Identification.—I followed Sanzo (1931) and made no attempt to 
identify the specimens to species. 
9. Astronesthidae 
(7 occurrences, 7 larvae) 
These larvae, though rare, were found on both cruises. Houde 
et al.(footnote 4) collected only one specimen in the eastern Gulf 
of Mexico; few were taken by Nellen (1973) in the western Indian 
Ocean; but Ahlstrom (1971, 1972) collected many in the eastern 
tropical Pacific. 
Identification.—I followed Sanzo (1931) and made no attempt to 
identify the specimens to a lower taxonomic level. 
10. Melanostomiatidae 
(11 occurrences, 16 larvae) 
As with the chauliodontids, larvae of this family, though rare, 
were taken more frequently during the winter cruise. Houde et 
al.(footnote 4) collected more representatives of this family than 
of the preceding three families in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. 
Ahlstrom (1971, 1972) also collected more of this family in the 
eastern tropical Pacific, as did Nellen (1973) in the western Indian 
Ocean. 
Identification.—I followed Sanzo (1931) and made no attempt to 
identify the specimens to a lower taxonomic level. 
11. Idiacanthidae 
(3 occurrences, 3 larvae) 
This is a monotypic family in the Atlantic represented by 
Idiacanthus fasciola. In contrast to the eastern tropical Pacific, 
where Ahlstrom (1972) found them to be abundant, only a few 
were found in my collections. Nellen (1973) collected only one 
specimen in the western Indian Ocean, and none were taken by 
Houde et al. (footnote 4) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. 
Identification.—Gibbs (1964). 
12. Synodontidae 
(15 occurrences, 33 larvae) 
Larvae of this family were three times more abundant in the 
summer and were widely scattered throughout the area. Adults 
have nearshore benthic habits, but the larvae are pelagic. 
Ahlstrom (1971, 1972) found them only nearshore in the eastern 
tropical Pacific; Houde et al. (footnote 4) found them to be the 
seventh most abundant larvae in the eastern Gulf of Mexico; 
Nellen (1973) found them to be abundant in the southern Red Sea 
and Aden area and less abundant elsewhere in the western Indian 
Ocean. 
Identification.—Even though some work has been done with this 
group, my larvae were small and did not clearly fit the described 
forms (Gibbs 1959; Anderson et al. 1966a,b); thus, I did not iden- 
tify any specimens below the family level. 
10 
13. Scopelarchidae 
(36 occurrences, 65 larvae) 
Larvae of this family ranked 15th or higher in occurrence and 
number on both cruises. Five species of this midwater family of 
fishes are known from this region and three were represented in 
the collections. Nellen (1973) obtained few representatives of this 
family in the western Indian Ocean; Houde et al. (footnote 4) cap- 
tured only 28 specimens in the eastern Gulf of Mexico; Ahlstrom 
(1971, 1972) obtained many in the eastern tropical Pacific, but, as 
in the Caribbean, very few per station. 
Identification.—Johnson (1974). 
Benthabella infans (31 occurrences, 56 larvae).—This species 
was widespread throughout the area, and both Johnson (1974) 
and Merrett et al.(1973) have shown it to be widely distributed. 
The latter authors have shown that larvae <15 mm in length oc- 
cur in the upper 200 m. All of my larvae except one were <15 mm 
in length; the one exception was 17.5 mm in length from a tow in 
which the net reached a depth of 255 m. This species was among 
the most abundant non-myctophid myctophiform species (Table 
9). 
Scopelarchiodes danae (7 occurrences, 8 larvae).—This wide- 
ranging species was limited to the eastern Caribbean during the 
summer cruise. 
Scopelarchus analis (1 occurrence, 1 larva).—This single 
specimen may be a damaged Benthabella infans. 
14. Evermannellidae 
(29 occurrences, 45 larvae) 
Larvae of this family were more abundant during the winter 
than summer. A summary of occurrence and numbers of this 
species is shown in Table 9. This family was not ranked in the up- 
per 15 families. As with other midwater fishes, the species are 
widely distributed over the area. Ahlstrom (1971, 1972) collected 
most evermannellids at stations farthest from shore; Houde et al. 
(footnote 4) took six specimens from deep water in the eastern 
Gulf of Mexico; Nellen (1973) took only seven specimens from 
deep stations, also in the western Indian Ocean. 
Identification.—Rofen (1966a) and Johnson and Glodek (1975). 
15. Paralepididae 
(82 occurrences, 180 larvae) 
Paralepidid larvae ranked eighth in number on both cruises and 
sixth and third in occurrence on cruises 7239 and 7343, respective- 
ly (Table 7). The lowest level of taxa identified is summarized in 
Table 9. In the eastern tropical Pacific (Ahlstrom 1971, 1972), 
paralepids ranked sixth in abundance and contributed over 2% of 
the total; Houde et al. (footnote 4) found them at offshore sta- 
tions in the eastern Gulf of Mexico; Nellen (1973) included 
chlorophthalmids in this group, making it difficult to determine 
relative abundances in the western Indian Ocean. 
