Aphyonus gelatinosus Günther, 1878

Nielsen, Jørgen G., Pogonoski, John J. & Appleyard, Sharon A., 2019, Aphyonid-clade species of Australia (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with four species new to Australian waters and a new species of Barathronus, Zootaxa 4564 (2), pp. 554-572 : 557-558

Aphyonus gelatinosus Günther, 1878

Table 1, Figs. 1–2

Aphyonus gelatinosus Günther, 1878: 22 (type locality off NE Australia). Aphyonus gelatinosus: Nielsen 1969: 15 ; Nielsen et al. 1999: 137; Nielsen 2015: 324; Nielsen & Møller, 2015: 736 (key), 737, fig. 99.1.

Holotype. BMNH 1887.12.7.59a, female, 132 mm SL, off Cape York , Qld, Australia, Challenger station 184, 12°08'S, 145°10'E, 2550 m.

Material examined. (10 specimens, 68–148 mm SL) Australia. AMS I 29315-004, male, 86 mm SL, Lord Howe Is. Rise, 29°10.29’S, 160°29.78’E, RV Franklin, field no: FR 0589–21, epibenthic sledge, 1590 m, 4 May 1989. AMS I 29340-005, female, 140 mm SL and male, 120 mm SL, off Sydney , NSW, 33°45’S, 152°03’E, FRV Kapala , field no: K 89-13-02 , bottom trawl, 1120–1170 m, 30 June 1989. AMS I 29742-009, female, 103 mm SL, east of Tuncurry , NSW, 32°09’S, 153°09’E, FRV Kapala , field no: K 89-17-07 , bottom trawl, 1079–1143 m, 17 Aug. 1989. AMS I 29745-004, female, 148 mm SL, east of Nowra , NSW, 34°54’S, 151°16’E, FRV Kapala , field no: K 89-18-02 , bottom trawl, 1097–1143 m, 22 Aug 1989. CSIRO H 2307-01 , female, 140 mm SL, east of Seymour , Tas., 41°42.3’S, 148°43.0’E, FRV Soela, st. SO 04/86/3 , demersal trawl, 1168– 1152 m, 11 July 1986. CSIRO H 6036-03 , male, 113 mm SL, Lord Howe Rise , 32°03.98’S, 159°52.80’E, RV Tangaroa , st. TAN 0308/071, bottom trawl, 1920–1934 m, 24 May 2003 . NMV A 31828-002 , female, 96 mm, Central Eastern Commonwealth Marine Reserve , NSW, 30°05.86’S, 153°53.92'E, RV Investigator , st. IN2017_VO3/086, beam trawl, 2429–2518 m, 5 June 2017 . NMV A 31841-012 , female, 68 mm SL, Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve , Qld, 23°35.22'S, 154°11.64'E, RV Investigator , st. IN2017_VO3/121, beam trawl, 1013–1093 m, 13 June 2017 .

Taiwan. ASIZ P0067364 , female, 133 mm SL, off Su-ao, eastern Taiwan, 24°15’N, 122°10.84’E, RV Haiyan No. 1, stn. CP373, French type beam trawl, 2227 – 2664 m, 26 Aug. 2006 .

Other material: 22 non-Australian specimens (62–147 mm SL) listed in Nielsen 2015 from the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Size. Largest known specimen (148 mm SL) is a ripe female.

Remarks. Table 1 shows agreement in all 20 characters between the data for the two recently collected Australian specimens (NMV A 31828-002 and NMV A 31841-012) and the data from 29 specimens from most oceans (Nielsen 2015: 327).

Diagnosis. See generic diagnosis.

Distribution ( Fig. 1 ). The present material was caught off southern Qld and northern NSW at 1013–2518 m depth and earlier 29 specimens were caught in the Atlantic, Indian and West Pacific Oceans (including seven from Australian waters) at depths of 625–2560 m.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Records of aphyonid-clade species in Australian waters including the non-Australian paratypes of Barathronus algrahami n. sp. Some symbols represent more than one specimen (Image © NASA, TerraMetrics, Google Earth).

FIGURE 2. Aphyonus gelatinosus, NMV A 31828-002, female, 96 mm SL (Image: CSIRO Australian National Fish Collection).