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Two specimens representing the first known adults of Lestidiops indopacificus (Ege, 1953) are reported and described from Taiwan, and the validity and generic assignment of this species are confirmed. The origin of the pelvic fin directly below the dorsal-fin base shows that L. indopacificus belongs to the L. mirabilis species complex. It can be separated from its congeners by the position of the nostrils above the posterior end of the maxilla, the light body color with unevenly distributed melanophores in adults, and a distinct combination of meristic values and other morphological characteristics. New geographic records are reported for the two other current members of this species complex, L. mirabilis (Ege, 1933) and L. extremus (Ege, 1953). The diagnostic features that separate these three very similar species are discussed.

The adult morphology of Lestidiops extremus (Ege, 1953), a barracudina originally described based on postlarvae from Indonesia, has long been a mystery. An adult specimen collected from off the Philippines represents the first confirmed record of an adult of this species. Observations on the holotype and a detailed description of the adult are provided. The location of the pelvic-fin origin in the adult, clearly behind the posterior end of the dorsal-fin base, is unique within this genus and the entire subfamily Lestidiinae. The present find extends the known range of the species from northwestern New Guinea, Indonesia, to seas east of the Philippines.

The original description of Macroparalepis elongatus Ege, 1933 (family Paralepididae) was based on a young specimen taken from Sri Lanka. No adult information is available since it was described. Six additional specimens, including three adults and three young specimens, were found in the museum collections. The adult morphology is described for the first time and its distribution range is now extended to South Pacific Ocean off New Caledonia and Australia, and the Western Indian Ocean off Madagascar. Detailed description and comparison of these specimens and the holotype, as well as a revised diagnosis for the species, are provided.

Unidentified opistognathid. Lissner and Dorsey (1986) observed from a manned submersible a jawfish they were unable to identify at Tanner��� Cortes Bank, southern California., Published as part of Love, Milton S., Bizzarro, Joseph J., Cornthwaite, Maria, Frable, Benjamin W. & Maslenikov, Katherine P., 2021, Checklist of marine and estuarine fishes from the Alaska-Yukon Border, Beaufort Sea, to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, pp. 1-285 in Zootaxa 5053 (1) on page 150, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5053.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5578008, {"references":["Lissner, A. L. & Dorsey, J. H. (1986) Deep-water biological assemblages of a hard-bottom bank-ridge complex of the southern California continental borderland. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 85, 87 - 101."]}

This checklist of the Mediterranean fishes of Israel enumerates 469 species which is an addition of 62 species since the previous checklist of 2005. This new checklist includes 58 Condrichthys and 411 Osteicthys species. Most newly-recorded species are of Red Sea origin (Lessepsian migrants)—38 species, 25 species are from previously poorly investigated habitats, mainly deep water, while two species reached the Mediterranean most likely by ballast water and two are aquaculture escapees. The dramatic increase in the number of Lessepsian migrants (an average of 2.5 species per year) is most likely due to the increased water influx between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, following the recent opening of the new parallel, 72 km, “new canal” and the enlargement of other parts of the Suez Canal.

This is an annotated checklist of the marine fish species of Lebanon (Levant coast, eastern Mediterranean). It comprises a total of 367 fish species distributed in 159 families and 27 orders, out of which 70 species are non-indigenous and 28 are recorded for the first time from Lebanon. The checklist includes all names and citations of species found in the literature, as well as references to specimens available in museum collections. It also includes an updated zoogeographic distribution and conservation status for each species. Threats were estimated based on surveys and observations made over the last two decades; broadly categorized conservation actions were also suggested.

Three new species of the genus Lestidium with complete lateral line are described from the Indo-west Pacific Ocean. Lestidium longilucifer sp. nov., from Western Australia and Taiwan, belongs to the Lestidium atlanticum species complex and can be separated from other congeners by having 41–43 prehaemal vertebrae, 85–88 total vertebrae and 126–146 total lateral-line scales; and body proportions. Lestidium australis sp. nov. from eastern Australia and Lestidium rofeni sp. nov. from Taiwan and the Philippines together with Lestidium prolixum form the L. prolixum species complex. These three species can be separated from each other by a combination of different fin positions, vertebral formula, number of lateral-line scales and pigmentation.

Two genera of barracudinas with luminescent duct in abdominal cavity, Lestrolepis and Lestidium, collected from around Taiwan are studied. Two species in each genus are recognized in Taiwan, including one new species in each genus. New diagnostic characters are used to distinguish these species. Lestrolepis nigroventralis sp. nov. is similar to Lestrolepis intermedia and can be distinguished by having 32–35 prehaemal vertebrae; dorsal-fin origin slightly in front of midline of distance between origins of pelvic and anal fins, distance between origins of dorsal and pelvic fin 9.8–11.7% SL; and pelvic-fin origin at or slightly behind midline of body, prepelvic length 50.6–52.6% SL. Lestidium orientale sp. nov. is similar to Lestidium atlanticum and can be distinguished by having prehaemal vertebrae 37–40; caudal vertebrae 41–44; a relatively short and deep head, reflected by a shorter snout (9.7–10.4% SL), shorter upper jaw (8.6–10.1% SL), shorter lower jaw (11.9–13.7% SL) and a deeper head (31.2–33.9% HL). Data of Lestrolepis japonicus and Lestidium prolixium collected from Taiwan, as well as two Atlantic congeners, are provided. DNA barcoding is conducted to support the recognition of these new species.

Three barracudina species are recognized in the Stemonosudis rothschildi species complex, which includes Stemonosudis rothschildi Richards, 1967, and two new species described herein. Stemonosudis multifasciatus sp. nov. is described based on five specimens collected off northwestern Australia and Myanmar, Eastern Indian Ocean. It is characterized by having 16 brownish blotches on dorsum (10 before dorsal-fin origin); 49–51 caudal vertebrae; 93‒95 total vertebrae; dorsal-fin origin relatively forward in position, distance between origins of pelvic and dorsal fins 52.3‒63.0% of distance between origins of pelvic and anal fins; and combination of body proportions. Stemonosudis retrodorsalis sp. nov. is described based on 15 specimens collected from off the Philippines, Indonesia and northwestern Australia. It is characterized by having dorsal-fin origin at about vertical through anal-fin origin, insertion of anal fin relatively forward, preanal length 71.5‒79.5% SL; 6 blotches on dorsum before DFO and 4 on abdominal ridge before VFO and unique combination of body proportions. A redescription of S. rothschildi, based on specimens collected from off Dongsha (Pratas) Islands, Australia and West Indies, is also included.

A new cryptic species of spotted barracudina, Arctozenus australis sp. nov., is described from the Kerguelen Islands, in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. It differs from the only congener, Arctozenus risso (Bonaparte, 1840), in the reduction of pigments on body, a more slender body, and longer head, snout and jaws. A neotype is designated for Paralepis risso Bonaparte, 1840 and Paralepis borealis Krøyer in Gaimard (1847). Note on synonymy of Paralepis risso is provided. Observation of adults of Notolepis annulata, Magnosudis prionosa and Paralepis coregonoides found loss of teeth on jaws and gill arches, suggesting more species in the subfamily Paralepidinae may commonly possess this character in adults.

This study reports exceptional penetrations of the Sharpchin Barracudina Paralepis coregonoides into pelagic, open-sea sediment traps in the Levant Basin of the SE Mediterranean Sea. This first substantiated record of the species at the Levant Basin has been observed in two sediment traps at 180 and 280 m depth, 50 km offshore the coast of Israel. Over one year of deployment (November 2016 till November 2017), 483 adult individuals have been repeatedly entrapped inside the automatic sediment traps that were covered with a 25 mm baffler mesh for the first half year and then replaced with a smaller 1 cm mesh for the second half. This undesirable catch of such an elusive and understudied species provided a unique opportunity to revise its distribution, abundance and genetic divergence. The continuous entrapment throughout the year of sexually mature individuals has confirmed that this species is common to the SE Mediterranean. In order to avoid unwanted entrapments that disrupt biogeochemical sediment studies, the installation of small mesh size nets on the conventional sediment trap openings must be considered in the pelagic zone of the SE Mediterranean, and probably elsewhere.

The current checklist provides for each species of the Red Sea its records in the Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea main basin and its general distribution.This new checklist of Red Sea fishes enumerates 1207 species, representing 164 families. Of these, 797 species were recorded from the Gulf of Aqaba and 339 from the Gulf of Suez. The number of species from the Gulf of Suez is evidently lower than the actual number not including 27 Lessepsian (Red Sea) migrants to the Mediterranean that most likely occur in the Gulf. The current list includes 73 species that were newly described for science since the last checklist of 2010. The most specious Osteichthyes families are: Gobiidae (134 species), Labridae (66), Apogonidae (59), Serranidae (including Anthiadinae) (44), Blenniidae (42), Carangidae (38), Muraenidae (36), Pomacentridae (35), Syngnathidae (34), Scorpaenidae (24) and Lutjanidae (23). Among the families of Chondrichthyes, the most specious families are the Carcharhinidae (18 species) and Dasyatidae (11). The total number of endemic species in the Red Sea is 174 species, of these, 34 species are endemic to the Gulf of Aqaba and 8 to the Gulf of Suez.

Family †Caproberycidae Patterson 1967 †Caproberycinae Patterson 1967: 88 (subfamily) † Caproberyx Regan 1911 †Alloberycinae Gayet 1982a: 28 (subfamily) † Alloberyx Gaudant 1969 † Stichocentridae Gayet 1982a: 32 (family) † Stichocentrus Patterson 1967 [name only, published after 1960, not available, Art. 13.1.1] † Stichocentridae Gayet 1982b: 99 (family) † Stichocentrus Patterson 1967, Published as part of Laan, Richard Van Der, 2018, Family-group names of fossil fishes, pp. 1-167 in European Journal of Taxonomy 466 on page 74, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2018.466, http://zenodo.org/record/5557557, {"references":["Patterson C. 1967. New Cretaceous berycoid fishes from the Lebanon. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology 14 (3): 67 - 109. Available from https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / page / 36368748 [accessed 17 Jul. 2018].","Regan C. T. 1911. The anatomy and classification of the teleostean fishes of the orders Berycomorphi and Xenoberyces. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (series 8) 7 (37): 1 - 9. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222931108692901","Gayet M. 1982 a. Essai de definition des relations phylogenetiques des Holocentroidea nov. et des Trachichthyoidea nov. (Pisces, Acanthopterygii, Beryciformes). Bulletin du Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Section C, Sciences de la Terre, paleontologie, geologie, mineralogie (serie 4) 4 (1 - 2): 21 - 41. Available from http: // bibliotheques. mnhn. fr / EXPLOITATION / infodoc / ged / viewportalpublished. ashx? eid = IFD _ FICJOINT _ BMCTE _ S 004 _ 1982 _ T 004 _ N 001 _ 1 [accessed 16 Sep. 2018].","Gayet M. 1982 b. Etude anatomique et systematique des acanthopterygiens du Senonien de Sahel-Alma (Liban). Palaeontographia Italica 72: 98 - 136."]}

The Tortonian fish otoliths of northern Italy have been studied for more than a century and represent one of the best known otolith-based teleost faunas in the Miocene of the Mediterranean Basin. Yet with the growing knowledge on Recent otoliths, an updated taxonomic overview of this fauna is needed. Moreover, new material from hemipelagic Tortonian marls sampled at nine localities is described herein, revealing 109 taxa of which 88 are recognised at species level. Four of these are new: Coryphaenoides biobtusus sp. nov., “Merluccius” rattazzii sp. nov., Neobythites auriculatus sp.nov. and Lesueurigobius stironensis sp. nov. The compilation of previously studied and newly acquired material revealed a total of 118 nominal Tortonian species. At generic level, the fauna is characterised by many modern forms; more than 90% can be assigned to present day genera. At species level, however, more than half of the represented taxa are extinct. Based on the fossil otolith record, the Tortonian fauna of the Mediterranean is most similar to that of the Langhian (Badenian) of the Central Paratethys by sharing many extinct Miocene species, but it is also very close to that of the Pliocene Mediterranean, by sharing many modern Atlantic-Mediterranean forms. The Tortonian fauna is further characterised by many species that are apparently confined to the upper Miocene, resulting in a unique combination of its taxonomic composition.

The study of the Portuguese marine ichthyofauna has a long historical tradition, rooted back in the 18th Century. Here we present an annotated checklist of the marine fishes from Portuguese waters, including the area encompassed by the proposed extension of the Portuguese continental shelf and the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). The list is based on historical literature records and taxon occurrence data obtained from natural history collections, together with new revisions and occurrences. It comprises a total of 1191 species, distributed among 3 superclasses, 4 classes, 42 orders, 212 families and 617 genera. If considering only the EEZ and present territorial waters, this list represents an increase of 230 species (27.8%) and of 238 species (29.0%), when compared to the information available in FishBase (2012) and in the last checklist of marine and estuarine fishes of Portugal (1993), respectively. The order Perciformes shows the highest diversity, with 54 families, 162 genera and 299 species. Stomiidae (80 species), Myctophidae (71 species) and Macrouridae (37 species) are the richest families. From the listed species, 734 are present off mainland Portugal, 857 off the Azores and 766 off Madeira. Within the limits of the examined area, three species are reported for the first time in mainland Portugal and twenty-nine records are identified as doubtful. A total of 133 species have been recorded from the extended Portuguese continental shelf (2 off mainland Portugal, 117 off the Azores and 14 off Madeira), two of which are common to the Azores and Madeira extensions. Biogeographically, the Atlantic group is the most important (548 species – 46.01%), followed by the Lusitanian group (256 species – 21.49%), the African group (71 species – 5.96%), the Boreal group (34 species – 2.85%), the Mediterranean group (31 species – 2.60%), the Macaronesian group (21 species – 1.76%), the Atlantic/African group (19 species – 1.60%) and the Mediterranean/African and the Arctic groups, each with only 1 species (0.08%). Regarding the preferences for vertical habitat, the demersal fishes are the most important group (305 species – 25.61%), followed by the mesopelagic group (228 species – 19.14%), the bathypelagic group (164 species – 13.77%), the benthopelagic group (147 species – 12.34%), the bathydemersal group (115 species – 9.66%), the reef-associated group (88 species – 7.39%), the pelagic group (74 species – 6.21%), the epipelagic group (58 species – 4.87%) and 1 species (0.08%) of the benthic group. The oceanic habitat is the best represented group comprising 446 species (37.45%), followed by the shelf group (199 species – 16.71%), the slope group (164 species – 13.77%), the inner shelf group (89 species – 7.47%), the coastal group (70 species – 5.88%), the outer shelf group (29 species – 2.43%) and the oceanic/shelf group (7 species – 0.59%).

A checklist of the Mediterranean marine ichthyofauna of Israel is presented. A total of 402 species belonging to 130 families, 33 orders and 3 classes are listed. The checklist includes all synonyms for each species and citations of all known publications, listed in chronological order, concerning occurrence in Israeli waters of each species. Citations are coded to indicate the focus of each publication.