Taxonavigation

Familia: Ogcocephalidae
Genus: Halicmetus
Species: Halicmetus niger

Synonyms (1): H. nigra

Name

• Halicmetus niger H.-C. Ho, H. Endo & K. Sahamaki, 2008

• Type locality: Central Tosa Bay, off Kochi, Shikoku Island, Japan, depth about 500 meters.

• Diagnosis. A species of Halicmetus with body surface uniformly gray to black; trifid tubercles present everywhere (Fig. 4A, best seen under magnification); peritoneum black; rostrum extending anteriorly, slightly overhanging mouth (Fig. 5A, not observable in specimens of < 40 mm SL); and bucklers on ventral surface of tail relatively low and small; all fins with black band or completely black; skull relatively deeper anteriorly; large orbit (Fig. 7, 8.9-11.6% SL); interorbital space wide (Fig. 8, 6.1-8.1% SL); major bucklers absent from dorsal surface, except for those associated with frontal ridge and lateral line scales; illicial cavity relatively wide (6.8-8.5% SL) and high, forming a triangular opening; anal fin relative long, 14.3-24.0% SL; and with 12-15 (mainly 13 or 14) pectoral fin rays.

• Distribution: known from the western Pacific localities, including southern Japan, Taiwan, and eastern Australia at depths of 280-1000 m.

• Etymology. The new species name alludes to the uniform gray to black color of the body, peritoneum, and pharynx.

Primary references

• Ho, H.-C., H. Endo and K. Sakamaki. 2008. A new species of Halicmetus (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae) from the western Pacific, with comments on congeners. Zoological Studies v. 47 (no. 6): 767-773.
• Ho, H-C. & Last, P.R. 2018. Review of the batfish genus Halicmetus Alcock, 1891 from Australian waters, with descriptions of two new species (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae). Zootaxa 4508(2): 179–196. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.2.2 pdf Reference page.