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Ilyophis singularis (Synaphobranchidae; Ilyophinae), a new deep-sea eel from the South China Sea

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Abstract

The new synaphobranchid eel Ilyophis singularis is described on the basis of two specimens (248–270 mm in total length) collected from the northeastern South China Sea at a depth between 1,612 and 1,665 m. The new species is characterized by a low number of vertebrae, with 116–118 total vertebrae, which is the smallest known for a species in Ilyophis. In addition, it differs from its congeners by the following combined characteristics: preanal vertebrae 36–37; sensory pores in supraorbital series 3 (pores absent above eye); sensory pores in infraorbital series 7 or 8 (2 or 3 pores behind eye); sensory pores absent on frontal and supratemporal regions; and body naked. The uncertainties for defining the two subgroups in Ilyophis are also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We deeply appreciate the assistance provided by the following: the participants of the DongSha 2014 cruise and crew of the R/V Ocean Researcher 1 for the procurement of the specimens; M.-Y. Lee, J.-N. Chen, and H.-C. Lin (NTUM) for their generous assistance; G. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand) for reading the manuscript and providing help with English. This study was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant number 21K06300 and Fujiwara Natural History Foundation (to FT) and by research funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 102-2923-B-002-001-MY3 and 110-2611-M-002-013 -) (to WJC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries Science Center, The Hokkaido University Museum, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan

    Fumihito Tashiro

  2. Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4 Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Wei-Jen Chen

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  1. Fumihito Tashiro
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  2. Wei-Jen Chen
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Correspondence to Fumihito Tashiro.

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Tashiro, F., Chen, WJ. Ilyophis singularis (Synaphobranchidae; Ilyophinae), a new deep-sea eel from the South China Sea. Ichthyol Res 70, 332–336 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-022-00887-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-022-00887-w

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