Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877), Gunther, 1877

Bañón, Rafael, Arronte, Juan Carlos, Armesto, Ángeles, Barros-García, David & Carlos, Alejandro De, 2016, Halosaur fishes (Notacanthiformes: Halosauridae) from Atlantic Spanish waters according to integrative taxonomy, Zootaxa 4184 (3), pp. 471-490 : 479-482

Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877)

Fig. 5.

Halosaurus affinis, Günther 1877: 444 . South of Japan, 34°N, 138°E, Challenger station 235, depth 565 fathoms. Syntypes: BMNH 1887.12.7.244-245 (2). McDowell 1973: 91 –101 (description, key); Maul 1976: 22 (description); Filatova 1985: 27 –29 (description), 33–34 (key); Sulak 1986a: 593 –598 (description, key); Mceachran & Fechhelm 1998: 210 –215 (description, key); Smith 2003 (key).

FIGURE. 4 Halosaurus johnsonianus from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, MHNUSC 25013- 2, 404 mm total length.

Material examined. MHNUSC 25011- 1, 423 mm TL, 7th August 2011, Galicia Bank ; 42º56.172'N— 11º55.816'W; 1,545 m depth; MHNUSC 25011- 2, 486 mm TL, 7th August 2011, Galicia Bank ; 42º41.771'N— 11º33.647; 1,477 m depth; MHNUSC 25011- 3, 442 mm TL, 2th August 2011, Galicia Bank ; 42º56.172'N—11º55.816; 1,545 m depth.

Description. Body shape eel-like, moderately compressed, elongated and attenuated to the caudal peduncle; top of snout and head scaleless, opercle scaleless; the preoral portion of the snout is long, contained 2–2.2 times in the snout length; first ray of dorsal fin very short and spine-like; pectoral fin short and fairly broad, falling well short of origin of ventral fin; dorsal fin origin slightly posterior to pelvic fin origin; palatine tooth patch joined at midline; pyloric caeca black and vent white. The main morphometric and meristic characteristics are presented in Table 6 .

Habitat and distribution. Benthopelagic on the middle and lower slope (700–2,200 m), occurring primarily above the 4° C isotherm. Circumglobal at tropical and temperate latitudes. Eastern Atlantic, from Gulf of Biscay , Madeira to western Sahara , off South Africa ; western Atlantic, from New England to Florida, Gulf of Mexico, off the Caribbean islands and South America ; Indo-Pacific, in Zanzibar, Maldives, Taiwan, Japan, and eastern central Pacific ( Froese & Sampang 2004; Yeh et al. 2006).

FIGURE. 5 Aldrovandia affinis from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, MHNUSC 25011- 2, 486 mm total length.

Tables

TABLE 6. Comparison of morphometric, meristic data and respective body proportions for specimens of Aldrovandia affinis.

Aldrovandia affinis Total Length (mm) Preanal length (mm) Gnathoproctal length (mm)	MHNUSC 25011 (1–3) 423–486 165–186 146–163	McDowell, 1973 — — —	Paulin& Moreland, 1979 — — —	Filatova, 1985 — — —	Hsin–Ming et al., 2006 — — —
As % GPL Head length Eye diameter	32.7–35.6 3.1–4.1	— —	— —	— —	— —
Preorbital length Postorbital length Interorbital length	13.7–16 14.8–17.8 3.7–4.1	— — —	— — —	— — —	— — —
Preoral snout length Predorsal length Dorsal base length	6.2–8 74.8–76 10.4–11	— — —	— — —	— — —	— — —
Pectoral length Prepelvic length Pelvic length	18.4–18.5 69.2–71.2 10.4–13	— — —	— — —	— — —	— — —
Body depth Meristic features Dorsal fin rays	11.6–15.4 I+11	— 11–13	— 12	— 10–12	— 10–12
Ventral fin rays Pectoral fin rays SLL to anus	I+8 I+13 26–27	7–9 11–14 —	9 13 —	8 12 —	8–9 — 18–20
SLL to pelvic origin Scales above lateral line Branchiostegal rays	13–15 11–15 10	13–17 13–16 —	18 11 10	12–14 10–12 10	— — 10–11
Gill rakers Pyloric caeca	3+1+9–11 8–9	— —	— 9	12–16 6–9	14–16 —