John E. McCosker

Contribution by Symbiotically Luminous Fishes to the Occurrence and Bioluminescence of Luminous Bacteria in Seawater

Seawater samples from a variety of locations contained viable luminous bacteria, but luminescence was not detectable although the system used to measure light was sensitive enough to measure light from a single, fully induced luminous bacterial cell. When the symbiotically luminous fishCleidopus gloriamaris was placed in a sterile aquarium, plate counts of water samples showed an increase in luminous colony-forming units. Luminescence also increased, decreasing when the fish was removed. Light measurements of water samples from a sterile aquarium containingPhotoblepharon palpebratus, another symbiotically luminous fish, whose bacterial symbionts have not been cultured, showed a similar pattern of increasing light which rapidly decreased upon removal of the fish. These experiments suggest that symbiotically luminous fishes release brightly luminous bacteria from light organs into their environment and may be a source of planktonic luminous bacteria. Although planktonic luminous bacteria are generally not bright when found in seawater, water samples from environments with populations of symbiotically luminous fish may show detectable levels of light.

Detection of eyeshine by flashlight fishes of the family Anomalopidae.

Flashlight fishes of the family Anomalopidae live in clear tropical waters and are nocturnally active. They have luminescent organs located just below the pupils of their eyes. The relation of the luminescent organ to the pupil of the anomalopid eye is similar to that of the illumination and pupil system of the ophthalmoscope and identical to that of some photoretinoscopes. Indeed, one species of flashlight fish, Anomalops katoptron, actually moves its luminous organ away from its pupils in the process of occluding its light organ, making a retinoscopic-like movement. By photographing the eyeshine of a number of fishes with a photoretinoscope and by analyzing the optics of light organs of fish of the family Anomalopidae as well as the optics of reflecting eyes, we show under what light conditions and ranges flashlight fishes may reasonably be able to detect eyeshine from other fishes in the environment. Further, we suggest that flashlight fishes may be able to communicate with each other by altering the accommodation of their eyes. In such a communication system, the sender radiates no energy and communicates only with the interrogating receiver of the information. To our knowledge, this utilization of eyeshine, both for detection and for communication, is unique in the animal kingdom.

Fright Posture of the Plesiopid Fish Calloplesiops altivelis: An Example of Batesian Mimicry

When frightened by a predator, the plesiopid fish, Calloplesiops altivelis, adopts a posture and appearance that mimics the head of a noxious moray eel, Gymnothorax meleagris. Tests indicate that the mimicry is Batesian and not M�llerian. Unlike the strategy of other reef-fish prey species, which hide when threatened, the Calloplesiopss strategy is one of intimidation.

Notes on the biology, taxonomy, and distribution of flashlight fishes (Beryciformes: Anomalopidae)

New information concerning the distribution and biology of anomalopid fishes is presented. There are five valid described species:Anomalops katoptron andPhotoblepharon palpebratus, widely distributed in the central and western Pacific Ocean;P. steinitzi from the Red Sea and Comoro Islands;Kryptophanaron alfredi from the Caribbean; andK. harveyi from Baja California.P. steinitzi differs fromP. palpebratus in coloration, head bone ornamentation, and pelvic ray number. The second known specimen ofK. harveyi is described in detail. The occurrence of large specimens ofAnomalops in deep water and small specimens in shallow water is discussed. Synonyms and a key to the species of anomalopids are provided.

Revision of the worm eel genus Neenchelys (Ophichthidae: Myrophinae), with descriptions of three new species from the western Pacific Ocean

BackgroundThe Indo-Pacific snake eel genus Neenchelys is a small group of moderately to extremely elongated fishes (family Ophichthidae), which comprises seven nominal species previously. Intensive collections on this group have led to the findings of taxonomic problems, as well as new taxa. This study is aimed to review the group on the basis of all known specimens, to verify the species, and to describe the new species.ResultsSix valid species are recognized: Neenchelys microtretus Bamber from the Suez, Red Sea; N. buitendijki Weber and de Beaufort from Indonesia, Bombay, India, and Malaysia; N. cheni (Chen and Weng), a senior synonym of N. retropinna Smith and Böhlke, from Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, and the Gulf of Oman; N. daedalus McCosker from Papua New Guinea; N. parvipectoralis Chu, Wu and Jin from the South China Sea off Taiwan and Vietnam; and N. mccoskeri Hibino, Ho and Kimura from Japan and Taiwan. Three new species - N. diaphora sp. nov., N. pelagica sp. nov., and N. similis sp. nov. - are described from Taiwan and Japan. These new species differ from the congeners in body proportions, meristics, and morphology. A lectotype for N. buitendijki is designated.ConclusionsTotally, nine species are recognized in Neenchelys, including three new species, with most species showing range extension in the Indo-west Pacific region. Diagnosis, detailed morphometric and meristic data, and ecological note for each species are provided. New diagnostic characters are used for recognizing the species, with a key to the species of Neenchelys provided. The recent discovery of new Asian species suggests that more remain to be discovered.

A new deepwater species of worm‐eel, Scolecenchelys castlei (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), from New Zealand and Australia, with comments on S. breviceps and S. macroptera

Abstract A new deepwater species of worm‐eel (Ophichthidae, subfamily Myrophinae), Scolecenchelys castlei, is described from 34 specimens trawled at 425–820 m off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. It is the deepest capture of any known Scolecenchelys. The new species is distinguished from its closest relative, S. breviceps Günther, by having more vertebrae and a larger eye, in other body proportions, and in its coloration. The synonymies of S. breviceps and S. macroptera are reviewed.

Ultrastructure of Lymphocystis Virus in the Quillback Rockfish, Sebastes maliger, with Records of Infection in other Aquarium-Held Fishes

Abstract Lymphocystis viral infection is reported for the first time from the quillback rockfish, Sebastes maliger, the starry rockfish, S. constellatus, and the China rockfish, S. nebulosus, (family Scorpaenidae), recreationally and commercially important eastern North Pacific species. The ultrastructure of infected cells, herein identified as facultative fibroblasts, of S. maliger is described and illustrated. Other aquarium-held fishes previously unreported as lymphocystis hosts are: Bodianus mesothorax, Chaetodon miliaris, C. auriga, C. lunulatus, Chelmon rostratus, Pomacanthus annularis, and Cichlasoma synspilum.

A New Species of Parapercis (Pisces: Mugiloididae) from the Juan Fernández Islands@@@A New Species of Parapercis (Pisces: Mugiloididae) from the Juan Fernandez Islands

Parapercis dockinsi n. sp., from the Juan Fernandez Islands represents the first eastern Pacific species of a genus previously known only from the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans, differing from the other 35 nominal species in its higher counts and coloration. The offshore insular confinement of Indo-Pacific species in the eastern tropical Pacific in relation to the sea-level Panama Canal is discussed. New synonymies are: Parapercis chilensis Norman, 1937 = Prolatilus jugularis (Valenciennes, 1883); Porteridia Fowler, 1945 = Prolatilus Gill, 1865.

Tropical Eastern Pacific Records of the Prickly Shark, Echinorhinus cookei (Chondrichthyes: Echinorhinidae)

Abstract: Most records of the prickly shark, Echinorhinus cookei Pietschmann, 1928, are from temperate and subtropical areas of the Pacific rim, with few records from the tropics. This seemingly disjunct distribution led some authors to consider E. cookei to have an antitropical distribution. Unreported museum specimens and underwater observations of E. cookei from Cocos Island, Costa Rica; the Galápagos Islands; and northern Peru confirm its occurrence in the tropical eastern Pacific and, combined with other published records from the eastern Pacific, establish a continuous, panhemispheric eastern Pacific distribution.

A New Deepwater Species of the Snake Eel Genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from North Carolina

Abstract Ophichthus brevirostris, a new species of snake eel, subfamily Ophichthinae, is described from a specimen trawled in deep water (406–440 m) off North Carolina. It is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: large orbit; filamentous pectoral fin; two preopercular pores; short snout; minute dentition; body coloration; and vertebral formula (13/60/153). It is most similar to Ophichthus arneutes from the Galápagos, O. genie from New Caledonia and Maldives, and two undescribed congeners from Seychelles and Tonga. It differs from them in its dorsal-fin origin, dentition, and vertebral numbers. Its characteristics do not agree with that of any of the 15 known leptocephali of western Atlantic relatives.