112 



Fishery Bulletin 97(1), 1999 



B 



D 



E 



G 





i 



Figure 2 



Frontal aspect showing pigmentation on face and barbels of three new species of Eptatretus from the Galapagos Islands 

 (Al holotype of £. grousen (CAS 864281; (Bi holotype of £. wisneh (CAS 86429); (Cl paratype of E. wisnen (SI097-76) 

 (D) holotype of£. mccoskeri fCAS 864311; lE) and (F) paratypes of£. mccosken (SIO 97-75; and (G) paratype of £. mccoskeri 

 (USNM 344905). 



used to calculate body proportions in thousandths of 

 total length (TL). About 6-9 mm of shrinkage was noted 

 in the total lengths of the seven larger specimens be- 

 tween 24 March 1996 and 20 March 1997. Some shrink- 

 age occurs in all specimens on preservation, mainly in 

 the trunk length, and apparently slightly more when 

 ethanol is the preservative used, as in this case. Se- 

 lected body proportions and counts of slime pores and 

 cusps are shown in Table 1. 



Because variations in color patterns are often noted 

 in large collections, color is not usually considered of 

 much importance. However, the two species with 



eight gills have distinct differences in the white pat- 

 terns on their faces and barbels that may provide a 

 useful character in distinguishing between them. The 

 "face" is the anteriormost part of the specimen, the 

 ventral aspect of the head, delineated by three pairs 

 of long, slender protruberances thought to be sen- 

 sory organs and commonly referred to as barbels. The 

 first two pairs are above and below and adjacent to 

 the nasopharyngeal duct, which is the intake open- 

 ing for water to the pharynx. 



The third pair lies just outside another set of short, 

 fleshy protruberances on each side of the mouth. 



