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Issue: Vol. 5632 No. 2: 7 May 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-05-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5632.2.4
Page range: 293-308
Abstract views: 117
PDF downloaded: 4

A new species of the genus Mystriophis (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Cabo Verde (Eastern Central Atlantic), with notes on two Mystriophis specimens documented on the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen

IMar; Instituto do Mar; Cova D´Inglesa; Mindelo; São Vicente; Cabo Verde.
IMar; Instituto do Mar; Cova D´Inglesa; Mindelo; São Vicente; Cabo Verde.
Instituto de Engenharias e Ciências do Mar da Universidade Técnica do Atlântico ISECMAR-UTA; Mindelo; São Vicente; Cabo Verde.
Instituto Español de Oceanografía; Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias; Calle Farola del Mar;22; Dársena Pesquera; 38180 Santa Cruz.
Centre National des Sciences Halieutiques de Boussoura (CNSHB). 814; Rue MA500 Corniche Sud Boussoura Conakry; République de Guinée.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Viale delle Terme di Caracalla; 00153 Rome; Italy.; National Research Foundation - South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB); Private Bag 1015; Makhanda; 6140; South Africa
Pisces Spoon-nose eels ichthyology taxonomy biodiversity trawl surveys eastern tropical Atlantic

Abstract

A new species of spoon-nose eel, Mystriophis caboverdensis sp. nov., is described from the Cabo Verde Archipelago based on a single adult specimen (723 mm TL). It co-occurs in the tropical eastern Atlantic with two similar looking species, M. rostellatus (Richardson) and M. crosnieri Blache. The new species is distinguished from both congeners by its uniquely advanced position of the dorsal fin origin, the inner and outer maxillary teeth subequal in size, shorter head and predorsal length, fewer pectoral fin rays, more lateral-line pores, along with vertebral formula, and body colouration. The COI sequences of the new species and M. crosnieri (746 mm TL) collected off the Guinean coast are provided for the first time, with a clear genetic divergence (p-distance=3.6%) between the two species. A photographic record of a large Mystriophis (1022 mm TL) from São Tomé, tentatively identified as M. cf. rostellatus, is also presented with a revised key to species of the genus Mystriophis.

 

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How to Cite

Luz, A.N.D., Correia, S.M., Lopes, E.P., Jimenez, J.G., Traore, D. & Psomadakis, P.N. (2025) A new species of the genus Mystriophis (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Cabo Verde (Eastern Central Atlantic), with notes on two Mystriophis specimens documented on the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. Zootaxa, 5632 (2), 293–308. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5632.2.4