Ventrifossa sazonovi Iwamoto and Williams, 1999

Iwamoto, Tomio, Nakayama, Naohide, Shao, Kwang-Tsao & Table, Hsuan-Ching Ho, 2015, Synopsis of the Grenadier Fishes (Gadiformes; Teleostei) of Taiwan, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 62 (3), pp. 31-126 : 117-118

Ventrifossa sazonovi Iwamoto and Williams, 1999

Figure 30 .

Ventrifossa sazonovi Iwamoto and Williams, 1999:231, fig. 56 (holotype: CAS 13564, South China Sea, off

Vietnam, 15°48ʹN, 109°47ʹE, depth 479 meters; 15 paratypes, n. and w. Australia ).

MATERIAL EXAMINED.— SWT: BSKU 98976 (1, 38.5 mm HL, 202+ mm TL), Dong-gang Fish Market, ca. 200–300 m depth, bottom trawl, coll. by H.-C. Ho, 16 Nov. 2007.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES.— 1D II,10; P i21–22; V 9; GR-I (outer/inner) 13/17; GR-II (outer/inner) 18/17. Snout 27% HL; preoral 10% HL; interorbital 25% HL; orbit 33% HL; suborbital 11% HL; orbit to preopercle 45% HL; upper jaw 47% HL; barbel 21% HL; outer gill slit 27% HL. Head and body moderately compressed; snout relatively short, barely protruding beyond upper jaw; suborbital shelf somewhat constricted anteriorly; chin barbel fairly developed; pectoral fin rather short, 1.7 in HL. Branchiostegal membranes narrowly united over isthmus; gill opening extending forward to below hind 1 ⁄ 3 of orbit. Periproct situated just behind V insertions, occupying about 1 ⁄ 3 of V –A interspace; dermal window of light organ small, reaching on a line passing through outer V bases. Premaxillary teeth in broad tapered band; outer series distinctly enlarged; dentary teeth aligned in irregular 2 rows. Spinules on body scales needle-like, arranged in quincunx order; those on scales along 2D base prominently enlarged. No modified scutes on snout. 1D smooth along its leading edge. Color in preservative light brown overall, but dark over ventral parts of head and abdomen; prominent blackish streaks along leading edge of snout, upper suborbital shelf, and median nasal ridge; lips and chin barbel pale; oral cavity immaculate; 1D darker proximally, paler distally; V blackish; other fins dusky overall. Attains at least 34 cm TL.

DISTRIBUTION.— Known from the South China Sea off Vietnam and Taiwan, and northern coasts of Australia from Western Australia to Queensland, in about 200–610 m.

REMARKS.— This species is readily distinguished from other Taiwanese congeners except V. macroptera in having a smooth leading edge of 1D. It further differs from V. macroptera in having enlarged spinules on scales along 2D base. The Taiwanese specimen is the shallowest captures (previously known only below 420 m) and the northernmost record of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 30. Ventrifossa sazonovi Iwamoto and Williams, 1999. BSKU 98976, 202+ mm TL, preserved.