FILEFISHES ( MONACANTHIDAE ) OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC 



65 



II. Palatine a simple bar, not directly connected with ectopterygoid. 6 outer teeth in each jaw; 4 inner ones in upper 

 jaw. 4 or 5 caudal vertebrae with epipleurals. 3 precaudal interneurals ^ fused to form trough for spinous dorsal 

 fin, immovably attached to exoccipitals, unconnected with vertebral column. Distal ends of caudal interneurals with 

 prominent lateral expansions. Normally 2 dorsal spines, the second very small and sometimes absent. Scales small 



or minute, not in regular series, rarely in contact. Soft dorsal, anal and pectoral rays simple -_ 



_ _ __ Aluteridae [Monacantbidae]. 



Alutera Cloouet 1816 



Aluterus as first proposed by Cloquet (1816: p. 

 135) is correctly emended to Alutera because 

 the stem, aluta, is a feminine noun (Andrews, 

 1851 : p. 89) and thus is in accord with the Copen- 

 hagen decisions on zoological nomenclature (In- 

 ternational Trust for Zoological Nomenclature 

 1953: p. 49, art. 84(1)). Cloquet's proposal of 

 the name appeared in a French dictionary and 

 was based on a manuscript of Cuvier. Cuvier's 

 (1817: p. 153) first apphcation of the name, 

 however, was in the vernacular, "Les Aluteres." 

 Oken (1817: p. 1173) furnished Alutera in its 

 nomenclatorially acceptable form. This genus 

 includes the following nominal genera as syn- 

 onyms: Ceratacanthus Gill 1861, Osbeckia Jordan 

 and Evermann 1898, and Davidia Miranda 

 Ribeiro 1915. Fraser-Brunner (1941: p. 187) 

 separated the first two of these names as sub- 

 genera of Alutera on the basis of fin-ray counts 

 and shape of the snout and caudal peduncle. 



We recognize four species of Alutera from the 

 western North Atlantic: Alutera monoceros (Lin- 

 naeus) 1758, Alutera scripta (Osbeck) 1765, 

 Alutera schoepjii (Walbaum) 1792, and Alutera 

 heudelotii Hollard 1855. A fifth species, Alutera 

 punctata (Cuvier) in Spix 1831, has been reported 

 from this area, but we regard it as a synonym 

 of Alutera schoepjii, and it is discussed under the 

 account of that species. 



Alutera heudelotii, A. scripta, and A. monoceros 

 possess an external, rudimentary pelvic spine 

 near the distal end of the pelvic bone. This spine 

 usually has several short, thick, and irregular 

 barbs, that appear to wear off in large specimens. 

 On some of the largest specimens the pelvic spine 

 could not be located, presumabl}' because of its 

 degeneration and the corresponding increase in 

 number and thickness of the spines on the body 

 scales in this area. At its maximum development 

 on smaller fish, the barbs of this rudimentary 

 spine are much thicker and extend farther from 

 the body surface than the spines of the associated 

 body scales (fig. 5). This type of spine does not 



566129 0—61 2 



occur in Alutera schoepjii, and therefore its 

 presence or absence is useful in distinguishing 

 this species from A. heudelotii, particularly so in 

 specimens 50 to 90 mm. S.L. where other charac- 

 ters used to separate these two species are relative 

 or overlapping. This spine was found in all 

 specimens of Alutera heudelotii from 30.5 to 135 

 mm. S.L., but could not be located in specimens 

 of 136 mm. S.L. and larger. It was noted in 

 specimens of A. monoceros from 53 to 137 mm. 

 S.L. In A. scripta, it was noted in specimens 

 from 27 to 200 mm. S.L. Smith (1935: p. 359, pi. 

 XLII D) recorded pelvic spines in A. monoceros 

 and A. scripta from South Africa. 



Longley (1935: p. 86) noted the pelvic spine in 

 Alutera ventralis and referred to it as "a micro- 

 scopic vestige of the reduced ventral girdle of 

 Monacanthus." Hildebrand (in Longley and 

 Hildebrand, 1940: p. 279) corroborated its pres- 

 ence in this species, but described it as freely 

 movable in the skin. The skin surrounding the 

 spine can readily be lifted away from the bone, 

 and we have found the spine to be directly fused 

 to the pelvic bone. However, the spine can be 

 broken away from the bone, and if retained in 

 position in the surrounding skin it is then movable. 

 We have not determined a homologous relation- 

 ship between this rudimentary spine and the 

 pelvic spine of Monacanthus, Stephanolepis, or 

 Amanses, and accept Longley's interpretation 

 only on circumstantial evidence. 



Alutera monoceros (Linnaeus) 1758 



(Figures 19, 20, and 21) 



This species was described in a pre-Lmnaean 

 publication by Osbeck (1757) from a specimen 

 taken off the coast of China. The name was docu- 

 mented nomenclatorially by Linnaeus ui 1758. 

 Some authors have regarded Alutera monoceros as 

 a Pacific species and have distinguished the At- 

 lantic form under the name of Alutera guntheriana 

 Poey 1863; but comparisons of our Atlantic ma- 

 terial with specimens from the China Sea and the 

 Philippines show them to be identical in all 



