Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988, a junior synonym of H. albinares Maul, 1961 (Himantolophidae), with the first record from the Pacific Ocean by Samuel Paco IGLÉSIAS (1) Cybium 2005, 29(2): 191-194. (1) UMR 5178, Station de biologie marine, Département “Milieux et peuplements aquatiques”, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Place de la Croix, BP 225, 29182 Concarneau CEDEX, FRANCE. [iglesias@mnhn.fr] RÉSUMÉ. - Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988, un synonyme junior de H. albinares Maul, 1961 (Himan- tolophidae), et premier signalement pour l’océan Pacifique. Un spécimen de la famille des Himantolophidae (pêcheurs bou- clés) a été collecté à l’ouest de la Nouvelle-Calédonie le 22 février 2002. Le spécimen est une grande femelle (207 mm TL ; 153 mm SL) avec un illicium très développé. Il possède des caractéristiques morphologiques spécifiques à la fois de Himantolophus albinares Maul, 1961 et de H. pseudalbinares Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988. Dix- sept spécimens de H. albinares ont été collectés par le passé, tous dans l’océan Atlantique, alors que seul l’holotype sud-africain de H. pseudalbinares est connu. L’examen des données disponibles sur le matériel précédemment collecté montre que l’unique caractè- re morphologique discriminant H. albinares et H. pseudalbinares est polymorphique [extrémités non bifides ou bifides des branches principales de l’appendice distal du bulbe (DA)] et ne permet pas de distinguer les deux espèces. Ainsi H. pseudalbinares est placé ici en synonyme junior de H. albinares. L’illicium de l’espèce pré- sente d’importantes variations de structure et de taille, principale- ment liées à l’ontogénie, mais également à la variabilité intra-spéci- fique. H. albinares est signalée pour la première fois dans l’océan Pacifique et il s’agit de la quatrième espèce du genre avec une dis- tribution poly-océanique. Key words. - Himantolophidae - Himantolophus pseudalbinares - H. albinares - PCW - New Caledonia - Synonymy - First record. The description of Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988, was based on a single specimen, 82 mm in standard length (SL), collected from SE of Cape Town, South Africa. No additional material has been reported. In the comments to the description, Bertelsen and Krefft (1988) noted: “H. pseudalbinares differs from H. albinares only in having bifurcated tips of each main branch of DA. The assumption that this represents a specific difference is based partly on the position of the single record, far outside the known distribution area of H. albinares.” The description of H. albinares (Maul, 1961), was based on a single specimen, 190 mm SL, from off Câmara de Lobos, Madeira. Sixteen additional specimens were caught after the description (Bertelsen and Krefft, 1988 ; Quéro et al., 2000; Quéro et al., 2001), all from the Atlantic Ocean (see also Bertelsen, 1986, 1990). The holotype is the largest specimen known and male specimens are still unknown. Bertelsen and Krefft (1988) gave a complete description of the species based on 13 specimens (28-190 mm SL) of the 15 known specimens at that time and illicial apparatus mor- phology varies greatly depending on specimen size. The family Himantolophidae (footballfish) belongs to the sub- order Ceratioidei and the order Lophiiformes (anglerfishes). Himantolophus is the only genus of the Himantolophidae, and includes 18 valid species all listed by Bertelsen and Krefft (1988). Bertelsen and Krefft (1988) divided Himantolophus females into five “species groups”: the “H. albinares group”; the “H. appelii group”; the “H. cornifer group”; the “H. groenlandicus group” and the “H. nigricornis group”. H. albinares and H. pseudalbinares belong to the “H. albinares group.” Specific identification of females is based mainly on the illicial morphology. On 22 February 2002, during the trawling cruise Opéra-06 off New Caledonia, I collected a large, adult female Himantolophus, 207 mm TL and 153 mm SL. (Station No. 10, trawler Opéra, Lansdowne Bank, Western New Caledonia, 20°52’-20°51’S, 160°43’-160°35’E, 826-1097 m depth, T = 4.2°C at fishing depths.). The specimen was preserved directly after capture then deposited in the collection of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN 2003-0118). Measurements and morphological observations were taken two years later and were compared with available data from Bertelsen and Krefft (1988): H. albinares (13 spms): Holotype, MMF 2598, 190 mm SL, off Câmara de Lobos, Madeira; MMF 18983, 34 mm SL; ISH 617/66, 45 mm SL; ISH 2245/71, 28 mm SL; ISH 444/74, 60 mm SL; ISH 3244/79, 75 mm SL; ISH 3245/79, 2 spms, 39 and 80 mm SL; ISH 3433/79, 99 mm SL; ISH 3716/79, 104 mm SL; UMML 33635, 29 mm SL; MCZ 55398, 53 mm SL and USNM 229968, 66 mm SL. H. pseudalbinares (1 spm): Holotype, ZIL 49711, 82 mm SL, 35°01’S, 24°36.8’E, 1280-1300 m, SE Cape Town, South Africa. Measurements and terminology used for the illicium follow Bertelsen and Krefft (1988, fig. 8, p. 23). Institutional acronyms follow Leviton et al. (1985). Description of the Himantolophus specimen caught in the Pacific Ocean Description of the body (Fig. 1) is similar to that provided by Bertelsen and Krefft (1988) for H. albinares and H. pseudalbinares, with the following exceptions: skin with 165 dermal spines (except on the anterior part of the head) including 11-12 spines on pectoral lobes. Spines generally with large base but some very small. Measurements. - Total length (TL) = 207 mm; standard length (SL) = 153 mm; pre-anal length = 119 mm (77.8% SL); pre-anal fin length = 137 mm (89.5% SL); pre-dorsal fin length = 136 mm (88.9% SL); pre-pectoral fin length = 85 mm (55.6% SL); body depth = 81 mm (52.9% SL); caudal peduncle depth = 18 mm (11.8% SL); anal fin base length = 18 mm (11.8% SL); dorsal fin base length = 25 mm (16.3% SL); pectoral fin base length = 15 mm (9.8% SL); head length = 85 mm (55.6% SL); eye diameter = 6 mm (3.9% SL); pre-orbital length 27 mm (17.6% SL); eye-olfactory Notes ichtyologiques / Ichthyological notes