Ceratias uranoscopus Murray 1877

Ceratias uranoscopus Murray, 1877 (Figs. 1A, 2) Diagnosis. Metamorphosed females of Ceratias uranoscopus differ from those of C. holboelli Krøyer, 1845 and C. tentaculatus (Norman, 1930), the other two known species of the genus, by the absence of distal escal appendages (vs. presence of a single distal escal appendages or a pair of distal escal appendages), and by the lack of vomerine teeth (vs. present or nearly always present) (Pietsch, 1986, 2009). Geographical distribution. Ceratias uranoscopus is widely distributed in the Atlantic and Pacific. It is also known from the Indian Ocean based on three specimens collected off South Africa, India, and the Arabian Sea (Pietsch, 1986, 2009; Rajeeshkumar et al., 2016). In the Atlantic, it is reported from off Nova Scotia in the west to approximately 40ºS off Cape Town in the east (Pietsch, 2009). The species was previously reported in Brazilian waters based on a specimen (129 mm SL) collected off southeastern Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (MCZ 42845, 0º03’N 27º31’W) (Pietsch, 1986; Menezes et al., 2003; Melo et al., 2020). In the present study, a single specimen is reported nearby Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, at 850 m depth (Fig. 2). Remarks. Three additional small (31–51 mm SL) specimens of Ceratias (NPM 4974, NPM 4978, NPM 4979) were also collected during the ABRACOS expeditions, but identification was only possible to genus. They were collected around Rocas Atoll (610 m depth) and near the seamounts off Rio Grande do Norte State (670–700 m depth) (Fig. 2). In addition to Ceratias uranoscopus, C. holboelli and C. tentaculatus were previously reported in the western South Atlantic (Sutton et al., 2008; Porteiro et al., 2017). Ceratias holboelli is widely distributed in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, with records in the Atlantic ranging between 68ºN and 14ºS. The species was recorded in Brazilian waters based on a single specimen collected off Ilhéus, Bahia State (MNRJ 30701, 14º36’36”S 38º49’21”W; Pietsch, 2009; Fig. 2). This specimen was previously identified as C. uranoscopus by Costa et al. (2007). Melo et al. (2020) also listed C. uranoscopus in Brazilian waters based on this misidentification. Ceratias tentaculatus is restricted to the Southern Hemisphere with two records in the western South Atlantic, one off northern Argentina (ISH 435/71, 38º20’S 54º33’W), and another off Rio Grande do Sul State, close to the Brazilian EEZ (ISH 1657/68, 35°16’S 49°26’W) (Pietsch, 1986). Ceratias tentaculatus has also been briefly mentioned as occurring off Uruguay (Nión et al., 2016). Cryptopsaras couesii Gill, 1883 is known from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans (Pietsch, 2009). The species was also reported in Brazilian waters based on specimens collected off Pará State (MCZ 147828, 01º24’N 45º24’W) and off Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (MCZ 45065, 00º58’S 27º34’W; MCZ 76502, 00º34’N 30º43’W) (Pietsch, 1986; Edwards, 1993; Menezes et al., 2003; Sutton et al., 2008; Pietsch, 2009; Porteiro et al., 2017; Melo et al., 2020; Fig. 2). Larvae of C. couesii have also been recently reported off Trindade Island (20°27’36”S 29°26’16”W; Stocco, Joyeux, 2015). Material examined. NPM 5060, 1, 76 mm (Fig. 1A), RV Antea, sta. AB2/44A, 3°52’52.5”S 32°17’33.3”W to 3°52’13.4”S 32°16’28.0”W, 850 m, 28 Apr 2017, 12:44– 13:17 h.

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