First records of the rare eelpout

Six eelpout species (Zoarcidae) are currently known from the Ross Sea and adjacent areas: Dieidolycus leptodermatus Anderson, 1988; Lycodichthys dearborni (DeWitt, 1962); Ophthalmolycus bothriocephalus (Pappenheim, 1912); Pachycara brachycephalum (Pappenheim, 1912); Seleniolycus pectoralis Møller & Stewart, 2006 and Seleniolycus robertsi Møller & Stewart, 2006 (Anderson, 1990, 2006; Møller & Stewart, 2006). Zoarcidae is thereby one of the most diverse non-Notothenoid fish families in the Ross Sea. Recent collecting by New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries Observers and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) Natural Environment’s Fish Team in the Ross Sea has resulted in many specimens registered into the National Fish Collection (NFC) at Te Papa. Examination of the zoarcids in this valuable new material (44 lots, 56 specimens) revealed 6 specimens assignable to the genus Lycenchelys Gill, taken from stomach samples of toothfish (Dissostichus spp.) and Antarctic starry skate (Amblyraja georgiana) caught on baited longlines. The zoarcids match the description of Lycenchelys xanthoptera Anderson, 1991, which is only known from the five type specimens taken from a single location in the Weddel Sea. In the present paper we provide new morphological and meristic data for this rare species and discuss the possible disjunct distribution pattern.