Bathygadus Günther, 1878

Iwamoto, Tomio, Nakayama, Naohide, Shao, Kwang-Tsao & Table, Hsuan-Ching Ho, 2015, Synopsis of the Grenadier Fishes (Gadiformes; Teleostei) of Taiwan, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 62 (3), pp. 31-126 : 37

Genus Bathygadus Günther, 1878

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES.— Chin barbel usually absent; when present barbel tiny and difficult to see without magnification. In some species, 1D, P, and V with a relatively elongated ray, but never extremely long and thickened to degree found in Gadomus species.

REMARKS.— Identifying some members of this genus has been difficult and uncertain, partly owing to the often poor condition of the specimens. Their delicate bones and integument are easily damaged in trawls, and crucial identification features are often distorted, damaged, or destroyed. The many species described from the broad area encompassing Japan, Taiwan, the South China Sea, Philippines, and Indonesia and our limited knowledge of distributional limits of the species leave the possibility of encountering one or another species wide open. Our study material included a number of specimens for which we could not arrive at a satisfactory identification; such specimens are listed under Bathygadus sp. indet. and accompanied by brief remarks.

The genus was reviewed by Howes and Crimmen (1990), but many of their taxonomic conclusions are questionable (see Sazonov 1994:101; Iwamoto and Merrett 1997:479).