Records of chimaeroid fishes (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with the description of a new species of Chimera (Chimaeridae) from the eastern Pacific Ocean

Abstract

A new species of Chimaera Linnaeus 1758 is described from three specimens collected from off the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Peru. Chimaera orientalis n. sp., the first species of the genus described from the eastern Pacific Ocean, is distinguished from its other congeners by a combination of coloration and morphology. Additionally, new records of occurrence for another four species of chimaeroid fishes (Harriotta raleighana (Goode & Bean 1895), Rhinochimaera africana Compagno, Stehmann & Ebert 1990, Hydrolagus colliei Lay & Bennett 1839, and H. macrophthalmus de Buen 1959) previously unknown for the continental shelf of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Central America are reported. A key to the eastern Pacific species of the order Chimaeriformes is also presented.

First North Pacific records of the pointy nosed blue chimaera, Hydrolagus cf. trolli (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae)

“…Until recently Hydrolagus colliei (Lay and Bennett, 1839) and Hydrolagus melanophasma (James, Ebert, Long, and Didier, 2009) were the only species confirmed to occur in the northeastern Pacific. Hydrolagus colliei is found from Alaska to Costa Rica, while H. melanophasma occurs off southern California, USA to northern Chile (Angulo et al, 2014;Aguirre-Villaseñor et al 2013). However, a third species of Hydrolagus, first noted but not identified by Ebert (2003), had been observed by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Davidson Seamount off central California at a depth greater than 2000 m. Lundsten et al 2009 identify Hydrolagus trolli from the Davidson Seamount, however provide no descriptive information.…”

New records of hagfishes (Myxini: Myxiniformes: Myxinidae) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

“…As noted by Angulo (2014aAngulo ( , 2014bAngulo ( , 2015 and Angulo et al (2014aAngulo et al ( , 2014b) the majority of these new records correspond to species that are likely residents in this area that might have remained undetected due to intrinsic rarity or difficulty of access to their specific habitats (deep-water). The presence of these species suggests that the Costa Rican marine ichthyofauna is considerably richer than previously expected (Angulo 2014a(Angulo , 2014b(Angulo , 2015.…”

“…The presence of these species suggests that the Costa Rican marine ichthyofauna is considerably richer than previously expected (Angulo 2014a(Angulo , 2014b(Angulo , 2015. Consequently, an estimation of number, composition and distribution of species in this area is still far from being obtained (Angulo 2014a, 2014b, 2015, Angulo et al 2014b.…”

“…On the basis of Bussing and López (1994, 2009, 2011, both species, Myxine circifrons and Eptatretus stoutii, represent additions to the list of fi sh species know to be present on the Pacifi c coast of Costa Rica. In this regard, in last fi ve years, an important number of fish species have been recorded for the "first time" from Costa Rican waters, precisely most of them on the Pacifi c coast (see Bussing and López 2011, Cortés et al 2012, López-Garro et al 2012, Starr et al 2012, Angulo 2014a, 2014b, 2015, Angulo et al 2014a, 2014b. A very similar case to the present record of E. stoutii was the species Hydrolagus colliei (Lay et Bennett, 1839) (Chimaeriformes, Chimaeridae), previously known only from southwestern Alaska to the Gulf of California, but now also known to be present in the Pacifi c coast of Costa Rica (Angulo et al 2014a).…”

“…In this regard, the expansion of fi sheries into deeper waters and the development of new fi sheries for new deep-water target species in this area (see Wehrtmann and Nielsen-Muñoz 2009 for an overview), as noted by Angulo (2014aAngulo ( , 2014bAngulo ( , 2015 and Angulo et al (2014b), will likely bring with them new captures of unexpected species. As a result of it, some species being currently considered as rare, such as those reported here, might be common or abundant at certain depths or habitats.…”