Lampris guttatus
Creators: name: Underkoffler, Karen E.
name: Luers, Meagan A.
name: Hyde, John R.
name: Craig, Matthew T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Lampriformes
Lampridae
Lampris
Lampris guttatus

description: Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788)
Figs. 4B, 5
Zeus guttatus Brünnich 1788:398 –406, Pl. A. Type locality: Elsinore (Helsingør), Denmark. No types known. Zeus regius Bonnaterre 1788:496, Pl. 39 (fig. 155) Type locality: Torbay, English Channel, England. No types known. Zeus luna Gmelin 1789:1126 –1516. Type locality: Normandy, France. No types known.
Zeus opah Berkenhout (ex Pennant) 1789: 7. Type locality: United Kingdom. No types known. Zeus stroemii Walbaum 1792: 398 Type locality: Norway. No types known.
Zeus imperialis Shaw in Shaw and Nodder 1793, Plate 140 Type locality: Europe. No types known. Scomber gunneri Bloch and Schneider, 1801: 38. Type locality: Sea Norway. No types known. Lampris lauta Lowe 1838:183. Type locality: off Madeira. Holotype missing.
Lampris guttatus Lineage 1. Hyde, et al. 2014.
Common Name: North Atlantic Opah
Neotype. NRM 54834, 100.5 cm SL, Northeast Atlantic, landed in Denmark, September, 2006.
Paraneotype. MOM POI-0004791, female, 97 cm SL, 40.0 kg, Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, 43°07’28” N, 6°21’18” E, January 2004, COI Lineage 1 (Hyde et al. 2014) GenBank accession # JF931882.
Diagnosis. A species of Lampris distinguished from other members of the genus by the following combination of characters: Dorsal-fin rays I,47; anal-fin rays 40; pectoral-fin rays 23; pelvic-fin rays 14; origin of pelvic fin below shortened portion of dorsal-fin and well behind posteriormost elongated dorsal-fin ray; dorsal fin short, its height contained 4.5 times in standard length; maximum body depth about 1.8 times in standard length; body steel grey with well-spaced, ovoid white spots of two distinct sizes with larger spots concentrated along mid-line of body; all spots concentrated posterior to operculum and largely absent from head, operculum, and chest.
Description. Dorsal-fin rays I,47 (I,47–51); anal-fin rays 40 (40); pectoral-fin rays 23 (23–25); pelvic-fin rays 14 (14). Body laterally compressed and rounded, its greatest depth contained 1.8 (1.5–1.8) times in standard length; head length contained 2.7 (2.7–2.8) times in standard length; vertical eye diameter large, contained 6.3 (5.7–6.3) times in head length; jaws protractible and lacking teeth; upper jaw shorter than lower jaw; lower jaw protrudes slightly forward of upper jaw, the tip narrowing to a blunt point; throat and palate without teeth. Lateral line angled above gill opening, arching above pectoral fins, and extending along mid-height of body through center of caudal peduncle. Scales small, thin, and easily removed over entire body. Dorsal fin long, the length of its base 2.0 (1.7– 2.0) times in standard length, and short, its height contained 4.3 (4.3–4.4) in standard length. Origin of pelvic fin below or posterior to middle of elongated portion of dorsal fin, its length contained 4.1 (3.9–4.1) times in SL.
Coloration. In dead specimens (unpreserved) body silver-grey on the abdomen fading to metallic blue on the dorsal surface with well-spaced, ovoid white spots of two distinct sizes with larger spots concentrated along midline of body; all spots concentrated posterior to operculum and largely absent from head, operculum, and chest; fins pink to deep red. In preserved specimens, body dark grey with spots and median fins appearing yellowish tan.
Distribution. Lampris guttatus has confirmed occurrences from specimens, photos, and DNA samples in the eastern North Atlantic including the Irish Sea, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean.
Remarks. No type material is known for Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788) (Eschmeyer et al., 2018), and there is no mention of a type specimen being deposited in any collection in the original description (a practice not uncommon in works of that era). This has contributed to some confusion as to the correct species name to use for Opah, primarily because Lampris regius (Bonnaterre) was also published in 1788. Aside from the year, no date was given in either publication and thus both are given 31 December 1788 as a publication date as per Article 21.3.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (“the code”). Palmer and Oelschläger (1975) determined that L. guttatus (Brünnich 1788) has priority by virtue of Article 24.2.1 of the code in that the first reviewer (in this case Müller, 1806) used L. guttatus (Brünnich 1788).
In the absence of a type specimen, and to stabilize the present usage of the name it seems prudent to designate a neotype for Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788). Brünnich’s description is based on a single specimen landed at Helsingør, Denmark, and taken from the North Sea. Hyde et al. (2014) examined DNA sequence data from 4 specimens from the Northeast Atlantic, including a specimen (NRM 54834) from the type locality, and determined that they represented a single, monophyletic lineage (L. guttatus Lineage 1 sensu Hyde et al. 2014). We therefore conclude that L. guttatus Lingeage 1 represents Brünnich’s L. guttatus. Unfortunately, the left side of NRM 54834 had all of its flesh removed, leaving only the right side of the fish intact. Nevertheless, counts and measurements were able to be taken from the right side of the fish. Brünnich’s original description presented measurements in Danish feet, a measure that in 1788 was somewhat longer than the current measure, and he did not provide welldefined standard measurements. Additionally, Brunnich’s notation for several measurements was at times rather curious. For example, he indicated the total length of the specimen he examined as 2ft 16”, an odd measure as the “inch” is traditionally viewed as 1/12 of a foot (derived from the Latin “uncia”). However, as far as can be ascertained from comparison with the original description, NRM 544834 fits well with the morphology and color description described by Brünnich. It is worth noting that we have examined numerous photographic records from the Northeast Atlantic and North Sea and have seen no evidence to suggest any other opah species inhabits this region.
Another whole specimen with a viable tissue sample was taken from Bormes les Mimosas, France (MOM POI- 0004791), which was genetically identified as L. guttatus Lineage 1 sensu Hyde et al., (2014) and deposited in the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Given the relatively good condition of this specimen and the agreement in morphology and genetics to the neotype, we herein designate it as a paraneotype.
We also received measurements from specimens at the National Museum of Ireland through the generous contributions of Declan Quigley and Nigel Monaghan. Two specimens (NMINH 1994.52.1 SW coast of Ireland, and NMINH 2012.49 Porcupine Bank, W coast of Ireland) match well in morphology with L. guttatus and confirm the presence of L. guttatus in the Irish Sea and eastern North Atlantic.
The currently accepted common name for L. guttatus by the American Fisheries Society is “Opah.” Given that the current understanding of this once cosmopolitan species includes multiple species separated geographically, we recommend the common name “North Atlantic Opah.”
description: Published as part of Underkoffler, Karen E., Luers, Meagan A., Hyde, John R. & Craig, Matthew T., 2018, A taxonomic review of Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788) (Lampridiformes; Lampridae) with descriptions of three new species, pp. 551-565 in Zootaxa 4413 (3) on pages 557-559, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4413.3.9, http://zenodo.org/record/1228005