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A new species of marine hatchetfish, Polyipnus laruei sp. nov., is described based on one specimen collected off New Caledonia, in the Western South Pacific. This species is distinguished from the thirty-three known species of Polyipnus by the unique presence of only one OVB photophore. The new species is placed in the P. spinosus species group, characterized by the presence of minute spines on the ventral PV photophore scales and an external multispinate posttemporal process.

The Red List of marine bony fishes of the Eastern Central Atlantic (ECA) is a review of the conservation status of all native marine bony fishes in ECA according to the global Categories and Criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the global level and occur within the ECA region. This comprehensive assessment, which is the first of its kind in the ECA, aims to provide improved knowledge of species presence and extinction risk status for the purposes of guiding conservation actions and improved policies for these species both globally and regionally.

A new species of coral-dwelling gobiid, Gobiodon prolixus, is described on the basis of material from scattered localities in the Indo-west Pacific (Comores, Rodrigues, Chagos, Thailand, Vietnam, Ponape, Tonga, Rapa, and Tuamotu). Gobiodon prolixus is distinguished from congeners by its unique, more elongate body shape in combination with five narrow blue bars on the lateral surfaces of the head. That pigmentation pattern is otherwise found in G. quinquestrigatus and G. rivulatus, species with which the new species has been confused in the past.

This study redescribes Bregmaceros mcclellandi Thompson, 1840, based on one specimen (74.4 mm SL) from the Bay of Bengal and 66 specimens (30.0–84.7 mm SL) from Mumbai (Bombay), India, because the type specimens have apparently been lost. The present specimens are characterized by having black dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins and show the following morphology: caudal fin slightly forked; body chromatophores present mainly at the dorsal part; no scales on cheek; vertebrae 52–55 (13–15 + 38–41); dorsal rays 52–59; anal rays 54–60; pectoral rays 18–20; caudal rays 27–31 (principal rays 14); transverse scales 14–15. In the 66 Mumbai specimens, it was confirmed that the distinctive black fin pigmentation developed sequentially with growth, with complete pigmentation first on the anterior lobe of the dorsal fin, then simultaneously on the posterior lobe of the dorsal fin, the caudal fin, and the pectoral fin, and last, on the anal fin. This species is known only from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Gulf of Thailand. A review of 16 nominal Bregmaceros species indicates that, besides B. mcclellandi, the distinctive dark fin pigmentation is found in B. atripinnis (Tickell), B. atlanticus Goode and Bean, B. japonicus Tanaka, and B. lanceolatus Shen. B. atripinnis is considered a junior synonym of B. mcclellandi, and the others are clearly distinct from B. mcclellandi. Comments are made on some of the characters to more fully characterize the species and for reference in future revisionary and phylogenetic studies.

A new species of the teleostean family Sternoptychidae, Polyipnus notatus n. sp. , is described based on material collected mainly off Taiwan in the South China Sea. The new species is most similar to P. triphanos , based on the presence of a single posttemporal spine, lack of scale spination, and the second and third ACA (=supra-anal) photophores elevated relative to the first and connected to each other in a common organ. These characters typify other members of the P. asteroides species group that occur in various tropical to temperate ocean basins. Based on a limited sample of 27 specimens, P. notatus (maximum observed size 30.7 mm SL) appears to be smaller than most other congeners. It is also characterized by an unusual lateral pigment bar, which is narrow and distinctly triangular. Based on the material examined, the geographical distribution of the species appears to be restricted to the South China Sea and adjacent minor ocean basins.

The genus Mellita is an assemblage of New World tropical to temperate lunulate sand dollars (Mellitidae). Multivariate analysis of morphometric data, representing specimens from Nantucket to Brazil, indicates the presence of three allopatric Atlantic species. The taxonomic history of Atlantic species has been traced from 1734 to the present. The following revisions of the Atlantic taxa are necessary: (1) Mellita isometra sp. nov., restricted to the east coast of North America, from Nantucket to Florida; (2) M. tenuis Clark, 1940 (west Florida to Louisiana) raises a previously described variety to species level. The type species, M. quinquiesperforata (Leske, 1778) occurs from Louisiana to Brazil, including the Greater Antilles. Within the Pacific there are distinct species with extensively overlapping distributional ranges: M. longifissa Michelin, 1858; M. grantii Mortensen, 1948; M. notabilis Clark, 1947 and M. kanakoffi Durham, 1961. The Atlantic species do not form a monophyletic group. Phylogenetic an...

A new species of the marine hatchetfish genus Polyipnus is described, based upon two collections from the South China Sea, western Pacific Ocean. The specimens, collected in 1929 during the circumglobal MV Dana expedition, were not examined in detail until recently. Although Polyipnus danae n.sp. is distinguished from all other species of Polyipnus by a single long spine on each posttemporal bone and 11 or 12 anal photophores, these features and its low gill-raker counts suggest a close relationship to species of the P. laternatus Garman complex, especially to P. aquavitus Baird and P. unispinus Schultz which also occur in Indonesian seas.

red adipose fin and the presence of dark pigment on only the lateral, unbranched ray of the pectoral fin. Other characters which, in combination, serve to distinguish C. hysginus include the presence of hooks on only the first two or three anal-fin rays, nine or 10 anal-fin rays, and a rounded or blotchlike humeral mark. Una nueva especie de Creagrutus es descrita basada en material proveniente de los rios que drenan en el Golfo de Paria, en el Noreste de Venezuela. Esta especie se distingue por caracteres derivados en la pigmentacion de las aletas, incluido una aleta adiposa rojo brilliante y la presencia de pigmentos oscuros sobre solo el radio simple y lateral de la aleta pectoral. Otros caracteres que en combinaci6n sirven para distinguir a C. hysginus, incluyen la presencia de ganchos sobre solo primeros 2 6 3 radios anales, 9 6 10 radios anales y una mancha humeral redondeada.

WILLIAMS, T. A. 1983. Structure and function of the granular skin glands of the salamanders of the family Ambystomatidae (Amphibia: Urodela). Unpubl. Ph.D. diss., Washington State Univ., Pullman. --, AND J. H. LARSEN, JR. 1986. New function for the granular skin glands of the eastern longtoed salamander, Ambystoma macrodactylum columbianum. J. Exp. Zool. 239:329-333. ZAR,J. H. 1984. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. (LEL) DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, YORK UNIVERSITY, 4700 KEELE STREET, TORONTO, ONTARIO M3J 1P3 CANADA; AND (DMS) DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE, NOTRE DAME, INDIANA 46556. Submitted 19 Aug. 1991. Accepted 1 Feb. 1992. Section editor: D. G. Buth.

In the Firth of Lorne, Scotland, Echinocyamus pusillus was found most abundantly in highly variable, poorly sorted substrates at depths of 10-20 m. It was common in areas exposed to extensive wave and tidal current activity, but absent in fine sediments in sheltered areas. In size, feeding mechanism, and behavior, the species is highly adapted for nestling in the interstices between relatively large pebbles. The feeding mechanism is atypical for clypeasteroids: substrate particles with attached organisms are selected and transported by the suckered podia. At the mouth, particles are held in place and slowly rotated by the free margin of the peristomial membrane, while the teeth strip away diatoms and organic debris. The peristomial membrane and ciliation of spines and podia are shown in scanning electron micrographs of critical point dried material. The histology of these structures is described with special reference to mucus secretion. High resolution SEM micrographs show mucus secreting pores among the epithelial microvilli of suckered and buccal podia but not in the epithelium of miliary spines. The suggestion that E. pusillus might represent a sand dollar ancestor is discussed. The evidence presented supports the view that it is specialized rather than primitive.

Clypeaster rosaceusand C. subdepressus have typical clypeasteroid feeding mech anisms and collect particulate material primarily by means oforal surface accessory podia with terminal suckers. They lack the specialized food collecting podia seen in sand dollars, and the poorly differentiated food grooves carry only part of the food material. Maps of surface ciliary currents are provided and it is shown that they are not part ofthe feeding mechanism. Feeding mechanisms are discussed with reference to clypeasteroid phylogenetics. Clypeaster rosaceus occurs in association with sea grasses (Thalassia testudinum) and feeds extensively on dead leaves. Clypeaster sub depressus occurs on coarse biogenic sands and selects the upper size fractions (66% greater than 400 Mm)for ingestion. Both are essentially epibenthic in habit and lack specialized spines to keep sand and debris from the body surface. Instead, they secrete an extensive sheet ofmucus which prevents particles from falling between the spines. The suckered accessory podia of C. rosaceus have a mean tip diameter ofabout 180 Mm,those of C. subdepressusabout l3OMm.Although Encope michelini may occur in mixed flocks with C. subdepressus or Leodia sexiesperforata, they all feed on different fractions of the sediment. Probabilities of podial-particle encounters are insufficient to account for these differences and it is suggested that the basis of resource partition ing between sympatric species is due primarily to differences in size of food collec ting podia.

We report the occurrence of Bregmaceros nectabanus as the only species of this genus occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. All previously published records of B. atlanticus from the Mediterranean are based on misidentifications. Among the features that distinguish B. nectabanus are its nearly unpigmented abdomen, presence of a thin dorsolateral longitudinal stripe below the second dorsal fin, and a distally fimbriate opercular spine. Since this species is known also from the Red Sea it is evidently a Lessepsian migrant that reached the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

NOLF, D. 1985. Otolithi piscium, p. 1-145. In: Handbook of Paleoichthyology, Vol. 10. H.-P. Schultze (ed.). Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, West Germany. SCHAEFFER, B. 1967. Comments on elasmobranch evolution, p. 47. In: Sharks, skates and rays. P. W. Gilbert, R. F. Mathewson, and D. P. Rall (eds.). Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland. SCHULTZE, D. M. 1988. Notes on the structure and phylogeny of vertebrate otoliths. Copeia 1988:257259. STEEL, R. 1985. Sharks of the world. Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset, England. STEWART, C. 1906. On the membraneous labyrinths of Echinorhinus, Cestracion and Rhina. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 29:439-442. STINGO, V. 1979. New developments in vertebrate cytotaxonomy II. The chromosomes of the cartilaginous fishes. Genetica 50:227-239. STOLKOWSKI, J. 1962. Essai sur le determinisme des formes mineralogiques du calcaire chez les etres vivants. Ann. Inst. Oceanogr. 26:1-113. TESTER, A. L.,J. I. KENDAL AND W. B. MILISEN. 1972. Morphology of the ear of the shark genus Carcharhinus, with particular reference to the macula neglecta. Pac. Sci. 26:3, 264-274. TSuJI, S., AND T. AOYAMA. 1982. Daily growth increments observed in otoliths of the larvae of Japanese Red Sea Bream Pagrus major (Temminck et Schlegel). Bull. Jap. Soc. Sci. Fish. 48:1559-1562. WRIGHT, C. G., P. C. ROUSE, S. D. SCHAEFER, D. G. HUBBARD AND L. A. BARNARD. 1982. A calcareous