Vol. 40 No. 2, 2001

A Review of Lanternfishes (Families: Myctophidae and Neoscopelidae) and Their Distributions around Taiwan and the Tungsha Islands with Notes on Seventeen New Records

John Ta-Ming Wang* and Che-Tsung Chen

Graduate School of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan 202

John Ta-Ming Wang and Che-Tsung Chen (2001) Lanternfishes collected during 9 cruises from 1991 to 1997 were studied. The area sampled lies between 19°N and 25°N and 114°E and 123°E. The specimens collected in this area comprise 40 species belong to 16 genera, among which 17 species are first records. These first record species include Benthosema fibulatum, Bolinichthys supralateralis, Electrona risso, Hygophum proximum, H. reinhardtii, Lampadena anomala, Lobianchia gemellarii, Lampanyctus niger, L. turneri, L. tenuiformis, Myctophum asperum, M. aurolaternatum, M. nitidulum, M. spinosum, Notolychnus valdiviae, Notoscopelus caudispinosus, and N. resplendens. Among these, six species, Bolinichthys supralateralis, Electrona risso, Lampanyctus turneri, Lampadena anomala, Notolychnus valdiviae, and Notoscopelus caudispinosus, are first records for the South China Sea, and the species, Lampadena anomala is a new record for Asian oceans (Table 1). Four species (Triphoturus microchir, Diaphus diadematus, D. latus, and D. taaningi) were controversial in previous reports, so they are discussed in this study. Geographic distributions and localities of catches of all lanternfish species are shown on the maps (Figs. 3-8).

Key words: Myctophidae, Neoscopelidae, Fish fauna, Deep-sea fishes.

*Correspondence: Fax: 886-2-28106688. E-mail: jtmwang@seed.net.tw