Fig. 2.
Halosaurus macrochir (Günther, 1878): (251) 23. Off Strait of Gilbraltar, Challenger station 5, depth 1,090 fathoms. Lectotype: BMNH 1887.12.7.237. McDowell 1973: 74–87 (description, key); Sulak 1977: 11–12 (key); Paulin & Moreland 1979: 268–270 (description); Sulak 1986a: 593–598 (description, key); Machida et al. 1988 (description); Gon 1990 (description); Smith 2003 (key); Bergstad et al. 2012 (age, growth).
Material examined. MHNUSC 25009- 1, 536 mm TL, 7th August 2011, Galicia Bank, 42º41.771'N— 11º33.647'W, 1,477m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 2, 528 mm TL, 8th August 2011, Galicia Bank; 42º43.536'N— 11º28.128, 1,751 m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 3, 604 mm TL, 8th August 2011, Galicia Bank; 42º43.536'N— 11º28.128; 1,751 m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 4, 585 mm TL, 8th August, Galicia Bank; 42º43.536'N— 11º28.128, 1,751 m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 5, 566 mm TL, 29th July 2011, Galicia Bank; 42º56.172'N— 11º 55.816’W, 1,545 m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 6, 626 mm TL, 29th July 2011, Galicia Bank, 42º56.172'N — 11º 55.816’W, 1,545 m depth; MHNUSC 25009- 7, 579 mm TL, 29th July 2011, Galicia Bank, 42º56.172'N—11º 55.816’W; 1,545 m depth.
Description. Body shape eel-like, moderately compressed, elongated and attenuated to the caudal peduncle; top of snout and head scaleless, opercle scaled; head depressed anteriorly, the interorbital length is contained 4.8– 6.2 times in the head length; dorsal origin slightly posterior to pelvic origin; first dorsal ray segmented and as long as 2nd dorsal ray; pectoral fin long and narrow, almost reaching to the base of the dorsal fin and contained 1.2–1.3 times in the head length; a deeply pigmented sheath of the lateral line composed by enlarged scales; pyloric caeca long, creamy white in colour, arranged in a single row at the base. The main morphometric and meristic characteristics are presented in Table 3.
FIGURE. 2 Halosauropsis macrochir from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, MHNUSC 25009- 5, 566 mm total length.
Habitat and distribution. Benthopelagic on the lower slope, rise and seamounts, between 1,100 and 3,300 m depth. Cosmopolitan: eastern Atlantic from Ireland to Mauritania and South Africa; central Atlantic, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; western Atlantic, including Canada to 25°N, and off southern Brazil; western Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan; and western Indian Ocean (Sulak 1986a; Bergstad et al. 2012).