Western Deepsea Cardinalfish, Epigonus atherinoides (Gilbert 1905)

Other Names: Slender Deepwater Cardinalfish

Illustration of the holotype of the Western Deepsea Cardinalfish, Epigonus atherinoides. Source: Pl. 79, in Gilbert (1905) Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission 23(2): 577-713 / Biodiversity Heritage Library. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Epigonus atherinoides in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1641

Western Deepsea Cardinalfish, Epigonus atherinoides (Gilbert 1905)

More Info

Distribution	Off Cape Leschenault to off Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. Elsewhere the species occurs in northeastern Japan, the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, Hawaiian Islands, the Society Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Nazca and Sala y Gomez Ridges, at depths of 276–755 m.
Features	A species of Epigonus with the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays VII–I, 10 or rarely VII–I, 9; pectoral-fin rays 20–22; total gill rakers 20–23; vertebrae 10 + 15; pyloric caeca 11–15; pored lateral-line scales 46–50 + 3–5; scales below lateral line 7–8; opercular spine pungent; maxillary mustache-like processes blunt; ribs on last abdominal vertebra absent or rarely present but reduced; upper margin of pectoral-fin base subequal to level of horizontal line through center of eye; proximal radial of first anal-fin pterygiophore broad; cycloid scales on lateral sides of body; head length 28.2–32.7% SL; upper-jaw length 10.2–11.9% SL; caudal-peduncle depth 6.4–8.2% SL.
Remarks	In Australia, this species was previously known as Epigonus occidentalis, a species found in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic (Okamoto et al. 2018)
Species Citation	Hynnodus atherinoides Gilbert 1905, Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission 23(2) [for 1903]: 618, Pl. 79. Type locality: Pailolo Channel, Hawaii Islands, Albatross station 3867, depth 284-290 fathoms.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Western Deepsea Cardinalfish, Epigonus atherinoides (Gilbert 1905)

References

Fricke, R. 2017. Epigonus okamotoi, a new species of deepwater cardinalfish from New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Sea, western Pacific Ocean (Teleostei: Epigonidae). FISHTAXA 2(3): 116-122

Gilbert, C.H. 1905. II. The deep-sea fishes of the Hawaiian Islands. In: The aquatic resources of the Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission 23(2) [for 1903]: 577-713, Pls. 66-101. See ref at BHL

Mayer, G.F. 1974. A revision of the cardinalfish genus Epigonus (Perciformes, Apogonidae), with descriptions of two new species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 146(3): 147-203 figs 1-22

Okamoto, M. 2012. Two new species of the genus Epigonus (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the South Pacific, with a description of the Epigonus constanciae group. Ichthyological Research 59: 242-254.

Okamoto M. 2016. Validity of Epigonus megalops (Perciformes: Epigonidae), redescription of E. atherinoides, and first record of E. draco from the Central South Pacific. Species Diversity 21: 177-186. https://doi.org/ 10.12782/sd.21.2.177

Okamoto, M., Chen, W.-J. & Shinohara, G. 2018. Epigonus okamotoi (Perciformes: Epigonidae), a junior synonym of E. draco, with new distributional records for E. atherinoides and E. lifouensis in the West Pacific. Zootaxa 4476(1): 141-150. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4476.1.13

Williams, A., Last, P.R., Gomon, M.F. & Paxton, J.R. 1996. Species composition and checklist of the demersal ichthyofauna of the continental slope off Western Australia (20–35º). Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 135-155 (as Epigonus occidentalis)