On Two Poorly Known Species of Wolf Eels (Lycenchelys, Zoarcidae)

Seventy years after the capture of the holotype, a second specimen of the abyssal species Lycenchelys uschakovi was reported, which differed markedly from the holotype in a number of characters (the number of postorbital pores, the degree of scale cover development). This is the deepest find of the wolf eel in the North Pacific (4890–4984 m). From the bathyal depths (~800 m) near Paramushir Island, two specimens are described, corresponding to the characters of the nominal species L. parini , also previously known only from the holotype. Based on the analysis of the literature data on the North Pacific wolf eels, a conclusion has been made about the conspecificity of L. parini and L. melanostomias , the latter name taking precedence. The new find significantly expands the known range of L. melanostomias to the north.