Parr's Combtooth Whalefish, Gyrinomimus parri Bigelow 1961

Other Names: Parr's Whalefish

Summary:

A uniformly dark brown whalefish with darker fin-rays and lateral-line pores, a paler mouth, and blue eyes.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2024, Gyrinomimus parri in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/1485

Parr's Combtooth Whalefish, Gyrinomimus parri Bigelow 1961

More Info

Distribution	Off Broken Bay, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Western Atlantic, western North Pacific and southwestern Pacific.
Features	Dorsal fin 17; Anal fin 17; Pectoral fin 16; Lateral-line pores 14; Gill arches 3. Dorsal fin base 24% SL. Head length 33% SL. Body rather elongate, mouth enormous, one-third of body length; snout rounded, head wider than body, eye tiny; nasal organ small; jaws slightly convex to straight on upper, concave on lower; three distinct gill arches; gill tooth plates contiguous. Lateral line conspicuous with large round pores inside a channel with raised rim, continuing onto head as a series of pores and sensory openings, additional pores on lower jaw and snout; lateral pores lack small dermal flaps; no vertical rows of papillae on lateral line. Jaw teeth relatively long (three times longer than wide) in irregular rows; vomerine tooth patch rectangular or flat. Dorsal and anal fins located far back on body, with bases slightly elevated. Cavernous tissue located around the anus and anal fin base, absent elsewhere on body Caudal fin with fewer than 17 principle rays. Pelvic fin absent. Pectoral fin small and inserted low on body. Body flabby and scaleless except for large, diagnostic scales associated with the lateral line canals.
Species Citation	Gyrinomimus parri Bigelow 1961, Breviora. Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 1, fig. 1. Type locality: North central Gulf of Mexico, 26°52'N, 89°44'W, depth 1350 fathoms.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Parr's Combtooth Whalefish, Gyrinomimus parri Bigelow 1961

References

Bigelow, H.B. 1961. A new species of the cetomimid genus Gyrinomimus from the Gulf of Mexico. Breviora. Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 1-2 fig. 1. https://biostor.org/reference/4374

Mincarone, M.M, Di Dario, F. & Costa, P.A.S. 2014. Deep-sea bigscales, pricklefishes, gibberfishes and whalefishes (Teleostei: Stephanoberycoidei) off Brazil: new records, range extensions for the south-western Atlantic Ocean and remarks on the taxonomy of Poromitra. Journal of Fish Biology 85: 1546-1570. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12515

Paxton, J.R. 1989. Synopsis of the whalefishes (family Cetomimidae) with descriptions of four new genera. Records of the Australian Museum 41: 135-206. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.41.1989.141 (p. 137, as Gyrinomimus myersi)

Paxton, J.R. 2003. Cetomimidae pp. 1171-1173, in Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2003. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO and American Society of Ichthyologist and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome. v. 2: i-vii + 602-1373

Roa-Varón, A. & Iwamoto, T. 2019. Gyrinomimus parri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T190141A121210529. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T190141A121210529.en. Accessed on 27 November 2024.