Aulopidae

Carvalho-Filho, Alfredo, Marcovaldi, Guy, Sampaio, Cláudio L. S., Paiva, Isabel G. & Duarte, Luiz A. G., 2010, First report of Aulopus (Teleostei: Aulopidae) from Southwestern Atlantic, with a review of records and a key to Western Atlantic Aulopoidei species, Zootaxa 2628, pp. 27-42 : 28-31

Family Aulopidae

Aulopus filamentosus (Bloch, 1792) .

Royal Flagfin, Yellowfin Aulopus (English) ; Trairado (Brazilian Portuguese). (FIG 1)

Material examined: UFBA 2817 (3 ex, one male – 332.3 mm SL - and 2 females – 325.2 and 334.2 mm SL) Brazil, Bahia, São João da Mata, Praia do Forte, collector G. Marcovaldi, depth 350 m, 10 May 2006 (largest female) and June 2006; TAMAR 0 0 4 (1 ex, female: 321.4 mm SL), Brazil, Bahia, São João da Mata, Praia do Forte, collectors G. Marcovaldi and A. Carvalho-Filho, depth 400 m, 15 August 2006; TAMAR 0 0 6 (1 ex, male: 324.8 mm SL), Brazil, Bahia, São João da Mata, Praia do Forte, collector G. Marcovaldi, depth 400 m, 15 October 2006; MZUSP 98894 (1 ex, female: 351.4 mm SL), Brazil, Bahia, São João da Mata, off Praia do Forte, collector G. Marcovaldi, depth 400 m, November 2007; AZUSC 3609 (1 ex, female: 318.1 mm SL), Brazil, Bahia, São João da Mata, Praia do Forte, collector G. Marcovaldi, depth 250 m, 12 April 2009.

On May 10, 2006, a large “lizardfish” was caught by the TAMAR team, a photograph was taken and the fish preserved. The fish was caught some 10 miles off Praia do Forte, (12º36´96”S; 37º53´78”W), Mata de São João, Bahia, Brazil, 400 m deep, with electric reel, and sardines as bait. It was a mature female which measured 351 mm SL. With continuous fishing at the same area and depth, other specimens were collected as depicted in Table 1 . The identification of this fish as Aulopus filamentosus was confirmed by the late Dr Bruce A Thompson, Louisiana State University, (pers. comm., May 18, 2006) who wrote: “The literature would call this form Aulopus nanae , but …. I … cannot find differences between the western Atlantic form and the eastern Atlantic form where the males have an elongate filament on the anterior rays of the dorsal fin. The female lacks these very elongate filaments and often has a black blotch on the tip of the first few dorsal rays. There is a second Aulopus in the Atlantic confined to the African coast. This is Aulopus cadenati and neither sex has filaments in the anterior part of the dorsal ray. …. use the name filamentosus instead of nanae .”

We examined seven fishes ( Table 1.A–B ), ranging from 321 to 351 mm SL, two males and five females, one of these the largest.

Diagnostic characters: Based on examined specimens and literature (Mead, 1966; Sulak, 1989a; Cervigón, 1991; McEachran & Fechhelm, 1998; Thompson, 2002, 2008) ( Table 1.A–B ). Our data wide the range of several counts and body proportions.

Body moderately elongate and slender, oval in cross-section; head large, robust, about 30% of SL; snout relatively long and depressed; eyes large, elliptical, about the size of the snout length; upper jaw expanded posteriorly with two supramaxillaries, reaching to or beyond the eye centre; jaw teeth simple, short, depressible (but outer row), in broad bands, those in inner row usually longer; gill-rakers on first arch, 12–15, including rudiments. Dorsal fin high, located on anterior 1/3 of body, with 14–16 rays, the anterior 2–4 with an elongate filament on males; a small adipose fin above midpoint of anal fin; anal fin with 10–13 rays, shorter and lower than the dorsal fin; pelvic fin large, longer than pectoral and with 9 rays, the outer 4 rays thickened; pectoral fin rays 12–14; caudal fin forked. Scales on upper body spinoid to ctenoid, largest on gill cover; snout, top of head, and mandible, naked; belly and breast covered by cycloid scales; lateral line complete, with 47–53 scales; presence of small bony scutes (fulcral scales) preceding the procurrent caudal rays. Color greenish-brown to olive with darker saddles and lateral blotches; head darker, purplish to pink; upper body and head suffused with yellow; dorsal fin tip black; the males are more brightly colored, with red, orange, and yellow markings and bars on fins, but females might also present smaller reddish to orange marks on fins; in life the scales are iridescent with transverse bands, and the belly silvery to whitish or light pink; adipose fin tip yellowish-green to orange. Grows to about 44 cm SL.

According to Ditty et al. (2006) the eggs of aulopids are unknown and the larvae and young are known only for Hime (Aulopus) japonicus from the Pacific Ocean. “…Descriptions of Aulopus filamentosus in Taning (1918) and Sanzo (1938) are erroneous and should be correctly ascribed to Bathypterois in the Ipnopidae …” ( Ditty et al. 2006).

Counts Mead Sulak Cervigón Cervigón McEachran & Thompson Present

(1966)* (1989a) (1991)* (1991)* Fechhelm (1998) * (2002) * Study Proportions Mead (1966)* Cervigón (1991) ** Present Study*** Range * Holotype of A. nanae Mead, 1958 , 223 mm SL. ** Two adult females, as A. nanae . *** Seven specimens as listed in text.

Range: Mediterranean and Atlantic: Eastern Atlantic from the Azores, Canary, Cape Verde, and Madeira islands, to Senegal; Western Atlantic from Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Venezuela to Eastern Brazil, Bahia (Mead, 1966; Sulak, 1989a; Cervigón, 1991; McEachran & Fechhelm, 1998; Santos et al., 1997; Thompson, 2002, 2008). Our records extend the range of Aulopus filamentosus about 3,500 km to the Southern Atlantic.

Proposed Brazilian name: “Trairado”, meaning “similar to the Traíra” a freshwater fish ( Characiformes , Erythrinidae , Hoplias spp.) very common in Brazil that resembles Aulopus filamentosus .

Depth of occurrence: All the Brazilian specimens were caught on the bottom in about 250 to 400 m depth. The range of depth from the literature is between 50 and 1000 m ( Thompson, 2008).

Behavior: Visual observations from the UID (underwater inhabited device) “Server-2”, made in the 1980s at the seamounts of the Azores region, reported that this species was sighted on the Meteor Seamount at a depth of 360–460 m lying motionless on the bottom at sites with rocky outcrops, more seldom on sandy seafloor; only at a photoflash did they break away to swim short distances (0.2–0.5 m), moving aside from the UID ( Pakhorukov, 2008). This species probably ambushes passing prey at the sea bottom. A project to maintain live specimens in especial aquariums and study their behavior is being developed by TAMAR at its public exhibition area at Praia do Forte.

Reproduction: The five females examined had immature eggs.

Tables

TABLE 1 A. Aulopus filamentosus. Meristic data from selected papers.

Number of specimens 0 1 Dorsal fin rays 15	No data 16	01,A 14	01,B 15	Based on Mead 15	No data 14–16	0 7 14–15
Anal fin rays 12	11–12	12	12	12	10–13	11
Pectoral fin rays 12–13 Lateral line, scales 48	12–13 48–53	13 47	13 48	12–13 48	13 48–53	13–14 48–53
Total gill rakers 14	No data	13	14	14	No data	12–15
* As Aulopus nanae .