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On Two Poorly Known Species of Wolf Eels (Lycenchelys, Zoarcidae)

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Abstract

Seventy years after the capture of the holotype, a second specimen of the abyssal species Lycenchelys uschakovi was reported, which differed markedly from the holotype in a number of characters (the number of postorbital pores, the degree of scale cover development). This is the deepest find of the wolf eel in the North Pacific (4890–4984 m). From the bathyal depths (~800 m) near Paramushir Island, two specimens are described, corresponding to the characters of the nominal species L. parini, also previously known only from the holotype. Based on the analysis of the literature data on the North Pacific wolf eels, a conclusion has been made about the conspecificity of L. parini and L. melanostomias, the latter name taking precedence. The new find significantly expands the known range of L. melanostomias to the north.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is deeply grateful to M.V. Nazarkin (Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and M.E. Anderson (Makhanda, South Africa) for providing comparative materials and discussion.

Funding

The article was partially supported (study of ontogenetic variability) by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 19-14-00026.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS), Moscow, Russia

    A. M. Prokofiev

  2. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences (IO RAS), Moscow, Russia

    A. M. Prokofiev

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  1. A. M. Prokofiev
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Correspondence to A. M. Prokofiev.

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Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Translated by S. Avodkova

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Prokofiev, A.M. On Two Poorly Known Species of Wolf Eels (Lycenchelys, Zoarcidae). J. Ichthyol. 62, 173–184 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S003294522202014X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S003294522202014X

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