The family Moridae (Gadiformes) from the Cape Verde Islands (eastern- central Atlantic Ocean), with first record of Physiculus cyanostrophus by José A. GONZÁLEZ (1), Oksana TARICHE (2), José I. SANTANA (1), Antonio M. GARCÍA-MEDEROS (1), Víctor M. TUSET (1), Sebastián JIMÉNEZ (3) & Manuel BISCOITO (4) Cybium 2010, 34(2): 217-221. (1) Instituto Canario de Ciencias Marinas, A.C. 56, 35200 Telde, Las Palmas, SPAIN. [solea@iccm.rcanaria.es] (2) Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento das Pescas – Cabo Verde, C.P. 132, Mindelo, São Vicente, CAPE VERDE. (3) Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Tenerife, 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, SPAIN. (4) Museu Municipal do Funchal (História Natural)/Estação de Biologia Marinha do Funchal, Cais do Carvão, Gorgulho, 9000-107 Funchal, Madeira, PORTUGAL. RÉSUMÉ. - La famille des Moridae (Gadiformes) des îles du Cap Vert (océan Atlantique centre-oriental), avec un premier signale- ment de Physiculus cyanostrophus. Une liste des Moridae présents aux îles du Cap Vert est fournie. Physiculus cyanostrophus Anderson & Tweddle, 2002, ainsi qu’une possible nouvelle espèce de ce genre sont signalées pour la premiè- re fois aux îles du Cap Vert, portant à six le nombre de moridés signalés dans la zone. La présence de Gadella imberbis (Vaillant, 1888) est confirmée pour cet archipel. Les données disponibles sur la répartition, l’habitat, la morphométrie et la reproduction sont présentées, et une clé d’identification pour les genres et espèces de moridés présentes aux îles du Cap Vert et mers adjacentes est four- nie. Laemonema laureysi Poll, 1953 est le moridé capverdien le plus abondant. Étant donné son abondance, sa taille et la qualité de sa chair, il pourrait avoir un intérêt commercial dans un futur pro- che. Key words. - Moridae - Physiculus cyanostrophus - Gadella imber- bis - Laemonema laureysi - ANE - Cape Verde Islands - First record. Morids are benthopelagic to pelagic, deep-water gadiform fish- es ranging from shallow coastal areas to deep waters beyond 2500 m. Morid cods, also called moras, are represented by 18 genera and at least 111 species distributed around the world. Of these, 12 gen- era and 37 species are found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (Cohen et al., 1990; Froese and Pauly, 2008). Until the present paper, only four species of morids have been recorded from the Cape Verde Islands (Fig. 1): Gadella imberbis (Vaillant, 1888), Laemonema laureysi Poll, 1953, Laemonema robustum Johnson, 1862 and Physiculus dalwigki Kaup, 1858 (Vail- lant, 1888; Fowler, 1936; Poll, 1953; Reiner, 1996, 2005; González et al., 2004; Menezes et al., 2004). Following two deepwater surveys off the Cape Verde Islands, Physiculus cyanostrophus Anderson & Tweddle, 2002 (Fig. 2) was recorded for the first time, as well as a possible new species of this genus. Additional biological data on other morids caught are also given. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two fish trapping surveys of the epibenthic and benthic fauna of the Cape Verde Islands between 100 m and 1000 m of depth were carried out off the islands of Boa Vista and Santiago (including the Bancona Bank) (Fig. 1). All the specimens studied were caught during these two cruises on board the research vessels of the Insti- tuto Canario de Ciencias Marinas: R/V ‘Taliarte’ (August 10-23, 2003) and R/V ‘Pixape II’ (June 4-16, 2005). The following fishing gear was used: bottom traps (BT) and semifloating traps (SFT, operated around 3 m above the seafloor) (González et al., 1992, 2004). Four depth strata (100-300, 300-500, 500-700, and 700-1000 m) were surveyed with both BT and SFT. On average, all traps were deployed for 16-18 h. Baits used were salted Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) in BT and frozen chicken thighs in SFT. A total of 272 and 258 valid fishing operations were done dur- ing cruises ‘Taliarte 2003-08’ and ‘Cabo Verde 2005-06’, respec- tively; the sampling effort was evenly distributed in terms of depth and geographical sectors. Voucher specimens were deposited in the collections of the Museu Municipal do Funchal (História Natural) (MMF), the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Tenerife (TFMC), and the Instituto Canar- io de Ciencias Marinas (ICCM). Additional unpreserved material was included in the present account whenever relevant for depth range or biological information. Measurements (in millimetres) and counts were made follow- ing Trunov (1989) and Paulin (1989). Abbreviation used in table I: InV-af - distance between the interventral line and the anal-fin ori- gin. Notes ichtyologiques / Ichthyological notes Figure 1. - The archipelago of Cape Verde. Collection locations (●).