Common Name
Lins' Blindfish
Year Described
Nielsen, Mincarone & Dario
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 78
Anal Fin: 69
Pectoral Fin: 21
Pelvic Fin: 1
Caudal Fin: 11
Gill Rakers: 25 (long rakers on first arch)
Vertebrae: 78 (33 precaudal)
Elongate and translucent, with loose gelatinous skin. Head large and noticeably downturned. Eyes not apparent and degenerate. 8 fangs on vomer and 7 fangs on posterior dentary. Teeth absent on palatine. Ventral flexure present on anterior vertebral column. Penis long and slender with no lobes at the base. Body scaleless. Dorsal and anal fins continuous with caudal fin.
Color
Fresh specimen semi-translucent pinkish tan. No markings apparent. Peritoneum transparent with viscera easily visible.
Size
Holotype measures 101mm SL.
Habitat
Collected between 1965-20145m.
Range
Collected off of NE Brazil (Potiguar Basin)
References
Nielsen, J. G., Mincarone, M. M., & F. Di Dario. 2015. A new deep-sea species of Barathronus Goode & Bean from Brazil, with notes on Barathronus bicolor Goode & Bean (Ophidiiformes: Aphyonidae). Neotropical Ichthyology, 13(1), 53-60.
Nielsen, J. G. 2019. Revision of the circumglobal genus Barathronus (Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae) with a new species from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa, 4679(2), zootaxa-4679.
Other Notes
The only other western Atlantic Barathronus with a flexure in the anterior vertebrae is B. pacificus. This species can be distinguished by the number of vomerine fangs, the number of gill rakers, and the different shaped genitalia.