Common Name
Graham's Whalefish
Year Described
Richardson & Garrick, 1964
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 15
Anal Fin: 14
Pectoral Fin: 16
Lateral Line Pores: 17-19
Gill Arches: 3
Vertebrae:
Genus diagnosis after Paxton (1989) for females:
Dorsal fin base 13.8% SL. Head length 30% SL. Body rather elongated with a huge mouth (third of body length). Snout rounded. Head wider than body. Eye tiny. Nasal organ small. Jaws slightly convex to straight on upper but concave on lower. Three distinct gill arches with a slit behind last with a small slit behind the last. Gill tooth plates contiguous. Lateral line conspicuous with large round pores inside a channel with raised rim. Lateral pores lack dermal flaps. No vertical rows of papillae on lateral line. Lateral line system continues onto head as a series of pores and sensory openings. Additional pores on lower jaw and snout. Jaw teeth relatively long (three times longer than wide) in regular rows. Vomerine tooth patch rectangular or flat. Dorsal and anal fins located far back on body, with bases slightly elevated. Cavernous tissue located around the anus. None elsewhere on body Caudal fin with less than 17 principle rays. Pelvic fin absent. Pectoral fin small and inserted low on body. Body flabby and scaleless except for large, diagnostic scales associated with the lateral line canals.
Males and juveniles unknown.
Color
Preserved fish uniformly dark brown.
Size
Type material measures 77.5mm SL.
Habitat
Type material taken on the bottom at 2377m. Probably found throughout the bathypelagic zone.
Range
Found circumglobally in the southern Hemisphere: recorded in the South Atlantic and also in Sub-Antarctic waters. The damaged specimen in Mincarone et al. (2014) is likely this species given the range.
References
Mincarone, M.M., F. Di Dario & P.A.S. Costa. 2014. Deep-sea bigscales, pricklefishes, gibberfishes and whalefishes (Teleostei: Stephanoberycoidei) off Brazil: new records, range extensions for the south-western Atlantic Ocean and remarks on the taxonomy of Poromitra. Journal of Fish Biology v. 85: 1546-1570.
Paxton, J.R. 1989. Synopsis of the whalefishes (family Cetomimidae) with descriptions of four new genera. Records of the Australian Museum v. 41: 135-206.
Richardson, L.R. and J.A.F. Garrick. 1964. A new species of Gyrinomimus (Pisces, Cetomimidae) from New Zealand. Copeia, 1964 (no. 3): 523-525.
Other Notes
Dorsal and anal fin counts are lower in this species than the other Gyrinomimus and do not overlap.