Seleniolycus Anderson 1988

Genus Seleniolycus Anderson, 1988, p. 68.

Type species. Oidiphorus laevifasciatus Torno, Tomo & Marschoff, 1977 (by monotypy) from the South Sandwich Islands, Scotia Sea.

Synonymy. Anderson, 1994, p. 44, description; 2006, p. 12, diagnosis; Anderson & Fedorov, 2004, p. 9, listed; Møller et al., 2005, p. 69, listed.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from all other zoarcids by the following combination of characters: suborbital bones 5-7, forming a circle under eye; postorbital pores 2; preoperculomandibular pores 7-8; flesh gelatinous; lateral line mediolateral; scales absent or present on posterior half of body; pelvic fin absent; pseudobranch, pyloric caeca, vomerine and palatine teeth present; vertebrae 22-27 + 52-71 = 74-97; pectoral fin rays 11-16. See Anderson (1988, 1994) for additional, diagnostic osteological characters of the type species unconfirmed in our material.

Remarks. The two new species described herein are assigned to Seleniolycus on the basis of their gelationous flesh, fragile skin, the circular suborbital pore row, absence of pelvic fins, and by the presence of a mediolateral lateral line, pseudobranch, pyloric caeca, vomerine and palatine teeth (Anderson, 1994, 2006). Detailed osteological studies or molecular data are not included here, but would be relevant for future studies of the interrelationships of Seleniolycus species and their relations to other zoarcids, especially their suggested sister group Melanostigma Günther, 1881 (Anderson, 1988, 1994; Shinohara & Sakurai, 2006). The degree of squamation is important in the taxonomy of Zoarcidae, although the earlier use of this character as sole argument for establishment of genera (e.g. Lycodalepis Bleeker, 1874; Lycias Jordan & Evermann, 1898) is now abandoned. Loss of squamation has happened many times in the evolution of Zoarcidae and intrageneric variations are more the rule than the exception. Presence/ absence variation is known from e.g. Hadropareia Schmidt, 1904, Lycodes Reinhardt, 1831, and Pachycara Zugmayer, 1911 (Anderson, 1994; Shinohara et al., 2004; Møller, 2003), and with the present paper also from Seleniolycus.