Abstract
Ten species of the congrid eel genus Bathycongrus are recognized from Taiwanese waters. Diagnoses and full descriptions of eight species are provided in present work. Three species are described as new. Bathycongrus bimaculatus sp. nov. is a small species with a pale body color, two black patches on dorsal fin, and 109–111 total vertebrae. Bathycongrus graciliceps sp. nov. is a moderately elongate species with a small, slender head and long trunk, and 163 total vertebrae. Bathycongrus castlei sp. nov. is a slender species with a relatively short trunk, dorsal half of body deep brownish, and 160–162 total vertebrae. Two rare species, B. bleekeri Fowler, 1934 and B. macroporis (Kotthaus, 1968), are newly reported from Taiwan. A key to all species in Taiwan is provided.
References
Alcock, A.W. (1894) Natural history notes from H. M. Indian marine survey steamer `Investigator,', Commander C. F. Oldham, R. N., commanding. Series II. No. 11. An account of a recent collection of bathybial fishes from the Bay of Bengal and from the Laccadive Sea. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 63 (Part 2), 115–137.
Ben-Tuvia, A. (1993) A review of the Indo-west Pacific congrid fishes of genera Rhynchoconger and Bathycongrus with the description of three new species. Israel Journal of Zoology, 39 (4), 349–370.
Böhlke, E.B. (1989) Methods and Terminology. In: Böhlke, E.B. (Ed.), Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes. Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Memoirs of the Sears Foundation for Marine Research, 1 (9), 1–7.
Breder, C.M. (1927) Scientific results of the first oceanographic expedition of the "Pawnee" 1925. Fishes. Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection Yale University, 1 (Art. 1), 1–90.
Castle, P.H.J. (1968) The congrid eels of the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Ichthyological Bulletin, Rhodes University, 33, 685–726.
Castle, P.H.J. (1995) Alcock’s congrid eels from the ‘Investigator’ collections in Indian Seas 1888–1894. Copeia, 1995, 706–718.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1446768Castle, P.H.J. & Smith, D.G. (1999) A reassessment of the eels of the genus Bathycongrus in the Indo-west Pacific. Journal of Fish Biology, 54, 973–995.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1999.tb00851.xFowler, H.W. (1934) Descriptions of new fishes obtained 1907 to 1910, chiefly in the Philippine Islands and adjacent seas. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 85 (for 1933), 233–367.
Gilbert, C.H. & Cramer, F. (1897) Report on the fishes dredged in deep water near the Hawaiian Islands, with descriptions and figures of twenty-three new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 19 (1114), 403–435.
https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.19-1114.403Günther, A. (1887) Report on the deep-sea fishes collected by H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H. M. S. Challenger, 22 (Part 57), i–lxv + 1–268.
Ho, H.-C., Smith, D.G., McCosker, J.E., Hibino, Y., Loh, K.-H., Tighe, K.A. & Shao, K.-T. (2015) Annotated checklist of eels (orders Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes) from Taiwan. Zootaxa, 4060 (1), 140–189.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4060.1.16Huang, J.-F., Ho, H.-C., Chang, Y.-H., Smith, D.G. & Chen, H.-M. (2018) Two new species of the conger eel genus Bathycongrus (Anguilliformes: Congridae) from Taiwan. Zootaxa, 4454 (1), 107–117.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4454.1.11
Jordan, D.S. (1921) Description of deep-sea fishes from the coast of Hawaii, killed by a lava flow from Mauna Loa. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 59 (2392), 643–656.
https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.59-2392.643Jordan, D.S. & Hubbs, C.L. (1925) Record of fishes obtained by David Starr Jordan in Japan, 1922. Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum, 10 (2), 93–346.
Jordan, D.S. & Snyder, J.O. (1901) A review of the apodal fishes or eels of Japan, with descriptions of nineteen new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 23 (1239), 837–890.
https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.23-1239.837Karmovskaya, E.S. (2009) New records of congrid eels of the genus Bathycongrus (Congridae) in the west-central tropical Pacific Ocean, with a description of three new species. Journal of Ichthyology, 49 (2), 139–153.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945209020015Karmovskaya, E.S. (2011) New species of the genus Bathycongrus -- B. parviporus (Congridae, Anguilliformes) -- from waters of central Vietnam (Nha Trang and Van Phong bays). Journal of Ichthyology, 51 (6), 417–425.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945211040060Karmovskaya, E.S. & Smith, D.G. (2008) Bathycongrus trimaculatus, a new congrid eel (Teleostei: Anguilliformes) from the southwestern Pacific, with a redescription of Bathycongrus bleekeri Fowler. Zootaxa, 1943, 26–36.
Kotthaus, A. (1968) Fische des Indischen Ozeans. A. Systematischer Teil. III. Ostariophysi und Apodes. Meteor Forschungsergebnisse, Reihe D, Biologie, 3, 14–56.
Ogilby, J.D. (1898) New genera and species of fishes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 23 (Part 3), 280–299
Smith, D.G. (1989) Family Congridae. In: Böhlke, E.B. (Ed.), Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Memoirs of the Sears Foundation for Marine Research, 1 (Part 9), pp. 460–567.
Smith, D.G. (1999) Congridae, Conger eels. In: Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (Eds.), Species identification guide for fisheries purposes. The living marine resources of the western central Pacific. Volume 3. Batoid fishes, chimeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome, pp. 1680–1987.