Careproctus rastrinus

Orr, James Wilder, Kai, Yoshiaki & Nakabo, Tetsuji, 2015, Snailfishes of the Careproctus rastrinus complex (Liparidae): redescriptions of seven species in the North Pacific Ocean region, with the description of a new species from the Beaufort Sea, Zootaxa 4018 (3), pp. 301-348 : 337-338

Key to the species of the Careproctus rastrinus complex

1a. Postorbital pore present; prickles dense, closely spaced........................................................2

1b. Postorbital pore absent; prickles widely scattered or absent.....................................................6

2a. Peritoneum gray, stomach gray............................... Careproctus rastrinus Gilbert & Burke (Sea of Okhotsk)

2b. Peritoneum pale, stomach dark or pale..................................................................... 3

3a. Stomach dark......................................................................................... 4

3b. Stomach pale......................................................................................... 5

4a. Orbit small, 4 to 6 times in head length; pelvic disc 50 to 80% of orbit length; body dark or pale........................

........................................................ Careproctus trachysoma Gilbert & Burke (Sea of Japan) 4b. Orbit large, 2.5 to 4 times in head length; pelvic disk 25 to 50% of orbit length; body pale............................................................................. Careproctus pellucidus Gilbert & Burke (Pacific Ocean, off Japan)

5a. Lower lobe of pectoral fin long, longer than upper lobe, extending to anal-fin origin; body robust........................................... Careproctus scottae Chapman & DeLacy (Eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska)

5b. Lower lobe of pectoral-fin moderate, shorter than upper lobe, extending just beyond anus; body slender........................................................... Careproctus acanthodes Gilbert & Burke (Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk)

6a. Orbit large, 3 times in head length; prickles absent........................ Careproctus spectrum Bean (Gulf of Alaska)

6b. Orbit not large, less than 3 times in head length; prickles present, widely spaced.................................... 7

7a. Body uniformly pale, pink to light orange, without scattered melanophores; dorsal-fin rays 56 or less, anal-fin rays 49 or less.................................................................... Careproctus phasma Gilbert (Bering Sea)

7b. Body pale, pink, light orange, to light gray, with scattered melanophores; dorsal-fin rays 56 or more; anal-fin rays 48 or more............................................. Careproctus lerikimae Orr, Kai & Nakabo , new species (Beaufort Sea)