Abstract
New records of occurrence of two snipe eels (Avocettina bowersii and Nemichthys scolopaceus), poorly known for the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama are herein reported. Specimens, 45 in total (28 and 17, respectively), were collected between 1972 and 1973 at depths between 295 and 1000 m. Descriptions based on specimens as well as comparative morphometric and distributional information by species are herein presented and discussed. A key to the identification of the eastern Pacific species of the family also is presented. These findings increase the knowledge on the Central American marine ichthyofauna and provide evidence of a broader distributional pattern for these species in the eastern Pacific region.
Highlights
New records of occurrence of two snipe eels (Avocettina bowersii and Nemichthys scolopaceus), poorly known for the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama are reported
The Nemichthyidae represent a small group of highly modified pelagic fishes distributed in all tropical and temperate seas at depths down to 4000 m (Garman 1899; Nelson 2006; Fishbase 2015)
Three genera (Avocettina Jordan & Davis, 1891; Labichthys Gill & Ryder, 1883; and Nemichthys Richardson, 1848) and nine species of snipe eels are recognized as valid (Catalog of Fishes, 2015)
Summary
The Nemichthyidae represent a small group of highly modified pelagic fishes distributed in all tropical and temperate seas at depths down to 4000 m (Garman 1899; Nelson 2006; Fishbase 2015). In the eastern Pacific Ocean five species of snipe eels have been recorded (A. bowersii; A. infans; N. curvirostris; N. larseni; and N. scolopaceus) (Garman 1899; Fishbase 2015); Nielsen & Smith 1978; Pequeño 1989; Charter 1996; Catalog of Fishes 2015). Between 1972 and 1973, during the field campaigns of the research vessels (R/V) Searcher and Velero IV (Cortés 2009), several specimens identified as “Nemichthyidae” were captured from the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Panama (between 9°30′ and 4°34′ N) This material, deposited at the fish collection of the Museo de Zoología of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), was recently revised and two species were identified: A. bowersii and N. scolopaceus. In this contribution, these new records are formally reported; comparative morphometric data and distributional information are proportioned and discussed. A key to the identification of the eastern Pacific species of the family is presented
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