First record of Evoxymetopon taeniatus (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Trichiuridae) from the Philippines

D.M Guarte,W.L Campos

doi:10.3750/aip2016.46.4.09

Abstract

The channel scabbardfish, Evoxymetopon taeniatus Gill, 1863 has not been known from the Philippine waters. Our presently reported finding of two specimens (114.5 and 133.1 cm SL)  of this species from the Philippines extends the range of this species to the central Indo-Pacific. The specimens captured were both male, one with developing gonads, and the other one—mature. We examined and described the fish found, providing morphometric and meristic analyses. The species can be distinguished from its congeners by having a convex upper head profile, steep sagittal crest slope, 82 dorsal fin rays with a defined notched at the tenth ray, a black dorsal fin membrane before the notch, and 15 externally visible anal fin rays that are bound with a membrane. The analyses included also relations with size of the four known Evoxymetopon species. Only one significant relation was revealed by the regression analyses—between SL and % pre-anal length. We provided also an updated identification key for the genus.

Highlights

The channel scabbardfish, Evoxymetopon taeniatus Gill, 1863 has not been known from the Philippine waters
The trichiurids, commonly known as cutlassfishes, This paper reports the first records of the channel hairtails, or scabbardfishes, are widely distributed in scabbardfish, Evoxymetopon taeniatus Gill, 1863, in the tropical to warm temperate waters
Two specimens of E. taeniatus were close to the bottom on the continental shelf and the recorded from catches of modified hook and line fishing upper slope, reaching the depths of 50–1500 m

Summary

Introduction

The channel scabbardfish, Evoxymetopon taeniatus Gill, 1863 has not been known from the Philippine waters. Measurements and counts of Evoxymetopon taeniatus and of other Evoxymetopon species from different authors (Gill 1863, Nakamura and Parin 1993, Fricke et al 2014, Hata et al 2015, Sakiyama et al 2011) were compiled and used in this study to examine relations with size and to update the identification key of the genus.

Results

Conclusion