MARINE SILVER HATCHETFISHES — SCHULTZ 613 



N., long. 79°40' W., depth 1,270 fathoms, standard length 26 mm. 

 MCZ 28528, paratype, Albatross station 3414, lat. 10°14' N., long. 

 96°28' W., depth 2,232 fathoms (but a note in jar states "surface to 

 200 fathoms"), 3 specimens, 40 to 47 mm. MCZ 35193, paratype, 

 Albatross hydrographic station 2619, lat. 7°31'00" N., long. 78°42' 30" 

 W., note in jar states "surface to 300 fathoms," 1 specimen, 19 mm. 

 MCZ 35147, paratype, data same as MCZ 35193, 1 specimen, 26 mm. 



Besides the types, the following lots were studied (the numbers of 

 specimens are given in parentheses): USNM 148232(5), 150259(2), 

 164295(1). MCZ 34948(4). SIO H52-419(7) andSlO-54-90(l). 

 WHOI RHB569(2), RHB475(1). BOC 2708(4), 3006(1), Atlantis 

 station 1355(6) ; also uncatalogued at BOC are five lots from off Peru, 

 totaling 46 specimens. 



Distinctive characters: Lower preopercular spine directed down- 

 ward and sometimes curved a little forward; upper preopercular spine 

 rather long, curved outward and sometimes upward, notably rather 

 long and reaching past rear of bony edge of preopercle; 2 postabdomi- 

 nal spines, directed ventrally, anterior one curved or hooked forward 

 or directed straight downward, the angle between these spines varying 

 from 50° to 70°; preanal, anal, and subcaudal groups of photophores 

 compact, the distance between anal and subcaudal groups less than 

 width of last 2 anal photophores; length of exposed part of longest 

 spine of dorsal blade 1.0 to 2.2 times in base of soft dorsal fin. 



The lynchus complex of subspecies (lynchus, sladeni, and hawaiensis) 

 differs from oljersi mostly in the upper preopercular spine, which is 

 short and stubby and docs not extend past the bony preopercular edge 

 in oljersi, whereas in the lynchus complex the spine is long, hooked 

 outward, sometimes a little dorsally, and reaches past the bony pre- 

 opercular edge. 



Although I am recognizing three subspecies of lynchus in the Indo- 

 Pacific, I do so with some uncertainty. The character of the height 

 of dorsal blade may not be a sound one, as it appears to become pro- 

 portionately shorter on large specimens than on small ones of the 

 same subspecies. Unfortunately, I lack enough specimens of hawaien- 

 sis for a fuller study of this problem. 



The lynchus-sladeni populations also need a detailed study, but 

 the number of specimens available to me are not sufficient for an 

 analysis of variability. 



Data indicate that three subspecies might be recognized on the 

 basis of number of gill raker-, (see table 4, p. 614) and height of dorsal 

 blade. These are lynchus lynchus of the Eastern Pacific and At- 

 lantic Oceans, lynchus hawaiensis of the Central Pacific, and lynchus 

 sladeni of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. However, the 

 problem of where these so-called subspecies meet in the areas where 



