Published December 31, 2015 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Apterichtus ansp Bohlke 1968

Creators

Description

Apterichtus ansp (Böhlke 1968)

Table 1

Verma ansp Böhlke 1968:3, Fig. 1 (type locality Nassau, Bahamas, holotype ANSP 98366). Apterichtus ansp: McCosker 1977:66.

Diagnosis. An elongate species with: tail 1.7–1.8, head 12–15, and body depth 43–53 in total length; 4 preopercular pores and 5 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; 3–4 vomerine teeth; body coloration nearly uniform pale to tan, fresh specimens have a fine sprinkling of melanophores over the dorsal surface of the head and body, with pale areas behind eye and along lower jaw; and MVF 54–128, total vertebrae 123–132 (n=25).

Size. The largest specimen examined is 415 mm, sex unknown, from Cooper’s Island, Bermuda.

Distribution. Known from United States from the Carolinas to the Florida Keys, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Lesser Antilles, and off Brazil, from the shoreline to 38 m depth.

Remarks. This treatment is primarily taken from McCosker et al. (1989:319–321). Leiby (1982) described and illustrated the leptocephalus of A. ansp. This species is most similar to A. gracilis from the eastern Atlantic, which differs in its posterior nostril condition (Blache and Bauchot, 1972:714–717).

Material examined. 41 specimens, 58–415 mm TL, including the holotype (ANSP 98366, 222.5 mm TL). Those specimens are listed in McCosker et al. (1989:320–321).

Notes

Published as part of Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1) on page 54, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/288211

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Family
Ophichthidae
Genus
Apterichtus
Kingdom
Animalia
Order
Anguilliformes
Phylum
Chordata
Scientific name authorship
Bohlke
Species
ansp
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Apterichtus ansp Bohlke, 1968 sec. Hibino, 2015

References

  • Bohlke, J. E. (1968) A new species of the ophichthid eel genus Verma from west Atlantic, with comments on related species. Notulae Naturae, 1 - 12. [Philadelphia]
  • McCosker, J. E. (1977) The osteology, classification, and relationships of the eel family Ophichthidae. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 41, 1 - 123.
  • Leiby, M. (1982) Leptocephalus Larvae of the Tribe Sphagebranchini (Pisces, Ophichthidae) in the Western North Atlantic. Bulletin of Marine Science, 32, 220 - 236.
  • Blache, J. & Bauchot, M. L. (1972) Contribution a la connaissance des poissons Anguilliformes de la cote occidentale d'Afrique. 13 e note: les genres Verma, Apterichthus, Ichthyapus, Hemerorhinus, Caecula, Dalophis avec la description de deux genres nouveaux (Fam. des Ophichthidae). Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire Sciences Naturelles, Series A, 34, 692 - 773.