FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 79, NO. 1 



mm) in February, March, and September; thus the 

 population presumably spawned throughout the 

 year. 



Eptatretus species A and B 

 Figures 4 and 5, Table 1 



Matena/.— Species A, MCZ 40370, 1 (433 mm), 9 

 June 1958, 1925-2225 h. Silver Bay station 445, 

 28°03 ' N, 78°44 ' W, depth 910-950 m, bottom type 

 coral and sand; Species A (inferential; the speci- 

 men cannot be located), 21 June 1958, 0730-1030 h. 

 Silver Bay station 490, 29°49 ' N, 80°11 ' W, 330 m, 

 bottom type green mud. Species B, SIO 76-252 

 (formerly UMML 31521), 1 (308 mm), 27 Sep- 

 tember 1973, RV Columbus Iselin station 137, 

 26°07' N, 78°34.1-36.6' W, depth 590-560 m. 



Two specimens oi Eptatretus (herein provision- 

 ally designated A and B) have been taken at 

 depths of 950 and 590 m, respectively, in the vicin- 

 ity of Grand Bahama Island (Figure 1). The pat- 

 tern of fused teeth is 3/2 in these specimens and 

 the total number of cusps is essentially the same. 

 They exhibit differences large enough that they 



cannot be convincingly included in E. springeri. 

 There are differences in the numbers of gill 

 pouches and apertures, the relative branchial 

 length, and number of prebranchial, trunk, and 

 total slime pores (Table 1). Although there is vari- 

 ability in the number of gill pouches, and speci- 

 mens having one more or less pouch are found 

 among the six-gilled species oi Eptatretus , it seems 

 unlikely that our five- and seven-gilled specimens 

 from south and north of Grand Bahama Island 

 represent a single species with normally six gill 

 pouches. The body width, the relative depth over 

 the cloaca, and counts of prebranchial slime pores 

 (Table 1) also indicate specific distinction for these 

 two Atlantic Eptatretus specimens. 



Species A, a mature male, is considerably stout- 

 er than the thin specimen designated as species B 

 and is about as stout as E. springeri. The tail is less 

 flaring and more pointed than that ofE. springeri. 

 The skin is light brown overall wdth the ventral fin 

 fold whitish. Patches of transparent skin overlie 

 the eyes. Trunk and total slime pore counts are 

 outside the range of E. springeri in this seven- 

 gilled specimen (Table 1), but the internal 



miiiim= ■-•--■*'• 



--!*> 



4 5 



Figure 5.— Eptatretus sp. B (SIO 76-252). Object dependent from slit is an egg. Scale in centimeters. 



76 



