1926-anoronha-peixes

X I I I . A NE\V S P E C I E S O F DEEP L\,'ATER S H A R K (SQUALIOLUS SARh'lENTI) F R O M

MADEIRA.'

( PLAICXXXV.)

I n the present paper I give a n account of a deep-sea shark takcii iii Madeiran w7aters during the month of Septeinber, 1923, by fishermen froin the village of Caiiia de Lobos, v i t h the lines they use for the capture o1 t h e coinmon " P e i x e espada prelo" or Black Swordfish ( A p h u n o p u s carbo Lowc). These long lines have piocured for me, from tlie Irorizon of t h a t fish, many interesting deep-sea species, some o1 thein iinknown t o science, others rare, or a t least not yet recorded from thesc waters. .4mong t h e latter I may i11 passing mcntion Psez~dotriacismicuodon Capello, Ccntrosc3rnznus obscz~rz~s Vaillant, Somniosz~srosti.altis (Risso), besides severa1 other Teleostean fishes. Of the species Iiere descrihed, a single fernale example was obtained, (C. h4. Cai. Fishes, No. 7976a). I t riiust h a r e come from a delith, in a11 probability, oi between ahout five hundred and eight huiidred fathoinç, for the Aphenofius fishing apparatus is forrried o l a long line suspended vertically, with some a n e hundred and fifty liooks fiied by sliort snoods aloiig its lower part, from aboiit five Iiundred fatlioins belom the surface a s far a s irs end, ii~hiclireaches f a r dowii, gcnerally t o a depth of eiglrt hundred fathoms. I t belongs t o the genus Squaliolz's, lately described by Dr. I-Iugh M. Smith aiid Lewis Radcliffe, from tlie Pliilippines. (Proc. U. S. S a t . Rlt~s.X L I , 684. Feh. y, 1912.) T h c geniis may bc t h o s defiiied: 'The articie hrrewith printed was submitted to the Editor of tiie Anrials some time apo by Dr. Ilavid Starr Jor
Squaliolus Smith and Radcliffe. Squalaid sliarks o1 very small siic, the body elongate, little coin&iresseti, with thick h ~ a dand slcnder caudal peduncle. Deriial scutella ininute, not stalked, prisniatic. Mouth little archrd, a straight oblique groove running backward froni its cammisure. Teetli of different forins i11 each jaw, those in the lower few in iiuniber, all sirnple, their cusl~sivith subrrctang~ilarbases, the cosps of tlie upper teeth crect, narrow, pointed; those of the Iower jaw triangiilar, turncd aside. their inner margins thus iorniing oblicjuc incisorial edges: a rncdian tooth with ercct, equilateral cuçp in the symphysis u f lolver j a u . hrostrils lateral-inierior, near the front rnargin o i snout. No nictitating rneiubranc. Spiracles superior, behind eyes. Ana1 fiii absent; first dorsal fin mith a sinal1 front spine hidden in the skin;second dorsal spincleçs, with a much longcr liase than t h a t of tlic first; caudal fin xveil deueloped. \ler? sniall shai-kç froni deep mater, nearly black i n colour. Squaliolus sarmenti Noronha, sp. no\-. (PI. XXXV) Ilead 4.5 in length; depth 8 iii snout; ahout 2.75 in head; eye h iii head; about 2 in snout: 1.9 iii width oi snout; 3.4 in preoral portion of snoiit; space betweeri çpiracles equal to ividth of snoot. n o d y rather clongate, soineahat robust, rouiided-irihedrai in section, tlic upper and lower profiles dcscribing a gentle curve as f a r as tlie ends of sccond dorsal and veirtral fins, and theiice praceeding in a straiglit line as far as the root of the caudal fiii. The caudal irunk short, r e r y slendrr in lirafile, flat above and below, dcpressed, ç~ibrcctangulariii section, a11 thc lo\vcr regi011 betmrecn tlie anus aild caudal fin beiiig flat. Head narro>,?, thick, rounded abave and beloxi.. Snout short, tliick, nari-oa, a little more conves below than abox~e,v-ith ai1 angiilar froiit rnargin. Upper part of head with-at each side of the ineílian liiie-a very well-defined raiv of pores, which is continued by the lateral line. Eyes moderate. their anterior cdge midway bet\veen end of snoiit aiid spiracles. Nostrils ver? Iargc, nearei- tip of çnoiit than eye, Ihe space betwecn their iniier ends heing a little greater than Iialf tlieir own length. Mouth sinall, very slightly curved, on Lhe izrtical froin posterior margin of eye-slit; labial fold extending a little way along upper niargin of niouth; lips thin. Teetli of thc upper jaiv presenting severa1 rows in iise a t once. the c r i s l ~ s - e r ynarrow. sharp, cunico-cornpressed; lower tceth j I 8 iii number. slio\ving a single roi" in use, their triangular cusps rather narruiv, not ver? rniich inclincd o u t n a r d or baciiward, tlic upright rnesial tooth no{. so Iiigli as the others. T h e last o1 the çn~allfiue brancliial op~iiings touching ~ v i t hits inferior cncl thc front o1 thc root o1 the pectoral fin.

+ +

Dr Xononira: S n r ~ r , r o ~SAR'~IENTI. us

387

T h e body, hlackish broivn abovc and slaty black below, iç covcred wiili a fiiie shagreen consisting of sniall sessile quadrangular tubercleç, each with four ridges. T h e iop of each tiihercle has a pit iri tlie centre a n d faur heads i n t h e 1,criphery correçponding t o tlie four ridges. Excepting t h e caudal fin, whicli is in tlie greater pari scaly, all fins are covered with tuhercleç only a t their bases. Tliey have their free edges white, t h e larger p a r i of the surface of the pcctorals, ventrais, and second dorsal, beiiig of t h a t colour. Tlie first dorsa! f i n hax its origin nearer the pectorals than t h e veiitrals, and hcars in its anterior border concealed in the skin a siiiall spine, a ttiird a s high as the front margin of the fin. T h e second dorsal unarmed, ivith a fleshy base a little çliorter than tliree times t h a t of the first dorçal, its vertical height equal t o tiun thirds of t h e said second dorsal. Pectorals suhrettarigular not short, alinast naked and white, ilieir end nearly reachiiig tlie vertical froni tlie dorsal spiiie. Ventral fins, ii-ith fleshy base, a little highcr than çecond dorsal, tlieir length a liitle greacer than half of the same dorsal. the dista~iceof tlieir 02-iain froin t h e iip of snoiit e q ~ i a lt o tmo thirds of the total lengili of the fish. Caudal firi not far froin lioinocercal, the tail critering inio it iii a straight linr and very slightly bendiiig iipivards only a t its enrl; tlie two lobes triangular, bath dc\,eloped, almost syinnretrical. T h e species is named aiter iny ald friend, Prof. Alberto Arthur Sarinrnto, the Madeira" naturalist, who haç becn cngaged here for many years in the diifusion of kiiowledge of natural scicnce. From the Piiilippine species. Sgueliolus Inlicezidus Srnith anel Radcliffe, Sgualioltis siirmenti seems t o differ in thc rnorc posterior iiisertion of tlre first dorsal. I n Squaliolns leticnudus tlie distance irorn snoot t o first dorsal is 2 . 1 in lengtli t o base of caudal; iii S. sernzenii it is 2.4. T h e pectorai in .S. !nlica?~dzcsreaches well past fro2t of first dorsnl; in S. sarmenti oiily t o the concealed spiiie. Tlie distance froiu spiracles to iiiseriioii of firçt dorsnl is 3.6 in bocl\- i i i S. laticeudr~s; 4 iii S. sainzenli.

T h e fallox~-inga r e the cliniensioris of the exarnple olitained: Boov: Totai iciigth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ç,icatrst height (iinder fiint ilorsal) . . . FIright of caudal ~eduiicle . .

. . . . . . . . . a46 mm. . . . 31 min. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 6 mni

HEAD: Le11gth.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Width a t spiracies . . . . . . . . . Leiigth of siiout . . . . . . . . . . . . . Width OS snout (near aiiterior margili OS Preoral portion of anout. . . . Uiaineter of e y e . . . . . . . . Interorhitul spacc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eyr) . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...............

54 m m . 23 inm. 19

mm.

1 7 rnm j r inm. 9 nim. ~giiim.

Flnsr Donsnr.: DLtance frrim snoiit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Length oi base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

92 mm

10 m m . Vertical height. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 rnm. 1,ength of anterior margin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 m m Lengtli of spine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . q rniii. SECOND DORSAL: Dista~icefrom end o i first dorsal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 m m Length of base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 min. Vertical height.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 mm. P ~ c r o n ~ i sDistance : froin inoiit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 rnm. Widthoibase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 mm. Length.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 m m . V E N ~ R A L SDistance : irom snoul.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 mrn Length o i base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 m i n . Vertical height. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 mm CAUDAL:13istance from end o1 second dorsal.. . . . . . . . . . . i 6 mm. Distance from end of ventrais.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . qo m m . Lcngth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 rnrn Hriglit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 m m .

Comparing this species with the Madeirari riieinbeis of the squalaid group, we find t h a t ils dermal denticles are quite of t h e çaine model a s Etmoplerus pzlsilllu (Lowe), only they are cornparatively larger in the present species, for thc larger specinieils of E. pusillels of our collection, some of them not less than 47 centimetres i11 length, bale dernial scutella of the saine abçalute size. T h e nearly naked paired and dorsal fins, all with white margins, are forther features commoii t o the tii.0 çpecies considered. Thc lower teeth, apart from their entire edges, by their reduced number, their inclination and t h e preseriçe of a nresial tootli, approach those of Scymnorhinz~s 1ii:Iza (Bonnaterre); but, more exactly, they approach nearer t o those of Ccntroscymnz~sobsczlrzls, Vaillant, and of C. crepidntei (Hocage and Capello), tliail S. licbe, in ivhich species the lower teeth deviate little froin the i ~ p r i g h tposition. 011the other hand, the upper teeth present a claçer reseinblance by their conical poiiited cusps t o tliose of S . liclia arid C crepidalei. thaii t o a n y otheispecies, b u t t h e upper jaw describes a çingle arch, as i t happens generally, and not a çinuosity, as is t h e case with t h e genus Cenlvoscymnus. e T h e fainily place of this gerius of shai-ks is not difficult t o find. and depends only on the way hy which systematists treat t h e sharks of the scjualoid group. If we accept a single farnily, the Spualidic, i ~ i cluding not only ai1 fnriiis m-ith tiw dorçal spines, b u t alço those urhich are spineless, this new form is eiititled t o enter there immediately, without any ohjection. Boi if the group rnust comprise more

than one family, cliaracterized eitlier by the presence of two dorsal spines, or by the total absence of thern, in this case, a s Sqz~aliolushas a single very çniali dorsal spirie, a nem family, the Sguoliolidre, inust be recognized. ADOLFOCESARDE NORONHA. Cruces, Funchal, Madeira, NOI-einber, I923

ANNALS CARNEGIE MUSEUM, Vol. XVI.

Squaliolus savmanlz Noronlia. ? (About three-fourthsNat. siie) Caught Madeira Islands. S e ~ t2.7 , '923

Plate X X X V .