Whalefishes (Beryciformes: Cetomimoidei) of the Gulf of Mexico

BULLETINOF MARINESCIENCE.45(3): 671~77. 1989

WHALEFISHES (BERYCIFORMES: CETOMIMOIDEI) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

S. Gregory Tolley, John V Gartner, Jr. and Thomas M. Lancraft

ABSTRACT Seven species of whale fishes, belonging to three families, were collected by assorted research vessels from various locations within the Gulf of Mexico from 1965 through 1987. This material, which includes two species new to the region, raises the recorded number of cetomimoid species in the Gulf to eight. A significant positive correlation was found between size and maximum depth of capture for all Gulf specimens of Cetostoma regani (r = 0.84, P < 0.02, N = 7), indicating the possibility of ontogenetic descent for this species. Gulf of Mexico whalefishes exhibit broad horizontal distribution patterns common among bathypelagic fishes. The relatively high species richness exhibited by cetomimoid fishes in the Gulf appears to be characteristic of midwater fish assemblages associated with low latitude, oligotrophic environments.

The whalefishes of the suborder Cetomimoidei (Beryciformes) represent a rare group of deep-sea fishes inhabiting primarily bathypelagic (sensu Marshall, 1971) depths. Approximately 20 species and 3 families have been described, but many of these are known from only a few specimens; as a result, their vertical and zoogeographic distribution and ecology remain poorly known. Although the mesopelagic (sensu Marshall, 1971) ichthyofauna of the Gulf of Mexico has been examined in some detail (Becker et al., 1975; Murdy et al., 1983; Gartner et al., 1987), bathypelagic fishes are poorly known from the area due to the paucity of collections from below 1,000 m. Six species of whalefishes have been previously reported from the Gulf (Bullis and Thompson, 1965; Rass, 1971; Murdy et a1., 1983), three of which were originally described from the area: Barbourisia rufa Parr, 1945, Gyrinomimus simplex Parr, 1946 and G. parri Big- elow, 1961. In this paper, we consolidate previous reports on Gulf of Mexico captures of the Cetomimoidei with new material collected since 1965, including new records for the region. Diagnostic characters are presented for each species, and vertical and horizontal distributions are discussed for the group.

METHODS

Twenty of the 27 specimens examined were collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico by various research vessels during cruises conducted by researchers from the University of South Florida (USF). Of these, 16 were taken with Tucker trawls fished within a 20-nmi- diameter circle centered around 27°N, 86°W (Standard Station); three others came from nearby locations in the eastern Gulf. Trawling methods and gear used are described in Gartner et al. (1987). A single USF specimen, collected from the R/V CAPEHATTERAS,was taken in a 45-ft otter trawl fished at a bottom depth of 3,200 m in the eastern Gulf. For the remaining seven individuals, collection methods on cruises for the R/V ALAMINOS are described by Murdy et al. (1983); for the R/V OREGON,in Bullis and Thompson (1965); and for the R/V CHAIN,in Backus et al. (1977). Since more than 60% of all material examined was collected using oblique trawls, maximum depths of capture were utilized to determine vertical distributions (Pietsch, 1974). Counts and measurements are as defined by Hubbs and LagJer (1949). Measurements were made utilizing an ocular micrometer for smaller specimens, and calipers for larger individuals; lengths are presented as mm SL unless specified.

671 672 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO.3, 1989

£) " ~ OBarbourls/a rufa .Cetomlmus gllli 20'>< 1}Cetomlmus hempell 20'N ~Cetostoma reganl .Dltroplchthys storerl OGyrlnomlmus DRonde/etia blcolor

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Figure I. Map of the study area indicating station locations of whale fish captures.

RESULTS

BARBOURISIIDAE Barbourisia rufa Parr, 1945

Material Examined. -I specimen: MCZ 41340, 151 mm, 29°0S'N, 88°09'W. Meristic data: D 22, A 16, P 13, V 6, gill rakers 5 + I + 13. A single specimen, collected from a depth of 820 m in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1), was examined, and represents only the second individual reported from Gulf waters. An additional individual measuring 293 mm SL was taken from Standard Station in 1977, but has since been lost. Average maximum depth of capture for the two specimens was 935 m. Barbourisia rufa was originally described from the western Gulf of Mexico (Parr, 1945) and has been collected in tropical to subtropical waters of the Pacific (e.g., Ueno and Abe, 1966; Okamura, 1985), Atlantic (Penrith, 1969; Parin and Go- lovan, 1976; Uyeno and Sato, 1983), and Indian oceans (Rofen, 1959). The species occurs in both the eastern and western Atlantic between 56°N and 35°S (Paxton and Bray, 1986) but has not been recorded from the Caribbean.

CETOMIMIDAE Cetomimus gilli Goode and Bean, 1895

Material Examined.-4 specimens, 55-70 mm: FSBC 17911,64 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17912,60 mm, 27"06'N, 85°01'W; TCWC 4470.4,55 mm, 22°58'N, 96°38'W; TCWC 5488.1,70 mm, 26°27'N, 94°50'W. Meristic data: D 16-17, A 15-18, P 16-19, lateral line pores 16-21, gill rakers reduced to patches of fine teeth. Four specimens of C. gilli were collected from various locations within the Gulf TOLLEY ET AL.: WHALEFISHES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO 673 of Mexico (Fig. 1), with an average maximum depth of capture of 1,112 m (900- 1,300 m). Maul (1969) listed eight described species ofthe genus Cetomimus, six of which are known to occur in the Atlantic. Cetomimus gilli was originally described from the western Atlantic, and has also been collected in the Indian Ocean just south of the Gulf of Aden (Brauer, 1906) and in the eastern Pacific (Craddock and Mead, 1970). The only other recorded occurrence of this species in the Gulf of Mexico was a single individual taken at OREGONstation 2823 in July of 1960 (Bullis and Thompson, 1965).

Cetomimus hempeli Maul, 1969

Material Examined.-4 specimens, 59-125 mm, all collected at 27°N, 86°W: FSBC 17913,76 mm; FSBC 17914, 125 mm; FSBC 17915,59 mm; FSBC 17916,62 mm. Meristic data: D 16-17, A 15-18, P 17-22, lateral line pores 17-26, gill rakers reduced to patches of fine teeth. Four specimens of Cetomimus hempeli were captured at Standard Station in the eastern-central Gulf of Mexico between 1970 and 1985 (Fig. 1),with an average maximum depth of capture of 1,100 m (800-1,500 m). Unlike C. gilli, C. hempeli possesses cavernous (reticulated) tissue around the origin of the dorsal fin. This species is known only from the holotype and paratype, both collected from the eastern North Atlantic. The specimens reported here represent a first record for both the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

Cetostoma regani (Zugmayer, 1914)

Material Examined.-6 specimens, 40-163 mm: FSBC 17917,40 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17918, 74 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17919,126 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17920,51 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17921, 155 mm, 27°46.8'N, 86°13.9'W; TCWC 1979.2, 87 mm, 25009'N, 91007'W. Meristic data: D 32-35, A 28-31, P 18-20, gill rakers reduced to flat patches of fine teeth. Six specimens of C. regani were collected from the central Gulf of Mexico from 1971 to present (Fig. 1). Depths of capture ranged from 0-250 m (oblique IKMT) to a maximum of 3,200 m (non-opening/closing otter trawl). Average maximum depth of capture was 1,330 m. When all Gulf of Mexico specimens were pooled, including available data from previously reported R/V OREGONcollections, a significant positive correlation was found between size and average maximum depth of capture (r = 0.84, P < 0.02, N = 7) indicating the presence of larger individuals at greater depths. This monotypic genus has been taken from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans (Kotthaus, 1972; Parin et al., 1978; Amaoka, 1984; Paxton, 1986); in the western Atlantic, Cetostoma reganiranges from Bermuda (Harry, 1952) to off the coast of Brazil, including the Caribbean (Becker et al., 1975), and has been taken twice previously from Gulf of Mexico waters (Bullis and Thompson, 1965). Ditropichthys storm' (Goode and Bean, 1895)

MateriaIExamined.-6 specimens, 29-72 mm: FSBC 17922,37 mm, 27°07'N, 85°16'W; FSBC 17923, 32 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17924, 30 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17925, 29 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17926, 72 mm, 27°N, 86°W; MCZ 55371, 31 mm, 26°12'N, 87°54'W. Meristic data: D 20-21, A 17-18, P 16-20, 1atera11ine pores 12-13, gill rakers club-shaped in smaller specimens (without bulbous ends in largest individual). Six specimens of Ditropichthys storeri were collected from the east-central Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1). Maximum depths of capture ranged from 800-2,150 m, with a mean of 1,185 m. 674 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO.3, 1989

The largest individual examined (72 mm) possesses a patch of reticulated tissue located dorso-laterally on the caudal fin, immediately anterior to the exposed portion ofthe caudal rays. This tissue (of unknown function) is grossly similar to the "glandular luminous tissue" described by Harry (1952) as lying just anterior to the anus. The occurrence of such tissue on the caudal fin has not been previously described for Ditropichthys. The monotypic genus Ditropichthys has been taken primarily from the western Atlantic (Harry, 1952; Becker et aI., 1975). Prior records from the Gulf of Mexico are limited to a single specimen (TCWC 2949.44) from the south-western Gulf taken by the R/V ALAMINOSin 1969 (Murdy et aI., 1983).

Gyrinomimus Sp.

Material Examined. -1 specimen: TCWC 6323.2, 78 mm, 26"08'N, 92°44'W. Meristic data: D 16, A 16, P 17, gill rakers reduced to patches of fine teeth. A single specimen of Gyrinomimus was collected from the west-central Gulf of Mexico from a depth of 2,055 m (Fig. 1). This genus can be distinguished from other Gulf of Mexico cetomimids by the presence of relatively long teeth occurring in distinct longitudinal rows on both the upper and lower jaw. Two species of Gyrinomimus have been described from the Gulf of Mexico: G. simplex (Parr, 1946) and G. parri (Bigelow, 1961). We are unable to assign our Gulf of Mexico specimen to a particular species at this time due to existing confusion concerning the taxonomy of the genus. We therefore place our specimen within the Gyrinomimus myersi-simplex-parri complex, which it most closely resembles (J. Paxton, unpubi. data).

RONDELETIIDAE Rondeletia bieolor Goode and Bean, 1895

Material Examined.-5 specimens, 30-77 mm: FSBC 17907,30 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17908,48 mm, 27"07'N, 85°16'W; FSBC 17909, 39 mm, 27°N, 86°W; FSBC 17910,77 mm, 27°N, 86°W; MCZ 55253,40 mm, 26°12'N, 87°54'W. Meristic data: D 13-15, A 12-14, P 8-9, v 6, rows of lateral line pores 24, gill rakers 6-7 + I + 16-18. The smallest Rondeletia hieolor collected was captured between the surface and 200 m depth; average maximum depth of capture for Gulf of Mexico specimens was 1,040 m. Dorsal, anal and pectoral fin ray counts of 13, 12 and 8 respectively, extend the ranges previously reported by Paxton (1974). Specimens less than 50 mm SL (N = 4) possessed relatively large eyes (16.8- 23.0 vs. 9.3% HL) and smaller head and jaw lengths (36.2-39.0 vs. 45.6% SL and 41.6-46.2 vs. 58.7% HLrespectively) compared to the 97 mm SLholotype (USNM 38202). However, the largest individual (77 mm SL) collected, though heavily damaged, appeared somewhat intermediate in form, indicating that observed differences were allometric in nature. Paxton (1974) has previously demonstrated allometry in this species in terms of both maxillary length and caudal peduncle depth. Rondeletia bieolor has been collected from a number oflocations in the western Atlantic (Paxton, 1974; Parin et aI., 1974; Uyeno and Sato, 1983), including the Caribbean (Becker et aI., 1975), and has been taken in limited numbers from the Pacific (Paxton, 1974; J. Paxton, unpubl. data). Our specimens represent the first records for the Gulf of Mexico. TOLLEY ET AL.: WHALEFISHES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO 675

DISCUSSION Rass (1971) listed three species of whale fishes occurring in the Gulf of Mexico (Barbourisia rufa, Gyrinomimus simplex, and G. pard), but neglected to include previous records of Cetomimus gilli and Cetostoma regani identified from OREGON collections (Bullis and Thompson, 1965). The additional collection of Ditropich- thys stored (Murdy et a1., 1983) along with our data raises the total number of cetomimoid species from the Gulf to eight. Determining depths of occurrence from maximum depths of capture must be considered an approximation at best, but since whalefishes are bathypelagic an- imals, this approach is warranted. Only two specimens of whalefishes have been collected from maximum depths of capture shallower than 500 m in the Gulf. In contrast, trawls with fishing depths of greater than 1,000 m yielded 72% of all specimens. Most species exhibited average maximum depths of occurrence between 900 and 1,200 m. However, fishing effort within the Gulf rarely approached bathypelagic depths, suggesting that true depths of occurrence are underestimated. Cetostoma regani and Rondeletia bicolor have both been collected at depths less than 250 m at night. Paxton (1986) proposed that R. loricata might in fact be a vertical migrator, based on differences in day and night capture depths. The genus Rondeletia is relatively firm bodied with well developed musculature, compared to members of the Cetomimidae, and would therefore seem a more likely candidate for vertical migration. In contrast, diel vertical migration would seem problematic for C. regani, due to its delicate constitution and greater average depth of occurrence. The significant correlation between size and maximum depth of capture for this species suggests descent of advancing ontogenetic stages. Similar patterns of vertical distribution are known for deep-sea anglerfishes and some of the deep-sea eels (Marshall, 1980) whose larvae occur primarily in the upper few hundred meters before metamorphosing and descending to greater depths. How- ever, no data exists concerning the reproductive strategies of cetomimoid fishes. Circumglobal distributions are common among bathypelagic fishes. For ex- ample, of the bathypelagic anglerfishes belonging to the genus Lophodolos (Onei- rodidae) and the families Ceratiidae and Caulophrynidae (Pietsch, 1974; 1979; 1986), seven of the nine species examined occurred in the three major oceans, with the remaining species being restricted to two oceans. Most whalefishes occurring in the Gulf of Mexico are also broadly distributed: Barbourisia rufa. Cetostoma regani and Ditropichthys storeri occur worldwide in tropical and subtropical latitudes, and Cetomimus gilli exhibits an Atlantic/Indian distribution. These distributional patterns are similar to those observed for a number of mesopelagic myctophids also occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, and presumably reflect environmental stability and ecological uniformity (Marshall, 1980; Gartner et a1., 1987). The number of cetomimoid species from the Gulf is comparable to that for the western North and South Atlantic (10 and 8 species respectively), but is consid- erably higher than that for the Caribbean (4 species). Rass (1971) reported a similar trend for deep-sea teleosts in general, with 203 species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico compared to 160 species for the Caribbean. All of the whalefish species found in the Caribbean also occur in the Gulf of Mexico. Trans-Atlantic com- parisons seem to indicate the presence of a richer cetomimoid fauna in the western Atlantic: 13 species total for the western Atlantic (Goode and Bean, 1895; Parr, 1934; 1945; 1946; Harry, 1952; Bigelow, 1961; Bullis and Thompson, 1965; Rass, 1971; Paxton, 1974; Parin et a1., 1974; Becker et a1., 1975; Uyeno and Sato, 1983; Murdy et a1., 1983) vs. 6 for the eastern Atlantic (Gilchrist, 1922; Maul, 1969; 676 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO. J. 1989

Penrith, 1969; Paxton, 1974; 1986; Parin et ai., 1974; Parin and Golovan, 1976; Herring, 1976; Parin et ai., 1978). This trend of relative impoverishment in the eastern Atlantic, in terms of species richness, has also been noted for tropical shelf fishes (Briggs, 1974); however, the lack of cetomimoid specimens from the eastern Atlantic may simply reflect limited sampling effort at bathypelagic depths in this region. The oceanic eastern Gulf of Mexico is essentially an oligotrophic environment based on estimates of productivity (Hopkins, 1982) and micronekton standing stock (Hopkins and Lancraft, 1984). The relatively high species richness exhibited by the bathypelagic cetomimoid fishes in the Gulf of Mexico resembles patterns characteristic of low latitude/low productivity mesopelagic assemblages (Clarke, 1973; Barnett, 1983; Gartner et ai., 1987).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Eastern Gulf of Mexico specimens were collected primarily during cruises directed by T. Hopkins. Additional material was generously provided by M. Retzer (TCWC), K. Hartel (MCZ) and S. Jewett (USNM). We are most grateful to J. Paxton (Australian Museum) for the use of his unpublished keys which made species identification possible. Special thanks go to R. Mickley (USNM) and J. Tolley for their invaluable assistance, and to J. C. Briggs, M. Leiby and R. E. Matheson, Jr. for their reviews of the manuscript. The senior author also wishes to express his appreciation to the William W. Knight family for their financial support in the form of a fellowship. Shiptime was supported by National Science Foundation Grants DES75-03845, OCE75-03845, OCE84-10787 (T. Hopkins), and BSR86- 00186 (R. Wilson).

LITERATURE OTED

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DATEACCEPTED: January 6, 1989.

ADDRESS: Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida. 140 Seventh Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.