The family Bramidae (Perciformes) from the Canary Islands(Northeastern Atlantic Ocean), with three new records

The family Bramidae (Perciformes) from the Canary Islands (Northeastern Atlantic Ocean), with three new records by Gustavo González-lorenzo* (1, 2), José F. González-Jiménez (1), Alberto Brito (2) & José A. González (3) Cybium 2013, 37(4): 295-303. (1)InstitutoEspañoldeOceanografía,CentroOceanográficodeCanarias,víaEspaldón,parcela8,DársenaPesquera,38180SantaCruz deTenerife,Spain.[[email protected]] (2)Bioecomac,UniversidaddeLaLaguna,Avda.AstrofísicoF.Sánchezs/n,LaLaguna,38205SantaCruzdeTenerife,Spain. [[email protected]] (3)G.I.enEcologíaMarinaAplicadayPesquerías,UniversidaddeLasPalmasdeGranCanaria/InstitutoCanariodeCienciasMarinas, CarreteradeTaliartes/n,35214Telde,LasPalmas,Spain.[[email protected]] * Correspondingauthor[[email protected]] most bramids are oceanic epiand mesopelagicperciformfishesinwarmand temperatewatersoftheAtlantic,Indian andPacificOceans;onlyEumegistus is bathypelagic,foundinzonesofmore than1300mofdepth(Mead,1972; Haedrich,1981;FroeseandPauly, 2013).Pomfretsprobablytravelinsmallschoolsandsome (i.e. Brama)undertakeextensivemigrations;theyfeedmostlyonsmallfishandsquid.Theyareexcellentfoodfishes (Haedrich,1981). AccordingtoEschmeyer(2013),thefamilyBramidae isrepresentedby20speciesdistributedaroundtheWorld ocean, and grouped in seven genera: Brama (8species), Eumegistus (2 species), Pteraclis (3 species), Pterycombus, Taractes, and Taractichthys (2specieseach),andXenobrama (1species).Ofthese,ninespeciesarefoundinthe EasternAtlanticOceanandtheMediterraneanSea(Mead, 1972;Haedrich,1981,1986;Bauchot,1987;Gomes,1990; FroeseandPauly,2013;Eschmeyer,2013):Brama brama (Bonnaterre,1788),Brama caribbeaMead,1972,Brama dussumieri Cuvier, 1831, Pteraclis carolinus Valenciennes, 1833, Pterycombus bramaFries,1837,Pterycombus petersii(Hilgendorf,1878),Taractes asper Lowe, 1843, Taractes rubescens(Jordan&Evermann,1887),andTaractichthys longipinnis(Lowe,1843). IntheEasternCentralAtlantic,Brama and Taractichthys arecaughtincidentallyonlonglinesandwithpelagicand bottomtrawls,butthereisaspecialfisheryforB. brama in theCanaryIslandsandoffNorthwesternSpain(Haedrich, 1981).IntheMediterraneanSea,B. bramaiscaughtwitha varietyoffishinggearsbysmall-scalefisheries,recreational anglers,andasaby-catchoftheartisanalandsemi-industrial fisheriesinSicily.Thisspeciesisregularlytorarelypresent ontheMediterraneanEuropeanfishmarkets(Bauchot, 1987). Untilthepresentpaper,onlythreespeciesofbramids havebeenrecordedintheCanaryIslands(Fig.1):P. carolinus (Mead, 1964), B. brama and T. longipinnis (e.g. Brito, 1991;Britoet al.,2002;BritoandSancho,2003).Inthese accounts,onlytheirhabitatandbathymetricdistribution weregiven,thereforetheyremainpoorlyknowninseveral morphologicalandbiologicalaspects. FollowingaseriesofsurveysofftheCanaryIslands, P. brama, T. asper, and T. rubescens(Fig.2)werecaughtfor thefirsttimefromthisregionandnewdataonotherexistent bramidsweregathered,whicharehereinpresented. Abstract.–AnaccountofthespeciesofthefamilyBramidae(Teleostei,Perciformes)fromtheCanaryIslands is given. Pterycombus brama, Taractes asper and Taractes rubescensarerecordedforthefirsttimeintheCanaries,whichbringstosixthenumberofbramidspeciesrecordedinthearea.Availabledataondistribution,habitat, andmorphometryofthestudiedspeciesarepresented. Résumé.–LafamilleBramidae(Perciformes)desîlesCanaries(océanAtlantiquecentre-oriental),avectrois nouveaux signalements. UnelistedesespècesdelafamilledesBramidae(Teleostei,Perciformes)présentesauxîlesCanariesest fournie. Pterycombus brama, Taractes asper et Taractes rubescenssontsignaléespourlapremièrefoisauxîles Canaries,portantàsixlenombredebramidésdanslazone.Lesdonnéesdisponiblessurladistribution,l’habitat etlamorphométriesontprésentées. © SFI Received: 25 Apr. 2013 Accepted: 14 Nov. 2013 Editor: P. Béarez Key words Bramidae Pterycombus brama Taractes asper Taractes rubescens Canary islands eastern Atlantic Bramids from the Canary Islands González-lorenzo e t a l . 296 Cybium 2013, 37(4) MATERIAL AND METHODS Mostofthespecimensstudiedwerecollectedduring experimentalfishingcruisesonboardresearchorfishingvesselsaroundtheCanaryIslands.Othermaterialwasprovided bylocalartisanalfishermensincetheywererarespecimens, andfinallyafewfreshspecimenswereboughtatthelocal fishmarketswithabsolutecertaintythattheycamefrom localfisheries. Specimenswerecaughtbyhandline(HL),driftingsurface longlines(SLL),andbottomlonglines(BLL),regularlyused bytheCanaryartisanalfleetandalsoduringfishingoperationsformonitoringtheMarineReserveoftheislandofEl Hierrofrom2008to2010(González-Lorenzoet al.,2010). SmallspecimensofB. bramawerealsotrawledbetween40 and600mofdepthusinganexperimentalpelagicnet(1cm mesh-size)duringthecruiseCETOBAPHinApril2012.In ordertoenablecountingthelongitudinalscaleseries,small specimenswerestainedbyusingaCoomassieBrilliantBlue R-250stainingsolutionkit. Voucherspecimensweredepositedinthecollectionsof the‘MuseodeCienciasNaturalesdeTenerife’(TFMC)and the‘CentroOceanográficodeCanarias’oftheSpanishInstituteofOceanography(IEO).Additionalunpreservedmaterialwasincludedinthepresentaccount,wheneverrelevant todepthrangeorbiologicalinformation. CountsandmeasurementsweremadefollowingHubbs andLagler(1958).Othercountsandterminologywere basedonMead(1972).Otherabbreviationsareasfollows: TL,totallength;SL,standardlength. Figure1.-TheCanaryIslands.Collectionlocations(l). Figure 2. - A: Pterycombus brama(TFMC-VP/01919,328mm SL);B: Taractes asper(TFMCBM-VP/1936,228mmSL);and C: Taractes rubescens(772mmSL)fromtheCanaryIslands. Go n z á l e z -lo r e n z o e t a l . Bramids from the Canary Islands Cybium 2013, 37(4) 297 RESULTS Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788) Material examined.-Sevenspecimens(spms)caughtoff LaPalmainApril2012,cruiseCETOBAPH,withpelagic trawlbetween28º32’N17º59’Wand28º35’N18º00’W: TFMC-VP/1937,129mmTL,94mmSL,TFMC-VP/1938, 95mmTL,70mmSL,138-194m,sta.LP5,11May2012; TFMC-VP/1939,124mmTL,89mmSL,415-442m,sta. LP6,11May2012;TFMC-VP/1940,81mmTL,57mmSL, 410-620m,sta.LP9,13May2012;TFMC-VP/1941,56mm TL,39mmSL,40-206m,sta.LP12,14May2012. Additional material.-CruiseEMBELHIERRO-1009, Oct2009,35spms,470-840mmTL,offElHierro,460-600 m,fishingoperationsforalfonsinosBeryx spp., Hl. Cruise CETOBAPH,May2012,pelagictrawl,3spmsdepositedin thecollectionoftheIEOatTenerifewithnoregisternumber: 125-181mmTL,87-135mmSL,offLaPalma,28º32’N 17º59’W(sta.LP2)and28º35’N18º00’W(sta.LP7),40-620 m;1spm,100mmTL,69mmSL,offElHierro,27º38’N 18º02’W(sta.EH1),30-190m. Remarks.-Anoceanicepipelagic(atnighttime)andmesopelagicspeciesrangingfromsurfacedowntoabout1000m ofdepth(Smith,2003),usuallybetween0-200m(McMillan et al.,2011),widespreadintheAtlantic,Indianand SouthPacificoceans(e.g.MeadandHaedrich,1965;Last andMoteki,2001;Carvalho-Filhoet al.,2009;Froeseand Pauly,2013).IntheEasternAtlantic,ithasbeenrecorded fromcentralNorway(Haedrich,1986)southwardtoAlgoa Bay,SouthAfrica(Smith,2003),includingtheMediterraneanandtheMacaronesianarchipelagos(FroeseandPauly, 2013).Thishighlymigratoryspecieshasspecifictemperaturerequirements(Mead,1972;seeDiscussion). Thepresenceofsmallspecimens(39-135mmSL)of B. bramaamongthematerialexaminedwasespeciallyconsideredasthesesize-classesdonotnormallyappearinfish markets;theywereidentifiedaccordingtodescriptionsand characteristicsgivenbyMead(1972),ThompsonandRussell(1996)andLastandMoteki(2001).Theirmostsignificantmeristicmeasurementswere:35-37dorsalrays,29-31 analrays,21-22pectoralrays,82-85scalesonlateralseries, and16-18gillrakers. Brama bramawasfirstrecordedintheCanaryIslands byValenciennes(1837-1844,asBrama raii),whereitisthe mostabundantbramid.Thisisasecondaryspeciesofsmallscalefisherieswithartisanalgear(handlines,verticallonglinesandsurfacelonglines)aroundtheCanaries,especially whenitrisesuptomidwaterandsurfaceatnight.Although commonwhenitapproachestheislandsinautumnandwinter(FranquetandBrito,1995),thelevelofcapturesremains low.Uibleinet al.(1998)reportedascientificcollectionof adultsusingbottomlonglinesat278-882m,suggestingthat thespeciesmayalsobelongtothebenthopelagiccommunity.DuringtherecentcruiseCETOBAPHofftheCanaries in2012,smallindividualswerecaughtwithpelagictrawls between30and620ofdepth. Pteraclis carolinus Valenciennes, 1833 Material examined. - none. Remarks. - Thisspeciesisknowntooccuroffshorein warmmesopelagicwatersfromsurfacetoabout400mof depth,witharestricteddistributioninboththeWestern(SargassoSea)andEasternAtlanticOcean,includingoffMadeiraandofftheWestAfricancoastbetween20°Nand25°N (Mead,1972;Haedrich,1986;Gomes,1990;Carvalho-Filho et al.,2009;FroeseandPauly,2013). Thefirst,andsofaruniquerecord,ofthisspeciesfrom theCanaryIslandswasdonebyMead(1964),basedontwo individuals(15.5and19.1mmSL)caught3.5to5milesoff theWesterncoastofTenerifein1961duringtheDiscovery IIcruise,withamesopelagictrawlfrom170mtosurface overdepthof1160-1700m.Afterthisdate,thisspecies wascitedfromtheNorthwesterncoastofAfricabetween 21ºNand25ºNandalsofromtheNorthernnearbywatersof Madeira(Mead,1972;Haedrich,1986;Gomes,1990),but itwasnotincludedintheichthyologicalchecklistsforthe CanariesmadebyBrito(1991),Britoet al.(2002)andBrito andSancho(2003). Pterycombus brama Fries, 1837 Material examined. - TFMC-VP/01919,1spm, 426mm TL,328mmSL,offPuntadelaEntallada,Fuerteventura, 28º14’N13º50’W,450-500m,30Mar.2009,onaHLinthe artisanalfisheryforalfonsinosBeryx spp. Remarks.-ApelagicoceanicspeciesinhabitingAtlantictemperateandtropicalwatersfrom67°Nto1°Sand from98°Wto36°E(e.g.McEachranandFechhelm,2005; FroeseandPauly,2013),between25and400mofdepth (MuusandNielsen,1999).IntheEastAtlanticOcean,ithas beenrecordedfromNorwayandIceland(Jonsson,1992)to SouthoftheCapLopez,WestofMayumba(GulfofGuinea) (Gomes,1990),includingthecoastsofSweden,BritishIsles andNWSpain(e.g.Mead,1972;Bañónet al.,2010;Froese andPauly,2013).TheMediterraneanrecord–withnolocalityorbibliographicreference–byCarvalho-Filhoet al. (2009)[theseauthorstookthisrecordfromScottandScott (1988)]needsfurtherconfirmation.Itisaseasonalmigrant (Haedrich,1986). Thisisthefirstrecordforthisamphi-Atlanticspecies fromtheCanaryIslands.Thepresentmaterialwascollected between450and500mofdepth.Apartfromthevoucher specimen,atleasttwomoreindividualswerecaughtand photographedatthislocality–theCanarycoastnearestto theAfricancontinent–at500-600m.Thesefindingsenlarge theverticaldistributionrangeofthisspecieswithinthemesopelagic community. Bramids from the Canary Islands González-lorenzo e t a l . 298 Cybium 2013, 37(4) Selectedbodyproportionsandmeristicsofthematerial studiedareshownintableIandcomparedwithMead(1972) datatakenfromotheradultspecimensofthesamespecies and from P. petersii.TheCanarianspecimenagreesinalmost allrespectswiththecomparativematerial.Theonlymajor differencefoundwasinthepre-anallength,27.7%SLin theCanarianmaterialvs 34.6-40.4%for P. brama and 32.135.1%forP. petersiifromotherareas(Tab.I).Inourspecimen,thelongestdorsalrayis34.8%inSL,whichagrees withtherangegivenforP. brama(22.4-39.4%)butdiffers from P. petersii(41.4-63.5%)(Tab.I).Carvalho-Filhoet al. (2009)pointedoutthatvaluesover50%inSLdifferentiate juvenileofP. brama from P. petersii. Taractes asper Lowe, 1843 Material examined. - TFMCBMVP/1936,1spm, 285mm TL,228mmSL,ElRío,LaPalma,28º31’N17º44’W,450 m,12Jun.2012,onaBLLintheartisanalfisheryforalfonTableI.-SelectedcountsandbodyproportionsofPterycombus bramacomparedwithP. petersii. Presentstudy Mead(1972) Canary islands WestAfrica NWSpain Norway P. petersii Body proportions and counts 1 specimen 1 specimen 1 specimen 4specimens 2spec.(incl.holotype) Standardlength(SLmm) 328 353 268 284-314 244-277 In%SL Headlength 25.6 28.9 25.2 23.8-27.2 23.2-25.4 Pre-dorsallength 17.4 21.7 17.4 18.9-21.7 15.8-20.1 Pre-anallength 27.7 40.2 35.8 34.6-40.4 32.1-35.1 Forklength 106.7 –111.8 110-114 110.7-111.5 Bodydepth 44.5 48.0 41.2 42.2-46.7 38.9-43.3 Eyediameter(horizontal) 9.7 10.5 7.8 8.4-10.5 7.7-8.4 longest dorsal ray 34.8 22.4 39.2 29.1-39.4 41.4-63.5 longest anal ray 36.0 20.8 40.7 31.7-41.4 42.2-58.0 Counts Dorsal-finrays 50 51 51 46-52 49-49 Anal-finrays 42 41 43 41-42 40-41 Gill rakers 8(1+1+6) 7 7 8-10 8-8 TableII.SelectedcountsandbodyproportionsofTaractes asper. Presentstudy Mead(1972) ThompsonandRussell(1996) Mead(1972) Canary islands east Atlantic Gulf of mexico WestPacific Body proportions and counts 1 specimen 5specimens 5specimens 3 specimens Standardlength(SLmm) 228 270-308 332.5-377 383-400 In%SL Headlength 32.0 29.8-32.8 30.9-31.7 30.7-32.5 Pre-dorsallength 39.0 32.8-42.0 40.5-42.9 39.3-40.2 Pre-anallength 50.0 57.6-62.4 56.7-59.2 59.7-62.2 Pre-pectorallength 28.5 30.8-33.0 29.7-31.6 31.0-35.4 Pre-pelviclength 27.2 33.9-37.0 34.5-36.6 35.4-39.8 Pectoral-finlength 28.5 28.5-32.9 29.8-35.6 31.3-33.3 Pelvic-finlength 18.9 14.5-16.7 17.2-19.0 13.8-17.7 Caudal-pedunclelength 7.0 –13.9-15.8 – Caudal-peduncledepth 7.9 7.1-8.2 7.2-7.8 7.1-7.5 Bodydepth 43.4 38.7-44.5 41.3-45.1 42.2-45.5 Eyediameter(horizontal) 9.7 7.8-10.5 Counts Dorsal-finrays 32 33-34 – 32-33 Anal-finrays 25 25-26 –24-25 Scalesinlateralseries 43 43-45 –45-46 Gill rakers 1+1+6 1+1+6-7 –1+1+6-7 Go n z á l e z -lo r e n z o e t a l . Bramids from the Canary Islands Cybium 2013, 37(4) 299 sinos Beryx spp. Remarks. - Apelagicoceanicspeciesinhabitingcircumglobaltropicaltotemperatewatersat72°N-35°S, 180°W-180°E,between1and140mofdepth(Mundy,2005; FroeseandPauly,2013).IntheEasternAtlanticOceanit isknownfromNorthernNorwayandIcelandtoMadeira, includingthecoastsofGermany,BritishIslesandNWof Spain,toCapeProvince,SouthAfrica(e.g.MeadandMaul, 1958;Mead,1972;Haedrich,1986;Smith,2003;Bañónet al.,2010).Itisahighlymigratoryspecies(FroeseandPauly, 2013). AccordingtoThompsonandRussell(1996),thisspecies and T. rubescensaresympatric,thelatterspeciespreferring higherlatitudes. ThisisthefirstrecordforthisrareandwidespreadspeciesfromtheCanaryIslands.Thepresentmaterialwas caughtatadepthof450,whichenlargesconsiderablyits verticalrangeextendingitshabitatfromtheepi-tothemesopelagic community. Selectedbodyproportionsandmeristicsofthematerial studiedareshownintableIIandcomparedwithdataavailablefromliterature.TheCanarianspecimenagreesinalmost allrespectswithMead(1972)andThompsonandRussell (1996)specimens,exceptforsomeminordifferencesin thepre-anal,pre-pelvic,andcaudalpedunclelengths(Tab. II).Thesmallsizeofourspecimenmayeventuallyexplain thesediscrepancies.Mead(1972)pointedoutthatchanges accompanyinggrowthbetween169and300mmSLinclude thetransformationofatruncatecaudalfintoaconcaveone, theformationofanteriorlobesinthedorsalandanalfins,a relativeshorteningofthepairedfinsandthefurtherposterior displacementoftheventralfin,amongothers. Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann, 1887) Material examined.-TFMC-VP/764,1spm,831mm TL,669mmSL,offArguineguín,SWGranCanaria,5Mar. 2002,SLL;TFMC-VP/1382,1spm,768mmTL,586mm SL,offPuertoRico,SWGranCanaria,15Oct.2004,SLL. Bothspecimenscaughtonsurfacebythelocalartisanal fleet. Additional material. - 1spm,890mmTL,772mmSL, offPuntadelaDehesa,ElHierro,27º47’N18º07’W,14 Oct.2009,onaHL;examinedandidentifiedatthelocalfish market.Onemorespecimen,identifiedfromaphotograph, caughtatElHierroin2006at400-500mofdepth,alsoon a Hl. Remarks.-Anoceanicpelagictobenthopelagicspecies widelydistributedincircumglobaltropicalwaters,between surfaceand600mofdepth(Yoshida,1973;Masudaet al., 1984;Carvalho-Filhoet al.,2009;FroeseandPauly,2013). IntheEasternAtlanticOceanitisknownfromtheAzores (Santoset al.,1997),Madeira(Haedrich,1986)andoffWest Africa(MauritaniaandNamibia)(e.g.Mead,1972;Lloris et al.,1991;FroeseandPauly,2013).AlthoughitiswidespreadintheWorldOcean,thisspeciesisrareandoftensolitary(Carvalho-Filhoet al.,2009). ThisisthefirstrecordforthisspeciesfromtheCanary Islands.Thepresentmaterialwascollectedbetweensurface and400-500mofdepth,confirmingitshabitatinboththe epipelagicandbenthopelagiccommunities.ThetwospecimensfromElHierrowerecaughtasby-catchintheartisanalfisheryforthealfonsinoBeryx splendensLowe,1834 (Berycidae),abenthopelagicfishfoundingroupsonrocky substrata,closetoorwithin5-20mofslopesatadepth between200and1240m;andalsofoundin10-50mdense shoalsaboveseamounts(seeBusakhin,1982).The772mm SLspecimenfromElHierroisapparentlythebiggestever recorded[700mmSLinFishBase,742mmSLinThompson andRussell(1996)]. SelectedbodyproportionsandmeristicsofthematerialstudiedareshownintableIIIandcomparedwithdata availablefromliterature.TheCanarianspecimensagreein almostallrespectswiththematerialfromWesternAtlantic andfrombothEasternandWesternPacificOceans.Theonly majordifferencefoundshowsthattheCanarianspecimens haveslightlysmallerpre-dorsallength,pre-pelviclength andbodydepth(Tab.III).LastandMoteki(2001)proposed thatvaluesofpectoral-finlengthover36%inSLseparate T. rubescens from T. asper.TheCanarianmaterialvalues (33.9-34.9%)arewithinThompsonandRussell(1996)range (themostcompletedataseries)(Tab.III).Lloris(1986)also givesvaluesof26.8-32.4%SLfor3individualsofT. rubescens fromNamibiaranging315-410mmSL.Thesedifferencesintheproportionsofpectoral-finlengthmaybedueto thelownumberofspecimensofthisrarespeciesmeasured and/ortointra-specificvariability.AllCanarianspecimens haveakeelinthecaudalpeduncleasaresultofaseriesof 4or5transformedscales;thischaracteristic(notpresent in T. asper)combinedwithbodyproportionsandcountsis enoughtowarrantthecorrectidentificationoftheCanarian specimens. Taractichthys longipinnis (Lowe, 1843) Material examined. - 2 spms, TFMC-VP/1049,727mm TL,561mmSL,Arguineguín,SWGranCanaria,27º43’N 15º48’W,5Mar.2002,SLL;TFMC-VP/1048,1spm, 643mmTL,516mmSL,Arguineguín,SWGranCanaria, 27º41’N15º48’W24Jan.2004,HL.BothvoucherspecimenswerecollectedintheframeworkoftheFishTrace project. Additional material. - 2spms,704-742mmTL,536557mmSL,bothfromsamelocality,dataandprojectofthe abovefirstvoucher,SLL;1spm,850mmTL,680mmSL, Arguineguín,SWGranCanaria,27º43’N15º48’W,4Jun. 2004,SLL;2spms,630-835mmTL,ElHierro,530-580m, cruiseEMBELHIERRO-0608,Jun.2008;3spms,640,780 Bramids from the Canary Islands González-lorenzo e t a l . 300 Cybium 2013, 37(4) and800mmTL,ElHierro,450-600m,cruiseEMBELHIERRO-0308,Mar.2008.AllspecimensfromElHierrowere caughtonHLforalfonsinosBeryx spp. Remarks. - Anoceanicepipelagic(atnighttime)and mesopelagic Atlantic species distributed in temperate to tropicalwaters(upto10ºC)between47°Nand17°N,from surfacetoabout500mofdepth(MacMillanet al.,2011), usuallyat42-200m(Carvalho-Filhoet al.,2009;Froeseand Pauly,2013).IntheEasternAtlanticOceanitisknownfrom IcelandandNorwaysouthwardtooffPointeNoire,Gulfof GuineaandNamibia,includingtheMacaronesianarchipelagos;questionablyreachingFalseBay,SouthAfrica(Smith, 2003);absentfromtheMediterranean(e.g.Mead,1972; Bañónet al.,2010;FroeseandPauly,2013).Itisahighly migratory species, often solitary but occasionally found in smallschoolsclosetoshore(Carvalho-Filhoet al.,2009). AccordingtoSmith(2003),allrecordsofthisspecies fortheIndianandPacificOceans(Paulin,1981;Thompson andRussell,1996;LastandMoteki,2001;Hatooka,2002; Thompson,2002)arebasedonmisidentificationsofTaractichthys steindachneri (Döderlein,1883).  ThefirstrecordofthisspeciesfromtheCanary IslandsisduetoBrito(1991).Thepresentmaterialwas caughtwithhandlines50-100mabovetheseafloorin600 mofdepth(González-Lorenzoet al.,2010),confirmingits habitatinboththeepi-andmesopelagiccommunities.Off theCanaries,itisseasonallycommonwhenapproachingthe islandsduringitsmigrationinautumnandwinter,together withB. brama.Thespeciesinhabitsoceanicwaters,mainly inmidwaterontheinsularslopes,ascendingtowardsthe surfaceduringnight-time.Itusuallyformsschools(FranquetandBrito,1995)anditiscaughtwithhandlines,verticallonglinesanddriftingsurfacelonglines(atnight).Inthe CanaryIslandswaters,T. longipinnisiscaughtsporadically andseemstobelessabundantthanB. brama. most probably,thecatchesofthisspecieswillgrowwiththeincreasing useofdriftingsurfacelonglines(FranquetandBrito,1995). DISCUSSION FivegeneraandsixspeciesofthefamilyBramidaeoccur offtheCanaries,representing83%and60%respectively oftheknowngeneraandspeciesofpomfretsintheEastern AtlanticOceanandtheMediterraneanSea. Asbramidsareoceanicmigratoryspecieswithawide geographicaldistributionandtheCanaryichthyological faunaiswell-known(Brito,1991;Britoet al.,2002;Brito andSancho,2003),thepresentnewrecordsforthisregion canbeexplainedbythelowuseofdriftingsurfacelonglines andtheabsenceofpelagicormidwatertrawlingaroundthe CanaryIslands.Anyway,atleastBrama brama and Taractichthys longipinnisarenotabundantspecies.Also,veryfew scientificsurveysusingthistypeoffishinggear–whichis thecaseofthecruiseCETOBAPH–havebeenconducted to date. TableIII.-SelectedcountsandbodyproportionsofTaractes rubescens.*:Rangesfromauthorsprobablyduetoapartialinclusionofdata takenfromthesecondspecimenfound. Presentstudy Mead(1972) ThompsonandRussell(1996) Mead(1972) Puenteset al.(2001) Canary islands Gulf of mexico Gulf of mexico WestPacific ColombianPacific Body proportions and counts 3 specimens 1 specimen 22 specimens 1 specimen 1 specimen Standardlength(SLmm) 599-772 620 305-742 690 430 In%SL Headlength 28.1-29.9 30.2 28.0-32.8 30.8 34.7 Pre-dorsallength 34.9-37.0 41.6 38.1-44.7 38.8 45.3 Pre-anallength 49.7-50.1 61.3 30.8-67.2 63 67.4 Pre-pectorallength 29.2-32.3 31.4 28.5-32.1 34.1 34.9 Pre-pelviclength 28.4-33.3 35.2 31.6-37.5 39.1 37.2 Pectoral-finlength 33.9-34.9 38.2 32.1-41.7 39.7 43.0 Pelvic-finlength 13.1-14.4 9.7 12.4-15.6 11.2 17.7 Caudal-pedunclelength 10.0-10.9 –15.3-19.8 – – Caudal-peduncledepth 6.0-6.8 6.1 5.9-7.0 7.0 7.9 Bodydepth 33.9-41.3 39.5 35.8-41.2 38.4 44.2 Eyediameter(horizontal) 5.3-6.5 6.8 5.2-6.8 5.5 7.4 Counts Dorsal-finrays 30-30 31 – 31 28-29(*) Anal-finrays 21-21 22 – 22 20 Scalesinlateralseries 46-48 45 –41 49-50(*) Gill rakers 2+1+7 3+1+6 –1+1+7 2+1+7 Go n z á l e z -lo r e n z o e t a l . Bramids from the Canary Islands Cybium 2013, 37(4) 301 WithinthearchipelagosoftheMacaronesianregion sensu lato,thebramidsarerepresented,fromNorthtoSouth, asfollows:theAzores(5species)(Santoset al.,1997), theMadeiraarchipelago(6species)(Haedrich,1986),the CanaryIslands(6species)(thiswork),andtheCapeVerde Islands(4species)(Reiner,2005)(Tab.IV). AccordingtoMead(1972),B. bramahasspecifictemperaturerequirementsandinwatermasseswithsurfacetemperatureabove23.8ºCitseemstobereplacedbyB. dussumieri,acongenericformwithapparentlysimilarpantropical distributionbutsmallerinsize.Inthelastthirtyyearsthere hasbeenatrendtowardincreasingthetemperatureofthe seasurfaceintheareaoftheCanaryIslands(Santoset al., 2012),withrecordsover24ºC.Inthisscenariotheappearance of B. dussumieriwouldnotbesurprisinganditspresencewouldbeanevidenceofthechangeinthedistribution ofspeciesduetoglobalwarmingintheAtlantic.Thisphenomenon(‘tropicalization’)hasbeenobservedintheCanariesforspecieswithlessdispersalabilitythaninthepresent case(Falcónet al.,2002;Britoet al.,2005). in general, except for B. brama, descriptions of bramid speciesaswellastheirknownmeristicandmorphometric informationarebasedonafewnumberofspecimens.For thisreasonmostauthorsconsiderpomfretsasrarespecies. Asaconsequence,itisdifficulttomakedecisionsaboutthe taxonomicalimportanceofthedifferentcharactersandthere isaneedtogathermoreinformationcoveringtheontogeneticseriesofthedifferentspecies.Asanexample,ourdata onpectoralfinlengthforT. rubescens are not valid to distinguishthisspeciesfromT. asper, as proposed by last and Moteki(2001). Despiteallometricchangeshavebeenobservedinsome bramidspeciesduringitsdevelopment(Mead,1972),discrepanciesrecordedinmorphometricdatawhencomparing adultspecimensofthesamespeciesorfromcloselyrelated speciesseemtobeduetothefewnumberofindividuals.For T. rubescens,thepresentworkapparentlyincludesthebiggest specimen ever recorded. Somebramidspeciesareconsideredtobeexcellentfood fishesforhumanconsumption(Haedrich,1981).Thesespecies are traditionally assessed and monitored by FAo as transzonalandhighlymigratoryresources(Garcíaet al.,1995). IntheEasternCentralAtlanticandtheMediterraneanSea,B. bramaiscaughtincidentallywithmanytypesoffishinggear asby-catch,exceptoffNorthwestSpainwherethereisatargetedfisherybasedonsurfacelonglines,yieldingnoticeable catchesforthisspecies(e.g.Mead,1972;Haedrich,1981). ContrarytowhatHaedrich(1981)andseveralauthors havepublished,thereisnotaspecificfisheryforB. brama aroundtheCanaryIslands,wherethisspeciesisincidentallycaughtasby-catchbythesmall-scalefisheriesmainly directedtoothertargetspeciesinhabitingthebenthopelagic community.CatchesreportedbyFAOsince1970sfromthe CanariesaremostprobablyreferredtotheSpanishlonglinersoperatinginnearbyoradjacentwaterstotheCanaries, betweenCapGhir(Morocco)andCapeBojador(Western Sahara)(Vázquez,1980),wherethisspeciesisalsocaught bytheindustrialbottom-trawlfleet(Garcíaet al.,1995). Acknowledgements. – Theauthorsareindebtedtoresearchersand technicalpersonnelparticipatingincruisesandprojectswhichsupportedthiswork.FISHTRACE2003-2006(QLRI-CT-2002-02755) wasco-fundedbyFP5oftheEuropeanCommission.Cruises EMBELHIERROoftheprojectRESMARCAN2008-2010,ofthe SpanishInstituteofOceanography(IEO),wereco-funded by an agreementwiththeSpanishMinistryofFisheries.Thisworkwas alsosupportedbytheproject“Cetáceos,OceanografíayBiodiversidaddelasAguasProfundasdeLaPalmayElHierro”(grant numberCETOBAPH-CGL2009-1311218)fundedbythe“MinisteriodeCienciaeInnovación”oftheSpanishGovernment.Thanks arealsoduetothemastersandcrewsoftheR/V‘CornidedeSaavedra’andothercollaborators:ChanoRodríguezNoda,crewofthe F/V‘Adoney’fromFuencaliente,LaPalma,andfishermenfrom LaRestinga,ElHierro.SpecialthankstoDr.JacintoBarquínand AlejandroEscánez(UniversityofLaLaguna),PabloMartín-Sosa (IEO),andJaimeRodríguez.Ourgratitudeforthe‘MuseodeCienciasNaturalesdeTenerife’(TFMC),especiallytoAlejandroVera. 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