Nichols and Breder — Otophidium Welshi, New Cusk Eel 15 



Otophidium welshi, new species. 



The type, No. 85512, United States National Museum, collected at 

 Grampus Station 10478, southwest from Braye's Light, Texas, in ten 

 fathoms of water, trawl. Head scaleless, scales ending on the nape, on a 

 vertical over the opercle. Scales on body rudimentary, embedded, linear, 



Fig. 3 — Otophidium welshi, new species. 



about 3 to 4 times as long as broad, approximately placed perpendicularly 

 to one another in groups, as in Anguilla, variable in length, maximum 

 approximately half pupil. Air bladder short, thick, with very large ventral 

 foramen which is encompassed by a thickened ridge. A concealed spine 

 on the margin of the opercle. Gill-rakers 4. Length, 194 mm. to base 

 caudal. Head 5.2 in that length; depth 6.4; pectoral in head 1.6; eye 5.1; 

 snout 4.5; maxillary 2.3; longest ventral filament 1.5; interorbital 5.1. 

 Profile low and slanting to past middle of eye, then rising abruptly to a 

 high gibbous rounding keeled nape. Four lengthwise dark bands on the 

 side. The uppermost solid; confluent with its fellow across the back and 

 expanding irregularly on the nape. The three lower ones increasingly 

 broken, so that the lowermost, on a level with the pectorals, consists of only 

 a few vague marks, entering an irregular jagged blotch in front, which it 

 shares with the band above it. Preorbital, suborbital and postorbital 

 regions punctulate with dark dots. A dark blotch on upper margin of 

 opercle. These dark body markings are seal brown in alcohol. Dorsal 

 pale basally, with an elongate black marginal blotch between 3^ and X the 

 length of the head, beginning near its origin. Behind this blotch the fin is 

 edged with a narrow dusky margin, which broadens slightly backward and 

 becomes narrow again and ill-defined on the caudal, though meeting the 

 broad black margin of the anal below. Anal pale basally, but with incon- 

 spicuous dark punctuations. Pectorals pale, punctulate with brown at 

 margin and on base. 



Another specimen with the same data is 199 mm. in length. Head 5.1, 

 depth 6.6. Otherwise identical with type. Otophidium welshi^ is distin- 

 guished by its striped coloration, its gibbous nape, and its proportions, the 

 latter of which is most like Otophidium galeoides (Gilbert) of the Gulf of 

 California. 



1 Named for memory of William W. Welsh, the collector. 



