Smallfin Eucla Cod, Euclichthys microdorsalis Last & Pogonoski 2020

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Bray, D.J. 2020, Euclichthys microdorsalis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5540

Smallfin Eucla Cod, Euclichthys microdorsalis Last & Pogonoski 2020

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Distribution	Endemic to north-eastern Australia from the western Coral Sea, and east of Dunk Island south to the fringes of the Marion Plateau, Queensland.
Features	Dorsal fin I, 11-13; Anal fin I, 78-88; Pectoral fin 21-23; Caudal fin (total rays) 30-35; Gill rakers (primary) 4-5 + 12-14 = 17-19; Vertebrae 14-15 + 49-51 = 64-66. Body relatively deep, depth at anal-fin origin 17–18% SL; greatest body depth 1.8–2.1 times length of longest first dorsal-fin ray; snout relatively long, horizontal length 4.8–5.6% SL; horizontal diameter of eye 5.3–5.5% SL, 1.1–1.2 times interorbital width; interorbital width relatively broad 4.3–4.8% SL; orbit-upper jaw relatively broad, width 2.7–3.4 % SL; caudal peduncle relatively narrow, depth 1.3–1.6% SL; caudal-fin length 18–25 times caudal peduncle length; anal-fin base relatively long, length 54–57% SL; length of longest pelvic-fin ray 26–34% SL, 2.3–2.9 times length of longest first dorsal-fin ray; length of longest first dorsal-fin ray 11–12% SL; accessory caudal-fin bones X and Y absent; first ventral procurrent ray linked to hemal spine of vertebrae 7–8; scales relatively large, ~18 in transverse line from anal-fin base posteriorly to dorsal margin of body.
Similar Species	Differs from its congeners in having a shorter first dorsal fin, a longer snout, a relatively small eye compared to the interorbital width, fewer caudal-fin rays, and primary rakers on the outer gill arch.
Etymology	The specific name microdorsalis is from the Greek mikros (= small, little) and dorsalis (= dorsal) in allusion to the relatively small first dorsal fin of this species compared to that of its congeners.
Species Citation	Euclichthys microdorsalis last & Pogonoski 2020, Zootaxa 4758(2): 242, figs Figs 1B, 3A, 4C, 5, 7, 9A. Type locality: Capricorn Channel, between Saumarez Reef and Fraser Island, Queensland, 22°57’S, 153°01’E, 325–338 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020

Smallfin Eucla Cod, Euclichthys microdorsalis Last & Pogonoski 2020

References

Lowe, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1990. Additions and revisions to the checklist of fishes of the Capricorn-Bunker Group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Special Publication Series 19: 1–27 (as Euclichthys polynemus)

Last, P.R., Pogonoski, J.J, Gledhill, D.C., White, W.T. & Walker, C.J. 2014. The deepwater demersal ichthyofauna of the western Coral Sea. Zootaxa 3887(2): 191–224. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3887.2.4 (as Euclichthys sp.)

Last, P.R. & Pogonoski, J.J. 2020. Revision of the fish family Euclichthyidae (Pisces: Gadiformes) with the description of two new species from the Western Pacific. Zootaxa 4758(2): 231-256 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4758.2.2