First Record of the Midwater Grenadier, Odontomacrurus murrayi (Actinopterygii: Gadiformes: Macrouridae), from the Northwestern Pacific off Japan

Abstract

A single specimen of the midwater grenadier Odontomacrurus murrayi Norman, 1939 was collected from off the Pacific coast of Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku region, northern Japan, at a depth of 168-204 m (bottom depth 2641 m). It represents the first record of O. murrayi from Japanese waters and the northernmost record of this species in the Pacific. Previous records of O. murrayi are summarized and collection data for these records suggest that the species is generally confined to the mesopelagic layer of the open ocean. New Japanese names "Kurobouzudara-zoku" and "Kurobouzudara" are proposed for Odontomacrurus and O. murrayi respectively.