Chimaeroid fishes of New Caledonia with description of a new species of Hydrolagus (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali)
Three species of chimaeroid fishes are reported from deep waters around New Caledonia: Chimaera phantasma, Rhinochimaera pacifica and Hydrolagus trolli n. sp., which is described from 23 specimens collected from New Caledonia and New Zealand at depths of 612 - 1707 m. The new species is distinguished from all other members of the genus by its blue-gray coloration, distinctly pointed snout, first dorsal fin concave along its posterior edge with a pale margin, preopercular and oral lateral-line canals usually sharing a common branch, males with a robust frontal tenaculum with the distal bulb upturned at its distal edge, denticles extending onto the dorsal surface and bifid pelvic claspers with the distal 1/3 divided and pale colored, fleshy distal lobes.