Revision of the Deep-Sea Anglerfish Genus Bufoceratias Whitley (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei: Diceratiidae), with Description of a New Species from the Indo-West Pacific Ocean.

The deep-sea ceratioid anglerfish genus Bufoceratias Whitley is revised on the basis of all known material. Three species are recognized: Bufoceratias wedli (Pietschmann), now represented by 69 specimens collected from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean; Bufoceratias thele (Uwate), 11 specimens from the western Pacific; and a new species, Bufoceratias shaoi, described on the basis of four specimens from the Western Indian and Western Pacific oceans. The new species differs from its congeners by having a short illicium and an unusually large and morphologically complex esca. Diagnoses and descriptions are given for all taxa and a revised key to the species of the genus is provided. Diceratiids are found in all three major oceans of the world, but they are conspicuously absent from the eastern Pacific. In contrast to the midwater life style generally assumed for most ceratioids, at least some diceratiids, especially larger individuals, are associated with the bottom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]