Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1864

Bañón, Rafael, Arronte, Juan Carlos, Armesto, Ángeles, Barros-García, David & Carlos, Alejandro De, 2016, Halosaur fishes (Notacanthiformes: Halosauridae) from Atlantic Spanish waters according to integrative taxonomy, Zootaxa 4184 (3), pp. 471-490 : 477-478

Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1864

Fig. 3 .

Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1864: 406 , Pl. 26 (fig. 1). Holotype (unique): BMNH 1863.12.12.1. McDowell 1973: 56 –66 (description, key); Sulak 1977: 11 –12 (key); Sulak 1986a: 593 –598 (description, key); Sulak 1986b (description, key); Mceachran & Fechhelm 1998: 210 –215 (description, key); Smith 2003 (key).

Material examined. MHNUSC 25010- 1, 538 mm TL, 4th August 2011, Galicia Bank; 42º41.771'N— 11º33.647'W ; 916 m depth; MHNUSC 25010- 2, 578 mm TL, 29th July 2009, Galicia Bank; 42º 73.58'N— 11º73.580'W ; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010- 3, 516 mm TL, 29th July 2009, 42º 73.58'N—011º73.580'W; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010- 4, 517 mm TL, 29th July 2009, 42º 73.58'N—011º73.580'W; 779 m depth; MHNUSC 25010- 5, 523 mm TL, 27th August 2009, 42º 73.58'N—011º73.580'W; 779 m depth.

Description. Body shape eel-like, moderately compressed, elongated and attenuated to the caudal peduncle; top and sides of head anterior to tip of lower jaw and opercle scaled; snout relatively short, contained 2.4–2.6 times in the head length; pelvic fin base anterior to dorsal fin base; palatine tooth patches meet on midline; the interior of the mouth is dark with conspicuous pale areas; lateral line scales unpigmented and only slightly larger than body scales; pyloric caeca unpigmented. The main morphometric and meristic characteristics are presented in Table 4 .

Habitat and distribution. Benthopelagic species at depths ranging from 440 to 2,800 m, but usually less than 800 m (D'Onghia et al. 2004). Present on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea. Occurs in the eastern Atlantic in the south of Ireland, Gulf of Biscay, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Azores, and Canary Islands and the western African coast from Morocco to South Africa ( Quéro et al. 1994; Sulak 1990; Bañón et al. 1997) and in the western Atlantic from New York to Colombia, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Antilles ( McEachran & Fechhelm 1998; Saavedra-Díaz et al. 2004); only a few records in the western Mediterranean Sea ( Pais et al. 2009).

Figures

FIGURE 3 Halosaurus ovenii from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, MHNUSC 25010 - 2, 578 mm total length.

Tables

TABLE 4. Comparison of morphometric, meristic data and respective body proportions for specimens of Halosaurus ovenii.

Halosaurus ovenii Total Length (mm)	MHNUSC 25010 (1–5) 516–578	McDowell (1973) Lloris, 1988 N=26 N=5 — 194–296	Pais et al., 2009 N=1 470
Preanal length (mm) Gnathoproctal length (mm) As % GPL	230–267 212–246	— — 93–180 —	210
Head length Eye diameter Preorbital length	27.2–29.2 3.8–4.4 10.8–12.3	— — — — — —	26.7 4.4 10.9
Postorbital length Interorbital length Preoral snout length	11.8–13.2 2.2–2.8 4.4–5.3	— — — — — —	— 2.2 —
Predorsal length Dorsal base length Pectoral length	68.2–74.2 7.6–8.5 16.6–20.3	— — — — — —	67.6 — —
Prepelvic length Pelvic length Body depth	59.6–64.8 11.2–12.7 14.5–17.9	— — — — — —	— — 16.7
Meristic features Dorsal fin rays Ventral fin rays	I+9–10 I+8–9	9–10 11 I+8–9 I+9	I+10 I+7
Pectoral fin rays SLL to anus SLL to pelvic origin	I+15–17 61–67 25–29	I+13–16 14–16 59–68 — 23–29 —	I+14 66 —
Scales above lateral line Branchiostegal rays Gill rakers	13–15 14 3+1+8–9	14–15 — 14–16 — 11–14 3+1+10	12–14 11–12 3+9
Pyloric caeca	12–13	12–20 ±16	11