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Cusk-eel confusion: revisions of larval Luciobrotula and Pycnocraspedum and re-descriptions of two bythitid larvae (Ophidiiformes)

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Abstract

Since 2006, an ophidiiform larva with an ovoid body, elongate anterior dorsal-fin ray, and long trailing fleshy filament has been identified as Pycnocraspedum squamipinne. Similarly, the larvae of the ophidiid genus Luciobrotula have been tentatively identified since 1988, with posteriorly displaced dorsal fins and bulging or exterilium guts. However, neither of these larval forms morphologically agree with their adult counterparts. Recently, blackwater divers captured and photographed specimens of larval Luciobrotula and Pycnocraspedum off the coast of Hawaiʻi and Florida, making them available for both morphological and molecular sampling. After examining these larvae and analyzing DNA barcode sequences, as well as a newly captured and sequenced adult of Pycnocraspedum phyllosoma, we revise the previously identified “Pycnocraspedum” larvae to species of Luciobrotula. We describe the larvae of Luciobrotula bartschi and Luciobrotula corethromycter for the first time, highlighting an extraordinary loss of multiple anterior dorsal-fin elements in their ontogeny. We also generate the first DNA sequences for L. corethromycter and P. phyllosoma, adding to the depauperate number of sequences available for ophidiiforms. For the previously identified “Luciobrotula” larvae, neither morphological nor molecular characters provide definitive identification other than recovering them among the Bythitidae. We provide new morphological observations, revised descriptions, and generate a phylogeny of ophidiiform fishes based on COI to place these larvae in a phylogenetic context, prompting further investigation into the relationships of the Ophidiiformes using additional genetic markers. Our study emphasizes the importance of blackwater diving to improving our understanding of marine larval fishes and the need for additional molecular sampling of the diverse order of brotulas, cusk-eels, pearlfishes, and their allies.

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Fig. 1
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Fig. 3

© D. Devers; c preserved USNM 465411; d blackwater photo of type 2 larva, USNM 447052, captured by J. Milisen, offshore of Kona, Hawaiʻi, 13 May 2017, figure from Nonaka et al. (2021: fig. 9C) published in Ichthyology & Herpetology 109 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (https://www.asih.org) and is licensed under CC BY 4.0; e preserved USNM 447052. Scale bars = 1 cm

Fig. 4

© M. Okiyama (2014) reproduced with permission of Tokai University Press. Illustration associated with clade of Luciobrotula based on USNM 454451

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The data generated during and/or analysed in this article are available in the article, the Supplementary Information, GenBank, or MorphoSource.

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Acknowledgements

We thank blackwater divers R. Collins, A. Deloach, N. Deloach, D. Devers, S. Kovacs, and J. Milisen for capturing larval specimens and allowing us to use some of their exceptional photographs in this publication; L. Ianniello for her continued enthusiasm, useful discussions, and contributions to the USNM collections; R. Smetana and K. Bemis for reading and providing feedback on this manuscript; J. Hill (NMNH) and G. Watkins-Colwell, T. Wu, and A. Zhang (YPM) for assistance with µCT scanning; K. Murphy and D. Pitassy (USNM) and A. Reft (NOAA National Systematics Laboratory) for facilitating the loan of specimens; J. Moore (FAU), J. Kojima (Marine Ecology Research Institute), N. Schnell (MNHN), M. A. Krag and P. R. Møller (NHMD), A. Bernard, A. Cook, H. Johnson, M. Shivji, and T. Sutton (Nova Southeastern University), K. Matsuura, M. Nakae, G. Shinohara (NSMT), D. Kobayashi (Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center); R. Robins (UF), C. Baldwin, J. Clayton, K. Murphy, D. Pitassy (USNM), G. Watkins-Colwell (YPM), and members of the DEEPEND project for providing data, support, and/or access to specimens and tissues in their care. Finally, we thank W. Schwarzhans (NHMD) and unidentified reviewers for their comments and suggestions on this study. Extractions and sequencing of DNA were conducted at the NMNH Laboratories of Analytical Biology. Analyses were conducted using the Community Cluster at the University of Kansas. MGG, AN, and GDJ were supported in part by the Herbert R. and Evelyn Axelrod Endowment for Systematic Ichthyology at NMNH. MGG was supported in part by the NMNH Office of the Associate Director for Science. BCM was supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. This is Ocean Research Explorations Contribution ORE-13.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA

    Matthew G. Girard, Ai Nonaka & G. David Johnson

  2. Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Matthew G. Girard

  3. Ocean Research Explorations, P.O. Box 235926, Honolulu, HI, 96823, USA

    Bruce C. Mundy

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  1. Matthew G. Girard
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Correspondence to Matthew G. Girard.

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Species of fishes in this study are not listed as threatened or endangered by the IUCN Red List or CITES. All methods of capture and preservation conform to the Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research established by the American Fisheries Society, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists, and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Larvae collected off West Palm Beach, Florida, were acquired under Florida permit SAL-21-2155A-SR. Permit not required for larval collections off Kona, Hawaiʻi.

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Girard, M.G., Mundy, B.C., Nonaka, A. et al. Cusk-eel confusion: revisions of larval Luciobrotula and Pycnocraspedum and re-descriptions of two bythitid larvae (Ophidiiformes). Ichthyol Res 70, 474–489 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-023-00906-4

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