Revision of the bathyal fish genusHomostolus (Ophidiiformes, Ophidiidae)

Abstract

The ophidiid fish genusHomostolus is revised on the basis of 44 specimens. Meristic and morphometric characters strongly indicate that the genus as presently known contains a single species,Homostolus acer Smith et Radcliffe, 1913, withHomostolus japonicus Matsubara, 1943, reduced to synonymy. Geographical variations found in certain meristic characters indicate thatH. acer expanded its range from Philippine waters into both northern and southern waters. The species is distributed on deep-sea floors from the Pacific Ocean off central Japan, to the Indian Ocean off northern Western Australia, and to the Tasman Sea off New South Wales, at bathyal depths from about 400 to 700 m.