Neobythites gilli Goode and Bean 1885

Nielsen, Jørgen G., Uiblein, Franz & Mincarone, Michael M., 2009, Ocellus-bearing Neobythites species (Teleostei: Ophidiidae) from the West Atlantic with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2228, pp. 57-68 : 59-61

Neobythites gilli Goode and Bean 1885

( Figs. 1–3 )

Neobythites gilli Goode and Bean 1885: 601 (type locality 28°36'N, 85°33'W).

Neobythites gilli : Miranda Ribeiro 1915: 632 (holotype of N. ocellatus ); Koike and Guedes 1981: 50 (material lost; identification doubtful); Nielsen 1999: 337 (all specimens of this species caught from outside the Gulf of Mexico seem to be incorrectly identified).

Material examined. 178 specimens, SL 26–144* mm. Holotype and 177 non-types: for catalog numbers and localities see Nielsen (1999: 337). Additional material: none.

*Erroneously given as 59–229 in Nielsen (1999, tab. 2).

Diagnosis. Neobythites gilli differs from all other Atlantic Neobythites species by the following combination of characters: two distinct ocelli in the dorsal fin with a centrally placed ocellus (snout to dark part of ocellus 41–49 % SL) and a 1st posterior ocellus (snout to dark part of ocellus 59–67 % SL); very rarely a small, black spot anteriorly in the fin and one posterior to the second ocellus, 0–1 weak spine on hind margin of preopercle, total vertebrae 52–56, dorsal 88–97, and anal 73–81 fin rays.

Similarity. It appears from Table 3 that N. gilli like N. ocellatus have two ocelli in the dorsal fin. In N. gilli they are placed as the central ocellus (snout to ocellus-spot 41–49 % SL) and 1st posterior ocellus (snout to ocellus-spot 59–67 % SL) while in N. ocellatus they are placed as the anterior ocellus (snout to ocellus-spot 28–31 % SL) and central ocellus (snout to ocellus-spot 45–50 % SL). Neobythites gilli generally have fewer ocelli than N. multiocellatus and furthermore fewer vertebrae and rays in dorsal and anal fins than N. multiocellatus , N. monocellatus , and N. ocellatus . It also differs from N. monocellatus by having two ocelli (vs one).

N. monocellatus N. monocellatus N. gilli MOVI 39139 HT + 69 PTs HT + 177 non-types range mean n range mean n Standard length (SL) 97 37–154 70 26–144 178 Meristic characters

Dorsal fin rays 98 93–99 96.5 66 88–97 92.5 125 Caudal fin rays 8 8 8 62 8 8 75 Anal fin rays 82 78–83 80.4 67 73–81 76.8 133 Pectoral fin rays 25 24–27 25.7 50 23–25 24.2 48 Pseudobranchial filaments 5 4–6 4.6 61 3–6 4.2 49 Precaudal vertebrae 12 12–13 12.0 69 11–13 12.0 152 Total vertebrae 57 54–58 56.4 69 52–56 54.2 139 Origin of dorsal fin above vertebra n° 5 5–6 5.1 69 4–6 5.0 85 Origin of anal fin below dorsal fin ray n° 19 17–21 19.1 69 17–21 19.0 83 Origin of anal fin below vertebra n° 14 14–15 14.5 69 14–15 14.3 83 Long gill rakers on anterior arch 15 13–15 14.1 66 12–15 13.8 52 Morphometric characters in % SL

Head length 22.5 21.0–24.0 22.2 69 20.5–25.5 22.7 83 Depth at anal fin origin 17.0 14.0–19.5 17.1 66 15.0–19.0 17.0 92 Upper jaw length 11.0 10.5–13.0 11.6 60 10.5–14.5 11.6 41 Horizontal eye window 5.5 4.9–7.0 5.6 60 4.7–6.9 5.6 49 Preanal length 40.5 35.5–44.0 39.9 66 38.5–45.5 41.9 43 Predorsal length 25.5 20.0–27.0 24.8 64 22.0–27.5 25.4 54 From base of pelvic to anal fin 23.5 19.5–27.0 23.4 63 19.5–26.5 23.9 32 Pelvic fin length 18.5 17.5–23.5 20.3 64 15.0–22.5 19.5 55 Description. Table 1 shows the principal meristic and morphometric characters of the 178 specimens, including the holotype, taken from Nielsen (1999: 345). Since no additional specimens are examined reference is made to the description from 1999. For comparison reasons the sagittal otolith is shown in Figure 3 . Only the “Ocelli” section of the original description is repeated here due to the present separation between spots and ocelli.

Dorsal fin ocelli and spots: Figure 2 shows the two ocelli of which the central ocellus is larger than the 1st posterior ocellus. Table 3 gives the position of the two ocelli. A black spot at the origin of the dorsal fin (snout to spot 27–31 % SL) is seen in eight specimens and also a spot posterior to the 1st posterior ocellus (snout to spot 75–80 % SL) is found in eight specimens.

Distribution. Known only from the Gulf of Mexico, at depths from 59 to 229 m. The distribution of the 178 specimens (from 44 stations) examined by Nielsen (1999: 337) is shown on Figure 1 .

Remarks. Koike and Guedes (1981) recorded a 140 mm Neobythites gilli caught in June 1967 in a reef area off Piedade, Pernambuco, at 10 m depth. Unfortunately, the specimen cannot be traced. The color description did not mention the presence of ocelli in the dorsal fin. The shallow depth and lack of ocelli make it very unlikely that the specimen was correctly identified.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Records of ocellus-bearing Neobythites species in the West Atlantic. The numbers indicate the number of neighbouring stations.

FIGURE 2. Neobythites gilli, 104 mm SL, ZMUC P 771224.

FIGURE 3. Neobythites gilli, holotype, 80 mm SL, USNM 37340. Right sagitta: A—Median view, B—Anterior view, C—Dorsal view.