Chaunacops Garman, 1899, a Senior Objective Synonym of Bathychaunax Caruso, 1989 (Lophiiformes: Chaunacoidei: Chaunacidae) JOHN H. CARUSO,HSUAN-CHING HO, AND THEODORE W. PIETSCH Chaunacops Garman, 1899, is shown to be a senior synonym of the chaunacid anglerfish genus Bathychaunax Caruso, 1989. While Chaunacops has not been used as valid since its erection in 1899, conditions do not exist to allow ‘‘reversal of precedence,’’ as provided by Article 23.9.1. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Thus, Chaunacops, type species Chaunax coloratus Garman by monotypy, must be regarded as valid and Bathychaunax set aside as a junior synonym. T HE genus Bathychaunax was introduced by Caruso (1989a) to contain two previously described species: Bathychaunax coloratus (Gar- man, 1899), the type species, now known from the eastern Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans, and Bathychaunax roseus (Barbour, 1941) from the Western Atlantic Ocean. The new genus was distinguished from its sister-genus Chaunax Lowe, 1846 by having a lower lateral-line count, longer illicium, wider head, and longer, more widely spaced dermal denticles. These distinc- tions were corroborated by Caruso (1989b) with the addition of a third species of Bathychaunax, B. melanostomus, from the eastern Indian Ocean. However, unrecognized by ichthyologists, is a brief comment published more than a century ago by Samuel Garman (1899) that now requires that the name Bathychaunax be set aside in favor of Chaunacops Garman. In describing several new species of ‘‘lo- phioids,’’ part of a much larger collection of fishes made in the Eastern Tropical Pacific in 1891 by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer ALBATROSS, Garman (1899:76) wrote: ‘‘The fourth is a new species of Chaunax, agreeing closely with the species previously known in details, yet, dwelling in the ooze, possessed of a compressed body, with a high nape, differences that may necessitate the establishment of a new subgenus (Chaunacops) to distinguish it from the depressed forms heretofore described.’’ Later, in the same publication (p. 83), Garman provided a detailed and beautifully illustrated description of Chaunax coloratus, but made no reference to Chaunacops. In fact, as far as we know, the name Chaunacops has never been used before or since, and although Garman (1899) expressed only a possibility rather than a formal statement, the Principle of Priority holds. Unfortunately, condi- tions in this case do not exist to allow ‘‘prevailing usage’’ of the more recent name, as provided by Article 23.9.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999; see also Article 11.5.1 concerning ‘‘conditional’’ propo- sals made before 1961): (1) Chaunacops has not been used as valid since 1899 (Article 23.9.1.1), but (2) Bathychaunax has not been used as a valid name in at least 25 works, published by at least ten authors during the past 50 years, and encompassing a span of not less than ten years (Article 23.9.1.2). Thus Chaunacops, type species Chaunax coloratus Garman by monotypy, must hereby be regarded as valid, and Bathychaunax, taking the same type species, invalid, qualifying as a junior objective synonym. In conclusion, we take this opportunity to point out the need for caution in assuming that ichthyology has thoroughly documented the names that are available for use by taxonomists. There have been three major efforts to generate a complete list of generic names of fishes: Jordan (1917–1920, 1923), Eschmeyer and Bailey (1990), and Eschmeyer (1998), as well as a major effort to compile a list of all generic names of animals (Neave, 1939–1940), and still a name published in a widely known ichthyological publication somehow escaped notice. That Chau- nacops was overlooked in these compilations, illustrates the need for taxonomists to realize that the names listed therein are not necessarily comprehensive. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank an anonymous reviewer whose suggestions greatly improved the final version of the manuscript. We also thank W. N. Eschmeyer for useful comments and help in interpreting the ‘‘code.’’ LITERATURE CITED CARUSO, J. H. 1989a. Systematics and distribution of the Atlantic chaunacid anglerfishes (Pisces: Lophii- formes). Copeia 1989:153–165. ———. 1989b. A review of the Indo-Pacific members of the deep-water chaunacid anglerfish genus Bathychaunax, with the description of a new species from the Eastern Indian Ocean (Pisces: Lophii- formes). Bull. Mar. Sci. 45:574–579. Copeia, 2006(1), pp. 120–121 # 2006 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists