Argyropelecus affinis Garman, 1899

Villarins, Bárbara T., Dario, Fabio Di, Eduardo, Leandro N., Lucena-Frédou, Flávia, Bertrand, Arnaud, Prokofiev, Artem M. & Mincarone, Michael M., 2022, Deep-sea dragonfishes (Teleostei: Stomiiformes) collected from off northeastern Brazil, with a review of the species reported from the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, Neotropical Ichthyology (e 220004) 20 (2), pp. 1-78 : 19-20

Argyropelecus affinis Garman, 1899

( Fig. 5C )

Diagnosis. Argyropelecus affinis differs from congeners by the PAN, AN and SC not distinctly separated in groups, organized in a nearly straight line; dorsal blade reduced, its height less than one-third of its length; ventral keel scales not extending below abdominal photophores; laterally directed postorbital spine absent (Baird, 1971, 1986; Borodulina, 1978).

Geographical distribution. Circumglobal in tropical and temperate waters, between 43ºN and 35ºS (Norman, 1939; Baird, 1971; Pequeño, 1989; Quéro et al., 1990b; Harold, 2003; Vélez, 2009; Sutton et al., 2020; Love et al., 2021). In the western Atlantic , the species was reported from off Canada to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea (Uyeno, Aizawa, 1983; McAllister, 1990; McEachran, Fechhelm, 1998; Harold, 2003; Moore et al., 2003; Judkins, Haedrich, 2018). In Brazilian waters, A. affinis was previously reported off the northeastern coast and adjacent oceanic islands (Borodulina, 1978; Eduardo et al., 2018a, 2020a), with additional records in the western Atlantic outside the Brazilian EEZ (Parin et al., 1974; Menezes et al., 2003; Olivar et al., 2017; Judkins, Haedrich, 2018). The specimens examined here were collected from off the Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte States , including seamounts, and off the Rocas Atoll and Fernando de Noronha Archipelago , between depths of 50 and 850 m ( Fig. 3D ) .

Specimens examined. 378 (28–78 mm SL): NPM 4089, 31 (28–68 mm), AB2#52B; NPM 4094, 7 (45–61 mm), AB2#58A; NPM 4110, 24 (45–59 mm), AB2#48A; NPM 4111, 4 (damaged), AB2#42A; NPM 4134, 2 (53–65 mm), AB2#60B; NPM 4135, 27 (33–68 mm), AB2#45B; NPM 4180, 46 (33–78 mm), AB2#41A; NPM 4210, 14 (44–65 mm), AB2#39; NPM 4211, 210 (35–73 mm), AB2#35; NPM 4426, 11 (48–57 mm), AB2#44A; NPM 4428, 1 (48 mm), AB2#40A; NPM 4436, 1 (39 mm), AB2#21.

Figures

FIGURE 3 | Records of species of Diplophidae (A), Gonostomatidae (B, C) and Sternoptychidae (D, E, F) collected during the ABRACOS expeditions off northeastern Brazil. Oceanic islands: RA, Rocas Atoll; FN, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago.

FIGURE 5 | A. Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, NPM 3301, 29 mm SL; B. Argyropelecus aculeatus, NPM 4133, 82 mm SL; C. Argyropelecus affinis, NPM 4089, 53 mm SL; D. Argyropelecus gigas, NPM 4090, 88 mm SL; E. Argyropelecus hemigymnus, NPM 3203, 26 mm SL; F. Argyropelecus sladeni, NPM 4102, 60 mm SL; G. Sternoptyx diaphana, NPM 4160, 28 mm SL; H. Sternoptyx pseudobscura, NPM 4103, 51 mm SL; I. Sternoptyx pseudodiaphana, NPM 4160, 59 mm SL. Scale bars = 10 mm.