 15; Tables 1,3)
7a. Teeth injaws uniserial. long, slender, re- —
curved andwidely spaced; intermaxillary DIAGNOSIS. Anelongate,slenderspeciesof
teeth enlarged and recurved; snout long Ophichthus with tail 75-76% and head 6.7-8%
and pointed when viewed from above; oftotal length; dorsal fin origin above, slightly
head pores and anterior lateral line pores before,orslightlybehindappressedpectoraltips;
in brown spots O. longipenis n. sp. pectoral fins longandslender;posteriornostril a
(Mexico to Panama) holeaboveupperlip,coveredbyaflapextending
7b. Jaw teeth in two rows, small and close set, below edge ofmouth; a small tentacle between
intermaxillary teeth little enlarged; snout anterior and posterior nostrils; most head pores
shortand blunt, rounded when viewed obvious, SO 1 +4, IO 4 + 2, POM 6 + 2; teeth
from above; lateral linepores on body un- small andnumerous,uniserialonvomer,biserial
marked, head pores with at most a narrow on maxillary and mandible; coloration uniform
melanophore ring O. apachus n. sp. tan, paler ventrally, sides evenly sprinkled with
(Mexico to Colombia) melanophores, more densely dorsally, pores on
8a. A barbel between nostrils, and (usually) snout within dark brown spots; and mean verte-
two behind posteriornostril; pectorals bral formula 12.3-41.8-182.8, total vertebrae
long and pointed, theirtips well-behind 180-186 (n= 6).
dorsal origin 9 Counts and Measurements of Holotype
—
8b. No barbels on snoutbetween orbehind (in mm). Total length 230; head 15.5; trunk
nostrils; pectorals short and rounded, their 40.5; tail 174; predorsal distance 20.0; pectoral
tips about afin-length before dorsal origin fin length 5.2; pectoral fin base 1.0; body depth
10 -3.2 at gill openings; body width -2.8 at gill
9a. Vertebrae 149-162; vomerine teeth bise- openings;snout2.1;tipofsnouttorictus5.2;eye
rial, at least anteriorly; mandibularteeth diameter -0.9; interorbital distance -0.8; gill
biserial; colorplain brown above, fins opening height-0.9; isthmuswidth-0.8. Verte-
dark in largejuveniles and adults bral formula 12-42-186. Ten lateral linepores in
O. zophochir(California to Peru) branchial region;—45 pores before the anus.
9b. Vertebrae 139-146; vomerine teeth DESCRIPTION. Bodyvery slenderandelon-
strictly uniserial; mandibularteeth in asin- gate, compressed throughout, depth atgill open-
gle row; body ofadults with faintbands, ings 62-71 in TL. Branchial basket wider and
fins colorless, head pores in black rings . deeperthanbody. Headandtrunkshort,4-4.2 in
O. mecopterus n. sp. TL; head 13-15 in TL, 2.4 in trunk. Snout
(Mexico to CostaRica) rounded, blunt when viewed from above. Snout
10a. Head pores in black rings; vomerinetooth- notbisectedonundersidebyagroove.Lowerjaw
row endingbelow mid-eye to posterior slightly included, upper and lower lips almost
third ofeye; teeth relatively large, 10-12 meeting when mouth is closed. Mouth moder-
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ately elongate, rictus about2 eye lengths behind from both in its coloration and in its smallerand
rearmarginofeye. Eye4.7-5.8 in upperjawand morenumerous teeth andbiserial maxillaryden-
14-18 in head, itscenterbehind middleofupper tition. It furtherdiffers from theAtlantic species
jaw.Tubeofanteriornostrilshort,hardlycapable in having two rather than three preopercular
ofbeing deflected forward. A small barbel be- pores. —
neath 2nd infraorbital pore, midway between Material Examined. Holotype: SIO
anteriorandposteriornostrils. Posteriornostril a 62-25, 231 mm, male, Islas Tres Marias, NE
hole above upper lip, covered by a flap that side of Isla Maria Magdalena, 21°26.5'N,
extendswell belowedgeofmouth; lowermargin 106°22.0'W, collected with rotenone by scuba
with a thickened rim, but distal flap attaches to diversin0-8 m,DonaldDockinsandpartyon 16
lip ratherthan to lowerrim ofnostril. Dorsal fin Aug. 1961. PARATYPES: ANSP 126077, 16
origin above, slightly behind, or slightly before (92-198 mm) and CAS 97856, 2(196-199
tip ofappressed pectoral fin. Dorsal fin low, in a mm), Colombia, Bahia Utria, 06°59'30"N,
groove that deepens posteriorly for its entire 77°21'20"W, collected with rotenone in 0-2 m,
length.Analfinhigher, inagroovesimilartothat by Leslie Knapp on 13 Nov. 1970.
ofdorsal. Pectoral fins pointed, elongate, about
equal tojaw in length. Pectoral fin base in upper Ophichthus arneutes new species
halfofgill opening. (Figs. 2, 3c, 15; Table 1)
Headpores(Fig. 1)small, inconspicuous. Sin- —
A
gle median interorbital and temporal pores. Su- DIAGNOSIS. moderately elongatespecies
praorbital pores 1 + 4, infraorbital pores 4 + 2, of Ophichthus with tail 60% and head 13% of
lowerjaw pores 6, preopercular pores usually 2 total length; dorsal fin origin behind pectoral
(CAS 97856 has 3 on its left side). Lateral line tips; posteriornostril a hole above the upper lip,
pores present but difficult to enumerate, 10 be- covered by a flap that extends to or below the
fore gill opening, 45 before anus. edgeofthe mouth; pores small butconspicuous,
Teeth (Fig. 3a) mostly small, conical. Inter- SO 1 +4, IO 4 + 2, POM 6 + 2; teeth small and
maxillary with a rosette of3 small teeth, then 3 numerous, uniserial on vomer and mandible,
irregular pairs of erect, pointed teeth, an inter- biserial anteriorly on maxillary; coloration
space and an irregular row of 14 teeth on the brown dorsally, pale ventrally, anterior nostrils
vomer, becoming smallerposteriorly. Maxillary white; mean vertebral formula22-55-158.5.
dentition biserial. An inner row of about 20 Counts—and Measurements of Holotype
pointed, slightly recurved teeth begins behind (in mm). Total length 306; head 39.5; trunk
level ofposterior nostril. An outerrow ofabout 83.5; tail 183; predorsal distance 60.1; pectoral
18 smaller, erect teeth, commences about at an- fin length 1 1.5; pectoral finbase5.0; body depth
terior margin of eye. Mandibular teeth small, 9.8 atgill openings; body width 8.2 atgill open-
close set, pointed, about 30 in a single row. ings; snout 7.2; tip of snout to rictus 9.6; eye
Color in isopropanol uniform tan over head diameter5.3; interorbital width4.8; gill opening
andbody. Sidesdustedwith melanophores,most height6.3; isthmuswidth4.4. Vertebral formula
dense dorsally. Chin with a dark smudge fol- 24-56-159. Twelvelateral linepores in leftbran-
lowed by afew melanophores. SO and IO pores chial region;45poresbeforeanus; theremainder
within d—ark spots. Fins pale. small and difficul—t to discern.
SIZE. The adult size is unknown, as the DESCRIPTION. Body moderately elongate,
available specim—ens are immature. subcircularto level ofanus,thenbecomingmore
ETYMOLOGY. From the Greek a (without) compressed, its depth at gill openings 31 in TL.
naxoc; (thickness)—. Head and branchial basket bulbous, about 1.5
DISTRIBUTION. Known from Mexico and timesdepthoftrunk.Headandtrunk2.5andhead
Colombia (Fig. 15), oversand bottoms between 7.7 in TL. Snout rounded, blunt when viewed
0-8 m. — from above; a short groove bisecting underside
REMARKS. The new species is mostsimilar ofsnout nearly to tip ofupperjaw. Lowerjaw
to the eastern Pacific O. longipenis n. sp. and O. included, itstip reaching anteriorbaseoftubeof
melanoporus of the western Atlantic in having anterior nostril. Upperjaw short, rictus before a
high vertebral numbers and a long tail. It differs vertical from posteriormargin ofeye. Eye large.
MCCOSKERANDROSENBLATT: SNAKE-EELGENUS OPHICHTHUS 401
m
a $
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Table I. Vertebral countsofholotypesofvalid speciesofeastern Pacific
Ophichthus andtheirsynonyms.
Species
MCCOSKERANDROSENBLATT: SNAKE-EELGENUS OPHICHTHUS 403
Figure3.Dentitionof:A)Ophichthusapachusn.sp.,SIO62-25,231 mm,holotype;B)Ophichthuslongipenisn.sp.,ANSP
175793,367mm,paratype;C)Ophichthusameutesn.sp.,CAS88004,306mm,holotype.
patchesofpigmentequallyspacedalongtheven- dentition, and coloration. Fowler (1938:21) de-
tral surface behind the head that gradually be- scribed a leptocephalus (Leptocephalus alter-
come elevated so that the last patch is along the natus) from Tagus Cove, Galapagos, which
lateral mid-line.Therearesixpatchesinthetrunk appears to be an ophichthid. Wehave notexam-
region,oneoverlying theanus, and 15 in thetail inedhisspecimen,butitwasdescribedashaving
region. The specimen is small and fragile, sowe 152 myomeres. Neither O. ameutes (158-159
haveincludeditsvertebralcount(20-54-158)but vertebrae) nor O. rugifer (157-162 vertebrae),
not its body proportions in our diagnosis and theotherGalapagosspeciesofOphichthus,could
description. Ithas, however,thediagnosticchar- be Fowler's species. The Galapagos ophichthid
acteristics of the holotype, including: nearly most likely to be the adult of Leptocephalus
identical head, trunk and tail proportions; its altematus isQuassiremusevionthas(Jordanand
dorsal finarises slightlybehindthepectoral tips; Bollman 1890), which has 149-153 vertebrae
and it appears to have the same dentition. (Castle 1996; and ourdata).
Ophichthus ameutes is easily distinguishable Theholotypewasobservedandultimatelycap-
fromothereasternPacificOphichthusspeciesby tured during a survey ofthe deep-reef ichthyo-
the location ofits dorsal fin origin, porepattern, fauna of the Galapagos Islands aboard the
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submersibleJohnson Sea-Link. The species was to mid-flank in trunk and tail region, the bars
seen on three occasions: Roca Redonda, slightly broader than their pale interspaces and
00°15.9'S, 91°36.5'W, one seen head-out from about equal tojaw in width; dorsal fin with fine
the sand at 557 m; Wolf Island, 01°22.9'N, punctations; tail tip, anal fin and margin ofpec-
91°51.4'W, four individuals (one ofwhich was toralfinpale,theinnerandouterfacesofpectoral
collected) in a patch approximately 1 m~ were fin brown; anterior nostrils pale, strongly con-
observed and filmed, theirheadsexposed from a trasting with brown snout; and mean vertebral
sand slope at 485 m; and north shore ofTower formula 16-56.8-147.5, total vertebrae 143-155
Island, 00°21.8'S, 89°58.2'W, two individuals (n=12).—
photographed at 434 m and 450 m, their heads SIZE. Largest an 860 mm specimen cap-
NW
and trunks protruding from—a 60° sand slope. tured in theGulfofCalifornia ofIslaAngel
Material Examined. Holotype: CAS de laGuarda(SIO—69-204).
88004, 306 mm, afemalewith developingeggs, DISTRIBUTION. Known from the central
Islas Galapagos, Isla Wolf, 01°22.9'N, GulfofCaliforniato Panama(Fig. 15), captured
91°51.4'W, suction-captured from the submers- by hook-and-line, trawl, and traps at depths of
ibleJohnsonSea-Link(JSLDive3970)at485 m 35-760 m. —
by J. E. McCosker and party on 23 Nov. 1995. ETYMOLOGY. Presumably from the Latin
PARATYPE: CAS 94485, 101 mm, Islas Gala- from, forehea—d, theallusion notobvious.
pagos,IslaHood, 1°30.5'S,89°35'W,Albatross REMARKS. Smith (1994:34) noted that
Station 4642, captured by tangle net in 300 fm "Garman's description was based on at least
(549 m) on 7 Nov. 1904. three specimens, from three Albatross stations.
MCZ
Seven specimens are listed in the collec-
Ophichthus frontalis Garman 1899 tions under catalog numbers 28455, 28456, and
(Figs. 4, 15; Tables 1,2) 28457, but none of these can be located." In
1971, JMc discovered USNM 57899, labelled
Ophichthys (Cnptopterus) frontalis Garman "3386A," in the non-type collection ofthe Na-
1899:309(typelocality: 07°16'45"N,79°17'15"W; tional Museum of Natural History, and it sub-
lectotype USNM 57899). sequentlyprovedtobetheonlyextantsyntypeof
Ophichthyssp.nov.B,BussingandLopezS. 1994:42. O.frontalis. We designate that specimen as the
Ophichthus sp. nov. B, Bussing and Lopez S. 1994: lectotypeofthe species.
unnumbered figure,43. Ophichthus frontalis is most similar to the
Diagnosis. —A robust species of Ophich- eastern Pacific O. remiger, from which itdiffers
thus with tail 54-59% and head 12-15% ofTL; tinwocolsopreactiieosnoavnedrlampeainn dveerpttehbrdailstnruimbubteiro.n Tahned
dorsal fin arising in advance ofend ofpectoral
occupy a similar habitat, and are sympatric as
fins; pectoral fins rounded, about 2.5-3.4 times
in head; tube ofanterior nostril, when directed well in the respective northern and southern
ranges. They share a nearly identical dentition
forward, extending beyond tip oflowerjaw and
and condition oftheposteriornostrils.
nearly reaching snout tip; posterior nostril in a The late C. L. Hubbs trapped and trawled nu-
tube above lip, its distal portion expanded and merous specimens ofO.frontalis in the Gulfof
flaplike, extending ventrally to but not reaching California in 1968. His color notes from SIO
mouth; eye large, about 6.6-9.2 times in head;
3h,eaIdOpo4r+es2,(FiPg.O4M)s5m/a6ll+,3i;ncfornesepsiecunosuosr,ySnOeur1o+- 6s8h-o7w9inwgerveerayswfeoallkowdsa:rk"earlmboasrts uannidfolirgmhtienr lbief-e
low. After being killed in freshwater, rather ir-
masts visibleon napeofadults; teeth(very simi-
regular cross-bars of deep olive to purplish
larto those ofO. remiger, Fig. 13a) conical, not
brown and alternating with bars ofwhitish, pale
enlarged,uniserialonvomerandbiserial injaws,
outerrow ofmandible notably larger, outerrow lemon or light gray. Anal fin red." —USNM
Type Material Examined.
ofmaxillary slightly larger; coloration brown in 57899, 371 mm, Panama, 07°33'12"N,
preservative,slightlypalerbeneath,withaseries
79°17'15"W, 443 m,Albatross 3386, the extant
of faint dark bars or saddles (often fading in
syntype ofOphichthys (Cnptopterus)frontalis,
preservative) extending from base ofdorsal fin
here designated as the lectotype.
MCCOSKERANDROSENBLATT: SNAKE-EELGENUS OPHICHTHUS 405
—
Other Material Examined. Mexico, 3.8-5 and head 11.5-14 in TL. Snout acute,
GulfofCalifornia: SIO 68-1 10,452 mm, E. of pointed when viewed from above. Lower jaw
IslaCarmen. SIO 68-115, 16(460-740 mm), Si- included, its tip reaches fromjust behind tojust
naloa, Farallon Basin. SIO 68-124, 620 mm, off beforeanteriornostriItube.Snoutnotbisectedon
Isla SantaCatalina. SIO 65-247, 390 mm,Bahia underside by a groove. Upper jaw moderately
de laVentana, 24°04.9'N, 109°54.8'W. SIO 69- elongate, rictus well behind posterior margin of
203. 2(544-574 mm), SIO 69-204, 8(505-860 eye. Eye large, entering upper profile of head,
NW
mm), and SIO 69-205, 3(495-820 mm), of 2.8-3.7 in upper jaw and 7.3-9.6 in head, its
IslaAngel de laGuarda. SIO68-79, 10(500-780 centeratorbehindmiddleofupperjaw.Anterior
mm), off Bahia Concepcion. SIO 65-293, 443 nostrils in short, widely-flared tubes, directed
mm, NW of Isla Monserrate. SIO 68-113. nearly downward. A small barbel immediately
31(365-655 mm) and SIO 68-114, 5(640-855 beneath first infraorbital pore, midway between
mm), offFuerte Delta, Farallon Basin. SIO 84- anteriorand posteriornostrils. Posteriornostril a
67,454 mm,IslaEspirituSanto.CAS38566,595 hole above the upper lip, covered by a flap that
mm, Guaymas. Costa Rica: SIO 73-281, 500 extendstoorbelowedgeofmouth; lowermargin
mm, W. ofCabo SantaElena. LACM 33827-41, hasathickened rim.butdistal flapattachesto lip
515 mm; LACM 33827-42, 2(515-690 mm), rather than to lower rim of nostril. Dorsal fin
Golfo deNicoya. originovertipsofpectoral fins.Medianfinslow,
ending in a groove less than an eye diameter
Ophichthus longipenis new species beforethetailtip.Tailtipcoveredwithafinemat
(Figs. 3b, 5, 15; Tables 1.3) ofminutehairlikeprojections.Pectoral finselon-
gate, slender, about equal tojaw in length. Pec-
Ophichthyssp.nov.A,BussingandLopezS. 1994:42. toral fin base in upperhalfofgill opening.
Ophichthus sp. nov. A, Bussing and Lopez S. 1994: Head pores obvious (except mandibular and
unnumbered figure,43. preopercular)(Fig. 5). Singlemedianinterorbital
— and temporal pores. Supraorbital pores 1 +4,
DIAGNOSIS. Anelongate,slenderspeciesof infraorbital pores 4 + 2, lowerjaw pores 6, the
Ophichthus with tail 74-80%and head 7-9%of first4 closely-spaced and in anterior 1/2 ofjaw,
total length; dorsal finorigin slightlybeforepec- preopercular pores 2. Lateral line pores present
toral tips; pectoral fins long and slender; poste- butdifficulttoenumerate, 10beforegillopening.
riornostrilaholeabovetheupperlip,coveredby -42 before anus.
a flap that extends to orbelow edge ofmouth; a Teeth (Fig. 3b) mostly small, conical, widely
small tentacle between anterior and posterior separated at their bases. An anterior intermaxil-
nostrils; most head pores obvious, SO 1 +4, IO lary rosette of4-6 small teeth, serially followed
4 + 2, POM 6 + 2; teeth small and numerous, by agap, then 1 small and2 large intermaxillary
uniserial onjaws andvomer; colorationuniform teeth, followed by a gap and a row of 8-10
tan,palerventrally,headpores(exceptmandible) vomerine teeth, thatdecrease in size posteriorly.
and anteriorlateral line in dark brown spots; and Maxillary teeth small, subequal and uniserial.
meanvertebral formula 12.8-40.7-181,total ver- about21-22.Mandibularteethlikethoseofmax-
tebrae 176-184 (n= 11). illa, about28-30.
Counts and Measurements of Holotype
— Color in isopropyl alcohol tan, slightly paler
(in mm). Total length 423; head 33.5; trunk ventrally, overlain on head, chin, inside of
81.0; tail 308.5; predorsal distance 43; pectoral mouth, flanks, and dorsal surface with adistinct
fin length 9.4; pectoral fin base 2.5; body depth fine brown speckling. Cephalic and anterior lat-
12 at gill openings; body width 9.0 at gill open- eral line—poreswithindarkbrownspots.Finspale.
ings; snout 5.4; tip of snout to rictus 12.7; eye SIZE. To 58—7 mm.
diameter3.5; interorbital distance 1.8; gill open- ETYMOLOGY. From theLatinlongus(long)
ing height 5.3; isthmus width4.6. Vertebral for- andpenis (tail). —
mula 12-40-184. Ten lateral line pores over Distribution. From Mexico to Panama
branchial region;—-42 pores before anus. (Fig. 15), over—sand bottoms between 0-69 m.
Description. Body elongate, depth at gill Remarks. The new species is closely re-
openings 35—48 in TL. Head and trunk short. lated to theeastern Pacific Ophichthus apachus.
406 PROCEEDINGSOFTHECALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Volume50, No. 19
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