Physiculus fulvus Bean, 1884

Pires, Alessandra M. A., Carvalho-Filho, Alfredo, Ferreira, Rômulo C. P., Viana, Danielle, Nunes, Diogo & Hazin, Fabio H. V., 2019, Review of the Brazilian species of Physiculus (Gadiformes: Moridae), with description of a new species from Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, equatorial Atlantic, Zootaxa 4671 (1), pp. 67-80 : 69-70

Physiculus fulvus Bean, 1884

Tables 2 and 3 .

Diagnosis. This species differs from all other Atlantic species of the genus in having relatively large scales in longitudinal series (70–84 vs. 90–189), according to Paulin (1989, 1990), Trunov (1991), Anderson & Tweddle (2002), our examination of vouchers of this species, and of the new species herein described.

Brief Description. Light organ moderately large 7.5–13.2% InV-af and placed midway between interventral line and anus; distance from interventral line to anterior margin of light organ 17.6–25.6% InV-af; distance from posterior margin of light organ to anterior margin of anus 21.1–24.5% InV-af; teeth subequal. Continuous tube of lateral line not reaching origin of second dorsal fin. No scales on vertical fin membranes, gular region, tip of snout, and around nostrils. Nostrils contiguous, each one in a short tube without a skin flap. Gill rakers moderately long, slender, 2–4 + 8–11. Upper jaw reaching below posterior margin of pupil. Orbit 24–28% in head length. Dorsal-fin rays 9–12, 57–61; anal-fin rays 59–68; pectoral-fin rays 21–26; scales in longitudinal series 70–84, scales between base of first dorsal fin and lateral line 6–7; vertebrae 47–50.

Color of preserved specimens. Head and body pinkish tan to light yellowish brown; abdominal region bluish to purplish (often brown in long preserved specimens), with silvery tinge extending onto sides of body and head; axil of pectoral fin dark brown; margins of anal and dorsal fins dark brown to black; external border of lips and gular region dark brown; a dark brown blotch on sub-operculum; light organ dark brown to blackish. Maximum known size 133 mm SL.

Distribution. Temperate and tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from southern Canada (43 o 16´N and 60 o 58´W) and Cape Cod ( USA), to Rio Grande do Norte, in the “hump” of Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas and the Caribbean Sea. Depth range 68-800 m, usually bellow 100 m. ( Bean, 1884; Jordan and Evermann, 1898; Arai, 1983; Scott & Scott, 1988; Paulin, 1989; McEachran and Fechhelm, 1998; Klein-MacPhee, 2002; Iwamoto and Cohen, 2002; Oliveira et al., 2015; Moore et al., 2015.