> /'r,u(o/:.-5 Vol. 86, No. 17, pp. 203-210 31 May 1973 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON MICRODESMUS BAHIANUS, A NEW WESTERN ATLANTIC WORMFISH (PISCES: MICRODESMIDAE) By C. E. Dawson Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Museum Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 The southernmost records of western Atlantic wormfishes were heretofore represented by single collections from Union Island in the Grenadines (Lesser Antilles) and the Rio Buritaca, Colombia. I here describe a new species from the mainland coast of Brazil which represents a significant range extension for the family Microdesmidae into the South At-lantic Ocean. The Brazilian holotype was provided by Srta. Virginia Almeida and Dr. Naercio A. Menezes, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo; the Martinique specimen was lent by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). The holotype has been deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution ( USNM ) . Measurements are in millimeters ( mm ) ; proportions are shown as percentages of standard length ( SL ) or head length ( HL ) ; methods are those of Dawson (1972). Appreciation is expressed to Srta. Almeida and Drs. Menezes and James E. Bohlke for making specimens available for study. The drawing is by Harry L. Moore, Jr. This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants GB 15295 and GB 31053X. Microdesmus bahianus, new species Figure 1 Holotype: USNM 209216 (64.8 mm SL); Brazil, Bahia, tidepool at Arembepe, approx. 12°45'S, 38°10'W; chemical ichthyocide; 9 July 1971; Virginia Almeida. 17— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 86, 1973 (203) /
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