Description ofSantelmoa elviraesp. nov. (Teleostei: Zoarcidae) from the Southern Ocean

Abstract

Santelmoais diagnosed by the following characters: anterior portion of frontals fused; scapular foramen open; anterior ceratohyal–posterior ceratohyal (=epihyal) articulation interdigitating; cranium narrowed; supratemporal commissure and occipital pores absent; intercalar reaching the prootic; ascending rami of the parasphenoid wing high; palatal arch well developed; posterior hyomandibular ramus short; post-temporal ventral ramus well developed; six branchiostegal rays; vertebrae asymmetrical; pelvic fin rays ensheathed; scales, lateral line, pyloric caeca, palatine and vomerine teeth present. A new species ofSantelmoa, Santelmoa elviraesp. nov., is described on the basis of four specimens collected from the Bellingshausen Sea, Southern Ocean, at a depth of 1837 m. The new species can be distinguished fromSantelmoa carmenae, the type species of the genus and the sole knownSantelmoaspecies, by the following characters: mouth inferior; vertical folds on posterior end of the upper lip and on the lower lip lobe; oral valve nearly reaching the anterior edge of vomer; two posterior nasal pores; lateral line double with ventral and medio-lateral branches; single row of palatine teeth; dorsal fin rays 108–111; anal fin rays 93–94; pectoral fin rays 18–19 and vertebrae asymmetrical, 26–27 + 90–93 = 116–119.