#NewSpeciesAlert - 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑖, 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑝𝑎𝑥𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖, 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑖, and 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑠, four new species of flabby whalefish (Beryciformes, Cetomimidae) are described in a new study published in
@ZooKeys_Journal.
🔓
zookeys.pensoft.net/article/…
The authors also document three new species groups of 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 and provide an identification key to the species groups and all known species.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
Four new species of the whalefish genus 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 Parr, 1934, with the establishment of three new species groups (Beryciformes, Cetomimidae)
𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Su Y, Paxton JR, Ho H-C (2026) Four new species of the whalefish genus 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 Parr, 1934, with the establishment of three new species groups (Beryciformes, Cetomimidae). ZooKeys 1279: 57-95.
doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1279…
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
Four new species of the flabby whalefish genus 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 Parr, 1934 are described based on female specimens: 𝐺. 𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑠 sp. nov. from the southern Atlantic, 𝐺. 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑖 sp. nov. from the Northern Hemisphere, 𝐺. 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑝𝑎𝑥𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖 Su & Ho, sp. nov. from the Pacific and Atlantic, and 𝐺. 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑖 sp. nov. from the northern Pacific.
Each of the new species differs from congeners in the length of gill filaments on fourth gill arch, numbers of dorsal- and anal-fin rays, gill rakers, head and lateral-line pores, anal lappets and vertebrae, distribution of cavernous tissue, and the shape and length/width ratio of copular tooth plate.
Moreover, three species groups are defined: 𝐺. 𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑢𝑛𝑖 species group, 𝐺. 𝑔𝑟𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖 species group, and 𝐺. 𝑚𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖 species group. Each group differs in the length of gill filaments, numbers of anal lappet and gill rakers, and distribution of cavernous tissue. Diagnostic characters and detailed descriptions of the new species are provided and compared to congeners, with variations discussed.
Finally, an identification key to species groups and all known species is provided.
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
First - Fresh colouration of 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑖 sp. nov., holotype, HUMZ 121996, 386 mm SL. Photo courtesy of HUMZ.
Second - Preserved colouration of 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑝𝑎𝑥𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖 sp. nov. Holotype, LACM 36034-7, 194.2 mm SL;
Third - Preserved colouration of 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑖 sp. nov. Paratype, USNM 296934, 290.0 mm SL.
Fourth - Preserved specimen of 𝐺𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑠 sp. nov., holotype, ZMH-ICH-108930, 62.4 mm SL. Lateral view.
© 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal ZooKeys. This paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) licence.
#NewSpecies #Ichthyology #Taxonomy #Biodiversity #Beryciformes #Cetomimidae #Whalefish #FlabbyWhalefish #Gyrinomimus #DeepSea #Ocean #Oceans #Marine #MarineLife