A new species of sea bream, Dentex Foumanoiri is described from 16 specimens caught in deep water off New Caledonia. It is distinguishable from other species of Dentex by the number of dorsal fin rays (XIII + 9), a more acute snout angle, a greater eye, and the bright yellow margins of lhe dorsal and caudal fins.

BATHUS 1, CORAIL 2, MUSORSTOM 4

Six species of the two related bothid genera Tosarhombus and Parabothus from the Coral Sea are described and keys to species are provided: T. neocaledonicus Amaoka & Rivaton, 1991, T. longimanus sp. nov., T. brevis sp. nov., P. filipes sp. nov., P. kiensis (Tanaka, 1918) and P. coarctatus (Gilbert, 1905). T. longimanus is characterized by having uniserial teeth on upper jaw, a pectoral fin on the ocular side longer than the head in males, 6 2 - 7 1 scales in the lateral line and a light brownbody. T. brevis is characterized by having a deeper body, a shorter pectoral fin on the ocular side in males and smaller mouth. P.filipes is distinguished from known congeners of the genus by the greatly elongated pelvic fm in males and the small number of scales in the lateral line. P. kiensis and P. coarctatus represent first records from the Coral Sea.

BIOCAL, CHALCAL 1, CHALCAL 2, CORAIL 2, LAGON, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, MUSORSTOM 6, SMIB 4, VOLSMAR

A new bothid flounder, Engyprosopon marquisensis, is described from 11 specimens collected in deep waters (108-408 m) off the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) during the French exploratory cruise MUSORSTOM 9 in 1997. Engyprosopon marquisensis is similar to E. bellonaensis from the Chesterfield Islands and Bellona Plateau in the Coral Sea and E. vanuatuensis from off Vanuatsu Island, but is easily distinguished from E. bellonaensis by the following combination of characters: narrow interorbital space in both sexes, small mouth, short caudal fin, large number of vertebrae, and fewer gill rakers. It differs from E. vanuatuensis by many scales in the lateral line, small eyes, short ocular-side upper jaw, and short blind-side lower jaw. Engyprosopon marquisensis is the deepest occurring (408 m) species of the genus, and constitutes the second species of this genus with an eastern distribution.

MUSORSTOM 9

A new poecilopsettid flounder, Nematops nanosquama, is described from 10 specimens (4 males, 6 females) collected from deep waters (96-650m) off Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands. This species is easily separated from the three recognized species of the genus Nematops by having large numbers of dorsal fin rays, anal fin rays, lateral line scales, and vertebrae, five dark transverse broad bands on the body, and a black blotch on the distal area of the pectoral fin. N.nanosquama shows the easternmost record of this genus from the Pacific Ocean.

MUSORSTOM 9

Narcine lasti, n. sp., is described from abundant material mostly collected from the Western Australian coast. The new species is distributed from Green Head and the Houtman Abrolhos in the eastern Indian Ocean to southeastern Indonesia in the Arafura Sea, along the upper continental slope. Narcine lasti is distinguished by a unique combination of characters including a tail length much longer than disc width or length, uniform yellowish-brown to yellowish-pink dorsal colouration that also extends anteriorly over preorbital snout region, lateral tail folds low and ridge-like, disc width and length with means of 40.3 and 42.1 % of total length (TL) respectively, nasal curtain much wider than long, and preorbital snout length over 10 % of TL. Narcine lasti is most similar to N. tasmaniensis and another undescribed species of Narcine from off the Queensland coast of Australia. All three species have relatively similar proportions and dorsal colouration, but can be distinguished on the basis of preorbital snout length, disc width and length, lateral tail fold morphology and usually also in dorsal colouration. Narcine lasti is easily distinguished from Narcine westraliensis McKay, 1966, the only other species of the genus in Western Australia, by many features including disc shape, relative proportions of the tooth bands, and in dorsal colouration. Both species do not co-occur, as N. westraliensis is distributed on the continental shelf in relatively shallow waters, while N. lasti is confined to deeper waters of the continental slope.

KARUBAR

BERYX 11, BERYX 2, BIOCAL, CHALCAL 1, CHALCAL 2, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, MUSORSTOM 6

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.

HALICAL 1, HALIPRO 2

The Macroramphosid fish Notopogon xenosoma Regan 1914 is recorded on the northern part of the Norfolk ridge and the southern shelf of New Caledonia from ORSTOM trawl surveys. It becomes the most northernly distribuuon m the south-west Pacific Ocean for this subtropical species. Other specimens have been identified from Madagascar collections and induces the same conclusion for the south-west Indian Ocean.

AZTEQUE, BERYX 11, CHALCAL 2

MUSORSTOM 8, SANTO 2006

Within the framework of the programme "ZoNéCo" of evaluation of the marine resources of the economic zone of New Caledonia, a series of operations were completed in the southeastern part of Ihe economic zone. The first was a balhymetrical and geophysical survey of the major part of the Norfolk Ridge and the southem end of Ihe Loyalty Ridge. The data obtained on this survey provided a base for the preparation and completion of the deep-sea trawling survey "HALIPRO 2", the main objective of which was 10 search for commercial quantities of deep-sea fish, primarily orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus). During this survey, 106 hauls were made between 230 and 1,860 m depth. A total catch of 263 fish species was made belonging to 192 genera and 101 families. In particular, 37 species of sharks and rays were collected of which 40% are new to science. The results confinn the extreme specific richness of the deep-sea ichthyofauna and the presence of species of commercial interest such as the alfonsino, Beryx splendens. However, orange roughy, was not located.

HALIPRO 2

BERYX 11, BERYX 2, BIOCAL, CHALCAL 2, LITHIST, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, MUSORSTOM 6, MUSORSTOM 7, MUSORSTOM 8, NORFOLK 2, SALOMON 2

Lophiodes infrabrunneus Smith and Radcliffe, 1912 is redescribed on the basis of all known specimens. The species is redefined as: a species of Lophiodes with three dorsal spines, postcephalic spines absent; illicium relatively short, 13.3-24.2% of SL; second and third dorsal spine relatively short, 12.2-21.2% and 9.1-20.6% of SL respectively, a narrow leaf-like flap, and tendrils present on second and third dorsal spine. Lophiodes abdituspinus is a junior synonym of L. infrabrunneus based on examination of type series of both species. L. infrabrunneus is distributed from Japan, to the Timor Sea, Salomon Is. and northwestern Australia, in eastern Indian Ocean where it occurs in depths between 208-1412 m.

MUSORSTOM 1, SALOMON 2

Pentanchus profimdicolus is an enigmatic shark, characterized by a single dorsal fin. The holotype, which was collected in 1909 from the Philippines, had remained the only known example of the species for 90 years. A second specimen, collected from the same waters, is m-described. The presence of a single dorsal fin remains equivocal in so far as it represents the normal condition for the species. Aspects of the species' relationship with the species of@risturus are discussed.

MUSORSTOM 3

A new dextral flounder, Samariscus multiradiatus, is described from six specimens (four males and two females) collected in deep waters (296–430 m) around New Caledonia. The species is easily distinguished from its 16 congeners in having a combination of 85–91 dorsal fin rays, 67–72 anal fin rays, 5 pectoral fin rays, and 9 abdominal and 34–35 caudal vertebrae.

BATHUS 4, CHALCAL 2, MUSORSTOM 4, SMIB 1

A new righteye flounder, Poecilopsetta multiradiata, is described from eight specimens (two males and six females) collected from deep waters (336–408 m) around New Zealand and New Caledonia (South-West Pacific). This new species is distinguished from its 14 congeners by the following combination of characters: high numbers of dorsal (70–73) and anal (58–62) fin rays, ca. 85–99 lateral-line scales, 31–32 caudal vertebrae, and a relatively shallow body depth of 36.9–41.9% SL.

BATHUS 3, BATHUS 4, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 6

A new righteye flounder, Samariscus neocaledonia sp. nov., is described on the basis of two specimens collected in deep waters (244–278 m) around New Caledonia. The new species is easily distinguished from its 18 congeners in having a combination of 78–81 dorsal fin rays, 62–65 anal fin rays, five pectoral fin rays, ca. 55–62 lateral line scales, and 10 abdominal and 31–32 caudal vertebrae.

BATHUS 3, BATHUS 4

Six new species of squaloid sharks of the genus Etmopterus are described from the Arafura and Banda Seas (south-east Indian Ocean), and the Coral Sea (south-west Pacific): E. fusus sp. nov. from the slope of northwestern Australia; E. evansi sp. nov. from northwestern Australia and eastern Indonesia; E. dianthus sp. nov. from the Coral Sea; E. dislineatus sp. nov. off tropical eastern Australia; and E. caudistigmus sp. nov. and E. pseudosqualiolus sp. nov. from the slopes of the Chesterfield Islands, New Caledonia, and the northern part of the Norfolk Ridge. They can be distinguished by their coloration, body shape, teeth morphology, vertebral counts, dermal denticles, the position of their fins, and the size and shape of luminescent markings on the flank, caudal peduncle and caudal fin. A key for the Etmopterus species of tropical Australasia is provided.

HALIPRO 1, HALIPRO 2, KARUBAR

A new species of spurdog, Squalus bucephalus sp. nov., is described from deepwater south of New Caledonia in the northern Tasman Sea. It belongs to the ‘megalops-cubensis group’ but differs from Australian forms of S. megalops in having a broader head, larger dorsal-fin spines and reaches a larger adult size. It also differs in several other meristic and morphometric details and is the only Squalus known to possess both unicuspid and multicuspid denticles in adults. It is morphologically similar to the newly described S. crassispinus from the eastern Indian Ocean, but differs in having a lower, strongly raked first dorsal fin, more vertebrae, and more slender dorsal-fin spines.

BATHUS 3, BERYX 11, HALIPRO 2

Three new species of legskates (Anacanthobatidae) are described from the Indo–Australian region. Two of these species conform to the subgenus Sinobatis Hulley of Anacanthobatis von Bonde & Swart, which is herein elevated to genus level based primarily on clasper morphology. Sinobatis presently includes S. borneensis (South China Sea and Taiwan) and possibly S. melanosoma (East and South China Seas and Taiwan), as well as the new species, S. bulbicauda sp. Nov. (eastern Indonesia and northwestern Australia, SE Indian Ocean) and S. filicauda sp. Nov. (northeastern Australia, SE Pacific Ocean). The third new species, S. caerulea sp. Nov. (northwestern Australia, SE Indian Ocean), is provisionally placed in Sinobatis in the absence of an adult male. The new species are distinguishable from each other, and from nominal Indo–Pacific legskates, based on their morphometrics, meristics, tail morphology and coloration. Legskates exhibit marked intraspecific variation in shape associated with their soft, flexible bodies, and considerable ontogenetic and sexual differentiation.

KARUBAR

Apristurus albisoma is described from New Caledonia all depths ranging from 935 10 1,564 m. The description is based on 21 type specimens which include immature and mature males and females. Ranging from 328 to 596 mm in total length. This new species is distinguishable from other species of the genus by the following characters: small eyes and wide interorbital region; the latter being 2.7-3.6 times eye diameter: first dorsal fin originating above middle of pelvic-fin base: second dorsal-fin axil before anal-fin axil: upper labial furrows equal to, or shorter than lower furrows: overlapping tricuspid dermal denticles: 6- 10 spiral valves: continuous supraorbital sensory canal: body whitish.

HALIPRO 2

Pentanchus profundicolus is an enigmatic shark, characterized by a single dorsal fin. The holotype, which was collected in 1909 from the Philippines, had remained the only known example of the species for 90 years. A second specimen, collected from the same waters, is re-described. The presence of a single dorsal fin remains equivocal in so far as it represents the normal condition for the species. Aspects of the species' relationship with the species ofApristurus are discussed.

MUSORSTOM 3

During the ORSTOM explorations (1985-92) off New Caledonia 149 specimens of the order Ophidiiformes were caught. They represent 24 species of which the following are new: Neobythites bimaculatus, N. longiventralis, N. neocaledoniensis, N. pallidus, N. zonatus and Parasciadonus pauciradiatus. All 24 species are illustrated and a key is provided

BERYX 11, BIOCAL, BIOGEOCAL, CHALCAL 2, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, MUSORSTOM 6, SMIB 2, SMIB 4

Morid cods, family Moridae, of the New Caledonian Exclusive Economic Zone are reviewed based on fresh specimens obtained during exploratory fishing by ORSTOM and preserved specimens held in research collections in Paris, Nouméa and Wellington, The following eleven species in six genera are described: Gadella brocca new species, endemic; Gadella norops Paulin, southern Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean; Laemonema filodorsale Okamura, new record, western Pacific; Laemonema palauense Okamura, western Pacific Ocean; Lepidion inosimae (Günther), new record, western Pacific Ocean; Mora moro (Risso), new record, northwest Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, southern Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean; Physicidus longifilis Weber, new record, Flores Sea and northern Australia; Physicidus luminosus Paulin, new record,,South Pacific Ocean; Physiculus roseus Alcock, new record, Indian Ocean, South China Sea, Phillipines; Physiculus therosideros Paulin, southwestern Pacific Ocean; Tripterophycis svetovidovi Sazanov & Shcherbachev, new record, warm temperate South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. A key to the species is provided.

AZTEQUE, BATHUS 1, BERYX 11, BERYX 2, CHALCAL 2, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, SMIB 3, SMIB 4

The Australasian Eucla cod, Euclichthys polynemus McCulloch, family Euclichthyidae, is described for the first time from the New Caledonian Exclusive Economic Zone where it appears to be restricted to seamount "B" (24°55'S, 168°21 'E) on the northern Norfolk Ridge southeast of New Caledonia. The Eucla cod is superficially very similar to morid cods (family Moridae), but can be distinguished by a long filamentous pelvic fin with four to six distal elements, an unequally divided anal fin, and an asymmetrical caudal fin.

BERYX 11, BERYX 2, CHALCAL 2

A pelagic record of a rare deep-water shark, the velvet dogfish Zameus squamulosus (Günther, 1877), is described from the southwestern Indian Ocean. This is the first pelagic record from the western Indian Ocean and the eleventh published record of this species from the entire basin. Together with non-published records from museums and online databases the number of verified Indian Ocean records of this species currently exceeds 50 individuals. Zameus squamulosus is a benthopelagic species usually occurring on the slopes of the continents and in mid-ocean oceanic ridges, between 400 and 1450 m depth, but it makes rare incursions in open water to the limits of the epipelagic zone.

KARUBAR

During the MUSORSTOM 4 (N.O. “Vauban”, September-October 1985), BIOCAL (N.O. “J. CHARCOT”, August 1985) and MUSORSTOM 5 (N.O. “Coriolis”, October 1986) oceanographic expeditions, numerous fragments and some teeth of Procarcharodon megalodon (Fig, 1) were dredged, sometimes trawled, north and south of New Caledonia and on the “Chesterfield Islands Plateau” at depths between 350 and 680 meters (Fig. 2 and Table I). At the same depths other shark teeth were collected (Carcharodon carcharias, Isurus cf. oxyrinchus, Galeocerdo cf. cuvieri) as well as abundant pharyngeal teeth of Labrodon sp. (Labridae) and Diodon sp. (Diodontidae), probably new species (Figs. 3 and 4). A similar association (teeth of P. megalodon and teeth of C. carcharias) has been recently observed by de Muizon and DeVries (1985) in the Pliocene sandstones of the Sacaco region (Peru). A sample of about thirty teeth of Procarcharodon megalodon has been retained and deposited in the collection of the Laboratoire de Paléontologie du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris (MNHN number 1986-3). The collecting sites are indicated in Figure 2 and their coordinates in Table 1 (re: the detailed report on the MUSORSTOM 4 expedition by Richer de Forges, 1986). The teeth are often broken and the cutting edges dulled. They constitute a large, thick, triangular crown, covered with enameloid, and a strong bilobate root. The crown exhibits a flattened or slightly concave labial side, smooth and yellowish-brown in color and a convex dark brown lingual side. The enameloid coating is thicker on the labial side than on the lingual one. On the lingual side, a chevron-shaped and non-enameloid-coated bourlette, separates the crown from the root. Vertical striations in the enameloid are observed on both sides. The convex side is generally more eroded and encrusted than the flat side, which suggests that the teeth sit on the bottom with their convex sides serving as a supporting structure for various sedentary organisms: sponges, bryozoans, corals, and tube worms. The largest collected tooth has a broken tip (Figure 6) but considering its width (106 mm), its total height must have been close to 135 mm. Although the tips and cutting edges are often broken off or dulled, some serrations are visible on the cutting edges of certain well-preserved teeth. The thickness of the largest tooth is 37 mm. The ocean floor, consisting of the external slopes of the fringing reef around New Caledonia, is generally hard and sandy. The teeth were collected with a Waren rock dredge: some specimens were trawled, notably one block containing several teeth jumbled together in a sandy matrix (site CP 193). The sedentary fauna on the teeth testify to a weak sedimentation rate. In fact in the prospected zones the slopes are steep, the currents turbulent, and the terrigenous deposits unsubstantial. The teeth found at site DW 36 (BIOCAL) are black. They were quite probably buried in the sediment and they are the teeth collected at the greatest depth (650-680 m) of the combined expeditions. P. megalodon was a cosmopolitan species for which Leriche (1936) provided a map of its geographic and stratographic distribution. The species appears in Miocene strata (around 25 million years ago) and disappears in the Pleistocene (one million years old or less according to estimates). The Pleistocene deposits are mostly offshore and have been exposed by the dredging of the Challenger and the Albatross off the coasts of the islands of Tubuai and Tahiti in the “polymetallic nodule” fields at depths over 4000 m. P. megalodon is the largest of all known sharks. Various estimates of its size have been made by extrapolation from the “tooth dimensions-animal body size” relationship established for the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Therefore, Leriche (1926) recognizes that P. megalodon could attain a length of 40 m! This exorbitant figure results from the fact that the size of C. carcharias used as a reference was, itself, overestimated. Randall (1973) demonstrated that the great white shark certainly reaches 6.4m in length and at the most 8 m. One projection of his “enamel height-C. carcharias body size” relationship produces a size around 13m for the largest fossil shark.

BIOCAL, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5

A new catshark, Aulohahaelurus kanakorum n.sp., is described from an adult male collected from off south-western New Caledonia. It is the second species in the genus Aulohalaelurus, previously restricted to western Australia. The new species is distinct from its allopatric congener, Aulohalaelurus labiosus (Waite, 1905), mainly by colour pattern, longer interdorsal space, pelvic-anal distance, shorter prepelvic length, morphology of dermal denticles and higher number of diplospondylous vertebrae. A neotype is also designated for A. labiosus (Waite, 1905).

SMIB 1

BATHUS 1, BATHUS 2, BATHUS 3, BATHUS 4, BERYX 11, BERYX 2, CHALCAL 1, CHALCAL 2, HALICAL 1, HALIPRO 1, HALIPRO 2, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 6, MUSORSTOM 8

Four new species of urolophid stingarees are described from the Coral Sea (South-West Pacific): Urolophus deforgesi sp. nov. and U. papilio sp. nov. from the continental slope of the Chesterfield Islands; U. neocaledoniensis sp. nov. is more widely distributed on the slopes of the Chesterfield Islands and New Caledonia and along the northern part of the Norfolk Ridge; U. piperatus sp. nov. is restricted to the coast of northern Queensland (Australia). The holotype and only known specimen of a rare and unusual stingaree, U. annatus Val. in Muller & Henle, 1841 from New Ireland (Bismark Archipelago), is redescribed and it could represent a new genus. The new species are mainly distinguished by a combination of the following characters: disc shape (particularly its width), dorsal fin (present or absent), interorbital distance (narrow or broad), tail length (short or elongated), coloration (plain or with spots), and oral papillae, vertebrae and pectoral-fin radial counts. A key for the urolophids of the Coral Sea is provided.

AZTEQUE, BIOCAL, CHALCAL 1, CHALCAL 2, CORAIL 2, HALIPRO 1, HALIPRO 2, MUSORSTOM 5

A new species of catshark of the genus Asymbolus is described from 19 specimens collected on seamounts off southern New Caledonia. It is clearly distinguished from all other Asymbolus species by a striking, variegated colour pattern, comprised of numerous milky white blotches surrounded by rusty-brown spots and blotches, faint dusky dorsal saddles on a light brown dorsal ground colour.

AZTEQUE, BATHUS 3, BERYX 11

Galeus priapus sp. Nov. Is described from specimens collected on the slopes of the seamounts and ridges of southern New Caledonia and Vanuatu. It is the first Galeus species recorded in these areas. G. priapus is characterised by the presence of a conspicuous crest of enlarged denticles on the dorsal caudal margin, the absence of similar crest on ventral caudal margin, and extremely long and slender claspers in adult males that extend posteriorly to the anal-fin origin. The body coloration, which is plain greyish brown with large dark blotches on dorsal and caudal fins and their bases, closely resembles its sibling G. gracilis, a northern Australian and Indonesian species. An identification key to Indo-Pacific Galeus species is provided.

BATHUS 3, HALIPRO 1, KARUBAR, MUSORSTOM 8

A new arhynchobatid skate of the genus Notoraja is described from five specimens collected on the slopes of the Norfolk Ridge between 1195 and 1313 m depth. The new species is distinct from its sibling species from southern Australian waters, the Blue Skate (N. azurea), by its smaller size, several morphometric and meristic characters, thorn pattern and dorsal and ventral coloration.

HALIPRO 2

Four new skates of the genus Notoraja Ishiyama, 1958 are described from the rarely accessed, deep waters off New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji islands, and the Norfolk Ridge. Three of these (N. alisae n. sp., N. longiventralis n. sp. and N. fijiensis n. sp.) are “velcro skates” which are characterised by their velvety dorsal and ventral surfaces, covered with fine denticles. Although similar in shape, they differ by their colour pattern, dermal armature, development of the lateral tail folds, and size of the pelvic-fin anterior lobe and nasal curtain. The description of the fourth species, Notoraja inusitata n. sp., is based on a juvenile male exhibiting some unusual features resembling those of other skate genera.

HALIPRO 1, HALIPRO 2, MUSORSTOM 10, MUSORSTOM 8, SANTO 2006