Neoconger torrei ( Howell Rivero, 1932 )

Smith, David G., Marceniuk, Alexandre P., Rotundo, Matheus M., Carvalho, Cintia O. & Caires, Rodrigo A., 2024, A review of the genus Neoconger (Anguilliformes: Moringuidae), with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5492 (1), pp. 109-128 : 117

Neoconger torrei ( Howell Rivero, 1932)

( Figure 10A ; Tables 1–5 )

Chrinorhinus torrei Howell Rivero, 1932: 9 ; Havana, Cuba, holotype MCZ 32786 .

Neoconger torrei, Ginsburg, 1951: 446–447 .

Neoconger mucronatus, Smith & Castle, 1972: 200 (in part); Smith 1989a: 60 (in part).

Study material (4 adult specimens, 143–193 mm TL). HOLOTYPE: MCZ 32786 (1, 168), Havana, Cuba . OTHER MATERIAL: ANSP 139683 (1, 143), Puerto Rico , Guayanilla Bay, 3 m, dredged from mud, 1978. FLMNH 222149 (1, 193), Colombia, Gulf of Morrosquillo, 9.67° N, 76.03° W, 45–55 m, 13 July 1966, R/ V Pillsbury 371. FLMNH 223294 (1, 188 +), Colombia, Gulf of Morrosquillo, 9.52° N, 75.99° W, 33–36 m, 13 July 1966, Pillsbury 366. GENBANK number MG 856392, specimen voucher DPND 3073 (1 leptocephalus, 46 mm SL), 26.93° N, 86.37° W to 27.00° N, 86.43° W, 20 May 2016 .

Diagnosis. Neoconger torrei differs from N. mucronatus in the number of total vertebrae (104–107 vs 94–99) and preanal vertebrae (48–49 vs 43–47). It differs from N. anaelisae in the number of predorsal vertebrae (42–45 vs 32–34). It differs from N. hygomi in the number of predorsal vertebrae (42–45 vs 48) and preanal vertebrae (48–49 vs 55). It differs from N. vermiformis in the number of total vertebrae (104–107 vs 93–102), preanal vertebrae (48–49 vs 41–44), and predorsal vertebrae (42–45 vs 34–38). Larvae with a sharp intestinal loop; posterior lateral melanophore and anterior ventral melanophore present.

Description. See genus account for general appearance. Morphometric characters in % TL: preanal length 49.4–52.4, predorsal length 48.3–49.7, head length 9.5–10.7, depth at anus 3.6–4.3. In % HL: snout 18.8–20.6, eye 3.9–6.9, interorbital 15.0–15.4, snout-rictus 26.2–28.7, gill opening 9.7–15.0, interbranchial 10.7–16.2, pectoral-fin length 16.6–19.8. Meristic characters: lateral-line pores 21–40, pectoral-fin rays 11–13, predorsal vertebrae 42–45, preanal vertebrae 48–49, total vertebrae 104–107, precaudal vertebrae ca. 50–51. Mandibular pores as in N. mucronatus .

Color in preservative gray to brown.

The largest intact specimen is FLMNH 222149 at 193 mm TL and 101 mm preanal, although FLMNH 223294, which has lost part of its tail and measures 188 + TL, has a preanal length of 121 mm, indicating that it is actually larger than FLMNH 222149.

Distribution. Adults are known from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Based on the distribution of larvae, Smith (1989a: 64) suggested that this species (referred to as the high-count form) might extend as far south and east as the northern border of Brazil (see below under Remarks).

Remarks. This species is known from only four adult specimens, of which only two yielded a complete vertebral count. One specimen, the holotype, was partially deossified, and the vertebrae were not visible on the radiograph. Another specimen was damaged and had lost part of its tail. Still, that is sufficient to distinguish it completely from the neighboring species Neoconger mucronatus . The number of predorsal and preanal vertebrae distinguish it from the other species.

The leptocephalus illustrated by Smith & Castle (1972, fig. 20), collected near the French Guiana-Brazil border (DANA station 1174), appears to be this species. The intestinal loop is sharp and the anterior ventral melanophore is present. Smith (1989a: 64) reported larvae of this species to occur as far as the northern border of Brazil.

The barcoded larval specimen (DPND 3075 that proved genetically distinct from the Amazonian adult Neoconger anaelisae (MPEG 38951; see below) was collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off the northwestern coast of Florida. The specimen had been damaged when the tissue sample was taken, hence the myomere count was not available. However, it possessed the anterior ventral melanophore, which is present in Neoconger torrei but absent in N. mucronatus . In addition, it was collected in the area affected by the Gulf Loop Current, which brings water up from the Caribbean, then loops in a clockwise direction and exits through the Straits of Florida into the Gulf Stream.

The other barcoded specimen linked to this in the tree, GU 224984 (not seen by us), is also a larva. GenBank gives the location as 20.1293° N, 86.3499° W, just south of the Yucatan Channel off the eastern coast of Mexico near Cozumel, which would put it in the Caribbean Sea .

Etymology. Named for Dr. Carlos de la Torre, a prominent Cuban scientist of the early 20 th century, who studied Cuban fishes.

Figures

FIGURE 10. A, leptocephalus of Neoconger torrei. B, leptocephalus of Neoconger vermiformis. From Smith & Castle 1972: fig. 20. (a, anus; do, dorsal-fin origin; pm, postanal melanophore; prm, preanal melanophore; rpv, renal portal vein; vm, first [anterior] ventral melanophore.)