Atlantic occurrence of the genus Bellottia (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with two new species from the Western North Atlantic

• Main Authors: NIELSEN, JØRGEN G., ROSS, STEVE W., COHEN, DANIEL M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Mangolia Press 2009
• Subjects: Fish; Bythitidae; Bellottia; two n. sp.; Gulf of Mexico; off southern Georgia; deep-sea corals; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.2018.1.3; https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2018.1.3

Thirteen specimens of the bythitid fish-genus Bellottia have been reported from the Western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. A comparison with the three known species, B. apoda Giglioli, 1883 from the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean, B. armiger (Smith & Radcliffe, 1913) from the Philippines and B. galatheae Nielsen & Møller, 2008 from the Solomon Sea and Philippines showed that the 13 specimens are different from all three. Furthermore, the 12 specimens from the Gulf of Mexico (B. robusta) are specifically different from the specimen caught off southern Georgia (B. cryptica) based on differences in body depth at origin of anal fin, presence or absence of spine on preopercular crest and number of precaudal vertebrae. The two new species appear to be associated with deep-sea coral or reef habitats and likely may have wider distributions than are apparent at present.