Lampanyctus steinbecki 



Bolin, 1939 



Fig. 167 — Lampanyctus steinbecki, holotype, 35.5. mm. From Bolin 

 (1939, p. 140, fig. 23). 



Description 



D. 12-13 (14); A. 17-18 (16-19); P. 14 (13-15); AO 6(5-7) -l- 7 (6-8), total 12-13 (14); gill 

 rakers 3-4 -H 1 + 9 (8-10), total 13 (12-14); vertebrae 35 (34-36). 



SAOi well above level of SAOj, a line through them passing through or near VLO and 

 PLO. VLO below lateral line by about one-third the distance from there to pelvic base. VO2 

 often slightly elevated by about half its diameter above the rest. AOa series usually slightly 

 curved. Deviations of VOj and AOa are not always evident in smaller specimens (30 mm and 

 less). Infracaudal gland with 5 or 6 luminous scales covering about three-fourths ventral 

 surface of caudal peduncle. 



Size: To 80 mm. 



Least depth of capture: To about 300 m at night. 



Distribution: Apparently widespread in eastern Pacific Ocean (Fig. 162). Insufficient col- 

 lecting has been done westerly and southwesterly of the depicted range to be certain of its 

 occurrence in those areas. Whitley ( 1968) did not include the species in his list of fishes from 

 New Zealand. L. steinbecki has been reported from the Indian Ocean (see Discussion). 

 Discussion 



Nafpaktitis and Nafpaktitis (1969) applied the name L. steinbecki to specimens from the 

 western Indian Ocean, stating that they agreed very well w^ith Bolin's original description. 

 However, these authors listed counts that differ somewhat from those of eastern Pacific speci- 

 mens: D. 12; A. 16 (15-17); P. 13-14; AO 4-5 (6) + 5-6 (7), total 9-11 (12); gill rakers 3 + 1 -H 8 (7). 

 Also, these authors showed the VLO to be somewhat nearer lateral line than in eastern Pacific 

 specimens. 



These differences indicate a probability that two distinct species may be involved. How- 

 ever, at present there are insufficient data to warrant specific separation. 



Lampanyctus tenuiformis-festivus species complex 



Bolin (1959), in a discussion of Lampanyctus festivus (Tuning, 1928) from the North 

 Atlantic Ocean, stated that the species was possibly conspecific with L. tenuiformis (Brauer, 

 1906), L. bensoni (Fowler, 1934), and L. steinbecki Bolin (1939), but offered neither illustra- 

 tions nor criteria for separating the forms. Nafpaktitis and Nafpaktitis ( 1969) discussed and 

 illustrated all except L. bensoni and offered a few characters for distinguishing between L. 

 tenuiformis and L. festivus; Bolin (personal communication) also provided characters for 

 separating the latter two species. Data from these investigators are combined in Table 35 and 

 are compared with similar data from specimens provisionally identified as L. tenuiformis from 



181 



