Argyripnus atlanticus Maul 1952

Argyripnus atlanticus Maul 1952

(Fig. 2 A)

Material examined. 83 specimens: MNRJ 30126, 83(50.3–68.9 mm), D-0396.

Diagnosis. Argyripnus atlanticus can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: head long (24.4–29.6% SL); eyes large (41.1–50.4% HL); anal-fin origin positioned at a vertical line that passes through base of first dorsal-fin ray; VAV+AC (46–51 photophores); posterior AC group (15– 18); IC (58–67); origin of posterior group of AC over or just beyond last anal-fin ray or just at the end of it; body height 21.2–26.7% SL.

Meristic description. Fin rays: D 11–14; A 23–26; P 1 16–19. Gill rakers: 24–30 (6–8+2+16–20); Photophores: BR 6; IV1 6; IV2 10 –11; VAV+AC1 = 22–27; AC2 5; AC 3 15–18; AO 7.

Distribution. Madeira Island, and south of Canary Islands in the eastern North Atlantic; west of Puerto Rico, Bahamas, and Caribbean Sea in the western Central Atlantic; Royal Charlotte Bank, Brazil, in the western South Atlantic (present record); and off Hawaii in the Pacific.

Remarks. The specimens reported herein represent the first record of Argyripnus atlanticus in the western South Atlantic. Adult specimens of this species are rare in scientific collections (Badcock & Merrett 1972). The specimens analyzed by Grey (1964) and Badcock & Merrett (1972) were small (16.8–53.0 mm SL) and described as having 22–26 (17–18+6–7) gill rakers in the first arch. The specimens we examined are larger (50.3–68.9 mm SL) have 24–30, modally 27–28 (16–20+8–10) rakers in the first gill arch. Additional comparative material from other localities is needed in order to evaluate if the specimens collected in the western South Atlantic represent a still undescribed species, or if the different values we found for gill rakers count falls within the expected intraspecific variation.