ONEIRODIDAE

Females of the Oneirodidae are distinguished by having a short, deep to moderately elongate and laterally compressed body; mouth oblique to nearly horizontal, jaws equal anteriorly; illicium with a bulbous distal light organ; pterygiophore of the illicium usually emerging anteriorly on the snout, extending posteriorly on the back behind the head only in Oneirodes; top of head usually bearing sharp sphenotic spines, absent only in Chaenophryne and short in Ctenochirichthys; quadrate and articular spines usually well developed; skin smooth, dermal spines or spinules absent except in Spiniphryne; 4–8 dorsal-fin rays, 4–7 anal fin-rays, 13–30 pectoral-fin rays; a narrow, spatulate, anterodorsally directed process that overlaps the posterolateral surface of the respective sphenotic present in metamorphosed females; males usually free-living, non-parasitic, but two species apparently with facultative sexual parasitism (Pietsch, 2009).

In addition to the species reported below, three other oneirodids have been recorded in the Brazilian EEZ: Microlophichthys microlophus (Regan, 1925), collected off Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (MCZ 47566, 0º02’N 27º30’W to 0º03’N 27º31’W; MCZ 47567, 1º20’S 27º37’W; Pietsch, 2009); Oneirodes notius Pietsch, 1974, off Rio Grande do Sul State (MZUSP 78220, 31º04’S 49º15’W; Figueiredo et al., 2002); and Pentherichthys atratus (Regan & Trewavas, 1932), collected off Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (MCZ 42852, 5º42’S 32º25’W; Pietsch, 2009) and Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (MCZ 47569, 1º20’S 27º37’W; MCZ 97115, 4º3’12”N 29º37’36”W; Pietsch, 2009) (Fig. 4).