Lycodichthys

Lycodichthys was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1911 by the German zoologist Paul Pappenheim when he described L. antarcticus giving its type locality as the Gauss winter station on the coast of Kaiser Wilhelm II Land in Antarctica.[2][4] The American ichthyologist Hugh Hamilton DeWitt described Rhigophila dearbornii in 1962 but in 1988 this taxon was reviwed by the South African based American ichthyologist M. Eric Anderson and reclassified as the second species in Lyodichthys, making Rhigophila as synonym of Lycodichthys.[5] This genus is classified in the subfamily Lycodinae, one of four subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts.[6]

Lycodichthys combines the name of the Northern genus Lycodes with ichthys, meaning "fish", as this genus closely resembles Lycodes in the shape of the body and fins.[7]

Lycodichthys contains the following species:[8]

• Lycodichthys antarcticus Pappenheim, 1911
• Lycodichthys dearborni (DeWitt, 1962)

Lycodichthys eelpouts have robust bodies which have a depth which is equal to 8.4% to 12.7% of their standard length. They have firm, thick skin and both scales and the lateral line are present. Pelvic fins can be either present or absent. There are five suborbital bones and five pores on the head. The gill slit does not typically extend as far as the lower edge of the base of the pectoral fin. There are no vomerine or palatine teeth.[5] Both species within Lyodichthys are similar in sizee with maximum published of 24 cm (9.4 in) for L. antarcticus and 23 cm (9.1 in) for L. dearbornii.[8]

Lycodichthys are endemic to the waters of the SOuthern Ocean off Antarctica, L. antarcticus occurs from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula east as far as Wilkes Land being dound at deptsh between 195 and 540 m (640 and 1,772 ft) while L. dearborni has onlyu been recorded from the Ross Sea at depths between 550 and 588 m (1,804 and 1,929 ft),[5]