ABSTRACT
This family is comprised of two species in our area and they have been placed in the Apogonidae by Norman (1966), Acropomatidae by Heemstra (2003), Percichthyidae by Fraser (1972) and by Hubbs et al. (1979), Cheilodipteridae by Fedoryako (1976) and incertae sedis by Johnson (1984). I follow Roberts (1993) and place it in its own family, as have Sandknop & Watson (1996b) in the only thorough treatment of ELH stages. The species in the North Atlantic are Howella brodiei atlantica Post & Quero 1991 and Bathysphyraenops simplex Parr 1933. These authors restricted the H. brodiei subspecies to the North Atlantic and tropical South Atlantic, H. brodiei brodiei to the Indo-Pacific and H. sherborni to the southern oceans. Johnson (1984) illustrated a larva reproduced here in Fig. Howellidae 1B. Fedoryako (1976) described the development of the opercular bones of North Atlantic Howella brodiei atlantica (referred to as H. sherborni) that showed the posterior edge of the opercle to end in four short spines that change with growth to a prominent dorsal spine and three ventral spines. The preopercle terminates in a single, strong spine below the opercle, and below it the subopercle terminates in a posteroventral spine. Fedoryako (1976) also described the opercular bones of B. simplex showing two upper and two lower spines on the opercle, a single spine on the subopercle, and spines on the lower preopercle that include a double spined projection. Sandknop & Watson (1996b) note that there is considerable variation in spine development of Howella. Howellids are mesopelagic small fishes (8-10 cm) that are moderately laterally compressed and elongate with a long caudal peduncle. The head is large with large eyes and mouth. The fins have few elements and the dorsal fins are separated by a large gap. The pectoral fins are long reaching beyond the anal fin origin. They are presumed to have pelagic eggs (Johnson 1984) and pelagic larvae and juveniles. Sandknop & Watson (1996b) provide descriptions of larvae and juveniles of two eastern Pacific Howella and provide meristics of B. simplex. Earlier Uyeno & Kubota (1970) provided distribution data on Howella and synonymized Bathysphyraenops with Howella, but later authors have not accepted this. Kubota et al. (1991) provide extensive distribution and meristic data on B. simplex.
