General Information

COMMON NAMES: Cook Islands Flashlightfish GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Cook Islands COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of Cooks (new species); Marine, near-shore, deepbottom, about 250m.; demersal

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Photoplepharon rosenblatti Baldwin, Johnston and Paxton, 1997
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Beryciformes; Trachichthyoidei; ANOMALOPIDAE

GENERAL NOTE: Notes from Baldwin et.al. 1997: Photoplepharon rosenblatti differs from other anomalopids most notably in having a low number of gill rakers on the first arch (21 vs. 24 or more), high number of body scale rows (ca. 145 vs. 130 or fewer), no postorbital papillae, and a very small gap between the lacrimal and nasal for passage of the fibrocartilaginous stalk, which is twisted and not broadly exposed posteriorly. Protoblepharon is a primitive member of the lineage of flashlight fishes characterized by a shutter mechanism for light-organ occlusion.

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: one large specimen, off Matavera, at 274m depth, AMS I.24275-001, see reference Baldwin et.al. 1997.

References:
Special Reference: Baldwin, C. C., Johnson, G. D. and and J. R. Paxton 1997. Protoblepharon rosenblatti, a new genus and species of flashlight fish (Beryciformes: Anomalopidae) from the tropical South Pacific, with comments on anomalopid phylogeny. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 373-383.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05b

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