Chaenophryne ramifera Regan & Trewavas, 1932

Mincarone, Michael Maia, Afonso, Gabriel Vinícius Felix, Di Dario, Fabio, Eduardo, Leandro Nolé, Frédou, Thierry, Lucena-Frédou, Flávia, Bertrand, Arnaud & Pietsch, Theodore Wells, 2021, Deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) from off northeastern Brazil, with remarks on the ceratioids reported from the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, Neotropical Ichthyology 19 (2), pp. 1-28 : 12-14

Chaenophryne ramifera Regan & Trewavas, 1932

( Figs. 1F , 4 )

Diagnosis. Females of Chaenophryne ramifera are distinguished from those of C. longiceps by having a single, elongate, internally pigmented, anterior escal appendage (vs. esca with a pair of internally pigmented, anterior appendages), medial escal appendages absent (vs. medial escal appendage or appendages present), width of escal bulb 4.5–6.5% SL in specimens 20 mm or larger (vs. 5.3–11.4% SL in specimens 20 mm or larger), pectoral-fin rays 16–19 (vs. 17–22, rarely less than 18); they are also distinguished from C. draco by having two or three filamentous, anterolateral escal appendages on each side (vs. esca without anterolateral appendages), and by the ratio between number of teeth in upper jaw to number of teeth in lower jaw 0.76–0.98 (vs. 1.08–1.45) (Pietsch, 1975, 2007, 2009).

Geographical distribution. Chaenophryne ramifera occurs in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic, the species has been reported between 35°N off North Carolina and 12°S off Angola, with records near the Brazilian EEZ off Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (Pietsch, 1975, 2009). Chaenophryne ramifera is recorded for the first time in the Brazilian EEZ based on specimens collected off Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Rocas Atoll, and Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco States, between depths of 505 and 850 m ( Fig. 4 ).

Remarks. Two other specimens of Chaenophryne ( NPM 4963, 28 mm SL; NPM 5219, 17 mm SL) could not be identified to species due to their extremely small sizes. They were collected from off Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Rocas Atoll, between depths of 510 and 850 m ( Fig. 4 ).

Material examined. NPM 4955 , 1 , 32 mm ( Fig. 1F ) , RV Antea, sta. AB2/16, 7°36’15.0”S 33°59’30.0”W to 7°36’49.3”S 33°57’18.7”W, 680 m, 14 Apr 2017, 21:53– 22:39 h; NPM 4958 , 1 , 40 mm , RV Antea, sta. AB2/39, 4°52’26.9”S 34°03’32.3”W to 4°50’52.8”S 34°05’06.5”W, 650–800 m, 24 Apr 2017, 21:49–22:37 h; NPM 5061 , 1 , 44 mm , RV Antea, sta. AB2/44A, 3°52’52.5”S 32°17’33.3”W to 3°52’13.4”S 32°16’28.0”W, 850 m, 28 Apr 2017, 12:44–13:17 h; NPM 5062 , 1 , 50 mm , RV Antea, sta. AB2/48A, 4°25’05.3”S 32°57’52.1”W to 4°25’24.9”S 32°56’55.5”W, 505 m, 30 Apr 2017, 10:30– 10:58 h.

Figures

FIGURE 1 | Species of the Ceratioidei reported in this study: A. Ceratias uranoscopus, NPM 5050, 76 mm SL; B. Himantolophus sp., NPM 4959, 37 mm SL; C. Melanocetus johnsonii, NPM 4970, 19 mm SL; D. Thaumatichthys sp., NPM 4985, 32 mm SL; E. Chaenophryne draco, NPM 4954, 90 mm SL; F. Chaenophryne ramifera, NPM 4955, 32 mm SL; G. Dolopichthys sp., NPM 4980, 35 mm SL; H. Oneirodes anisacanthus, NPM 4977, 30 mm SL; I. Oneirodes carlsbergi, NPM 4953, 98 mm SL; J. Caulophryne sp., NPM 3835, 6 mm SL. Scale bars = 10 mm.

FIGURE 4 | Records of the Oneirodidae in Brazilian waters: Chaenophryne draco (square), Chaenophryne ramifera (circle), Chaenophryne sp. (pentagon), Dolopichthys sp. (asterisk), Microlophichthys microlophus (upside-down triangle), Oneirodes anisacanthus (star), Oneirodes carlsbergi (triangle), Oneirodes notius (diamond), Pentherichthys atratus (cross). Full symbols represent specimens collected during the ABRACOS surveys and open symbols are records from the literature (see text). Selected Brazilian States and islands are: RN – Rio Grande do Norte, PB – Paraíba, PE – Pernambuco; ES – Espírito Santo, RS – Rio Grande do Sul; SPA – Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, FN – Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, RA – Rocas Atoll. Dashed line represents the outer limit of the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone.