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Occurrence of the milk-eye catshark Apristurus nakayai (Carcharhiniformes: Pentanchidae) from the South China Sea
Abstract
The milk-eye catshark Apristurus nakayai Iglésias, 2012 was known from three specimens in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Six specimens were recently collected from the South China Sea. It belongs to the brunneus group, and superficially resembles A. platyrhynchus Tanaka, 1909. Apristurus nakayai differs from A. platyrhynchus by the following characters: iris shiny white when fresh; body brownish black to black; second dorsal-fin insertion above or slightly in front of the anal-fin insertion; denticles absent inside mouth; and maturing at about 400 mm TL in both sexes. The occurrence of Apristurus nakayai from the South China Sea represents the first record in the northern Hemisphere, and a substantial distributional range extension (ca. 4665 km).
... This species was described around Dongsha Island, based on two specimens (Ng et al. 2023a). No additional specimens were collected after the description. ...
Dongsha Island, situated in the northern part of the South China Sea, is surrounded by coral reefs and deep-sea habitats. The coastal areas of the atoll, a marine protected area, serve as important nursery habitats for many reef fish species. At the same time, the offshore deep-sea continental slopes are historically important fishing grounds. Although previous inventories primarily focused on coral reef fishes within the atoll listing 652 species from 73 families, comprehensive surveys of fishes from deeper waters have been incomplete. In this study, the species composition of the fish fauna around Dongsha was updated by analyzing large volumes of frozen bycatch from commercial deep-sea trawlers operating in the area for the past four years and reviewing the existing literature. The species list increased to 1087 species belonging to 167 families, including several documented as new records and potentially undescribed species. This updated checklist also includes images of each species and most of their sagittal otoliths. This will assist further taxonomic work and significantly enhance understanding of marine biodiversity in the South China Sea.
A new species of catshark, Apristurus manocheriani n. sp., is described from 8 specimens collected from seamounts in the southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO). The new species is placed in the Apristurus spongiceps subgroup and is only the second known species in this subgroup occurring in the western Indian Ocean. Geographically, A. manocheriani is known only from the SWIO, while its two closest congeners are from distant locations: Apristurus albisoma Nakaya & Séret, 1999 occurs in the southwest Pacific Ocean and Apristurus aphyodes Nakaya & Stehmann, 1998 in the northeast Atlantic.
A new species of deepwater catshark (Pentanchidae) is described based on a single adult male measuring 676 mm TL that was collected at a depth of 953-1022 m on the Coriolis Bank off western New Caledonia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Within the genus Apristurus, the species belongs to the brunneus group whose members share a higher spiral valve count and the upper labial furrows are longer than the lower furrows. Apristurus nakayai sp. nov. differs from its congeners of the brunneus group through a combination of the following characters: shiny white iris on fresh specimen (unique among the genus); brownish black colouration; short distance from pectoral-fin tip to pelvic-fin origin, subequal to internarial width; cloaca located well anterior to the midpoint of the total length; pectoral fins large, width about 2.7 times pectoral fin tip to pelvic fin origin; long anal-fin base, longer than distance between dorsal fin insertions; first dorsal fin located well behind pelvic-fin insertion; first dorsal fin markedly smaller than second dorsal fin; very long caudal-fin terminal lobe, its length more than twice its height; no denticles in the mouth; very short pyloric stomach; intestinal spiral valves 16; monospondylous vertebrae 36; precaudal diplospondylous vertebrae 37. DNA barcoding from the COI sequence reveal high genetic distances with its Australasian congeners.
A new deep-water catshark, Apristurus melanoasper n. sp., is described based on 53 specimens from the
North Atlantic Ocean at 512 to 1520 m depth. This new species is characterized by having longer upper labial furrow than the lower one, high count of spiral intestine valves, a long abdomen, large dermal denticles and black coloration of the body. Among the species of the North Atlantic, this new species is most similar to A. laurussonii, but is distinguishable by combination of the following characters: an interorbital space which is 1.9 to 3.5 times eyes horizontal diameter, interspace between pectoral fin tip and pelvic fin which is 1.3 to 2.5 times pectoral fin width, large dermal denticles giving very rough texture to the skin, and black body colouration. A mitochondrial DNA sequence of 1500 nucleotides of the species presents 28 differences when aligned with that of A. laurussonii.
The genus Apristurus presently comprses 32 vald speces, but the taxonomy of ths genus of deepwater catsharks s very complcated and confusng. The genus contans a number of speces whch are known only from the type specmens, synonymous speces and many poorly known speces. In addton, many undescrbed speces stll reman to be dscovered and to be formally named. Morphometrcs are one of the most mportant taxonomc characterstcs used for dscrmnatng shark taxa, but the soft and easily deformed body and fins of Apristurus speces often results n naccurate measurements. The methodology of the morphometrics taken for this genus is also poorly-defined. To obtain objective and comparable taxonomc data, we have provded a detaled explanaton and llustratons of the measurements and merstc counts taken and technques used for descrbng members of the genus Apristurus. Importance of varatons n the morphometrcs and counts s dscussed.
A new deep water catshark species Apnstui us exsanguis, is described based on twenty‐nine specimens collected from the waters around New Zealand It has strong similarities with Apristurus sp B (Paulin et al , 1989) fiom New Zealand Apristurus sp A (Last & Stevens 1994) from Australia and Apristurus japonicus Nakaya, 1975, from Japan, but oan be separated from species ‘A and B by colouration, relative dorsal fin sizes and position, and spiral valve count, and from A japonicus by counts of spiral valves, tooth rows and monospondylus vertebrae
Apristurus yangi, a new species of deepwater catshark, is described from Papua New Guinea based on two specimens collected during recent deepwater surveys. The new species belongs to the longicephalus-group which is characterised by its very long snout compared to members of the brunneus-group and spongiceps-groups. Apristurus yangi differs from its closest congeners in a combination of the following characters: 8 intestinal spiral valves; mouth width 7.9–8.6% TL; 32–33 monospondylous centra; 38 precaudal-diplospondylous vertebrae; small in size (female holotype mature at 437 mm TL); egg case small (~5.9 cm long) and with faint longitudinal striations.
Sharks of the genus Apristurus from Taiwanese waters are reviewed for the first time, and incorrect scientific names and wrong taxonomic information given in the literature are corrected. After extensive examination of specimens deposited in various museums, universities and fisheries institutions in Taiwan, Japan and China, the following five species are recognized from Taiwanese waters: Apristurus herklotsi (Fowler, 1934), A. longicephalus Nakaya, 1975, A. gibbosus Meng, Chu & Li, 1985, A. macrostomus Chu, Meng & Li, 1985, and A. platyrhynchus (Tanaka, 1909). Apristurus herklotsi, A. longicephalus, A. gibbosus and A. macrostomus are reported from Taiwanese waters for the first time, and the presence of A. platyrhynchus is formally recognized based on a single voucher specimen. Each species is fully described, and a key to the species of Apristurus in Taiwanese waters is provided. Morphological and biological information of each species is also provided.
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