PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. 107(1), 1994, pp. 79-89 IDENTIFICATION OF THE TAXA XENOCEPHALIDAE, XENOCEPHALUS, AND X. ARMATUS (OSTEICHTHYES: URANOSCOPIDAE) Victor G. Springer and Marie-Louise Bauchot ^Z?5?rac?. — Xenocephalinae Kaup, 1858 (currently recognized as a valid fam-ily), is a junior synonym of Uranoscopidae (dating from at least 1832; no subfamilies recognized). Xenocephalus Kaup, 1858, is a senior synonym of the currently recognized genus Gnathagnus Gill, 1861. Xenocephalus armatus Kaup, 1858, is a senior synonym of the currently recognized species Gnathagnus innotabilis Waite, 1904. A neotype is designated for Xenocephalus armatus, which was erroneously described from New Ireland, but in fact was based on a specimen from New Zealand. Kaup (1858) described a new subfamily, genus, and species of fish (Xenocephalinae, Xenocephalus armatus), which he included in the family Gadidae. Kaup's taxa have been carried along in the systematic ichthy-ological literature ever since, but their iden-tities and affinities have remained enigmat-ic. It is the purpose of our study to clarify and fix the systematic status of Kaup's three taxa. Taxonomic History of Kaup's Taxa Kaup (1 858) stated that Xenocephalus ar-matus was distantly related to the Macru-rinae, one of the four subfamilies he rec-ognized in the Gadidae (the others, Gadinae, Brotulinae). Subsequent mention of Kaup's taxa followed soon after their original de-scriptions, but most authors had nothing substantive to add to his description. We include here, with minimal comment, all references we have encountered in an in-tensive search of the scientific literature for mention of Xenocephalinae (or a family-group based on it), Xenocephalus, or X. armatus. Our purpose in doing so is to dem-onstrate that Kaup's taxa cannot be consid-ered as nomina oblita, and the genus and species, at least (and the family group, usu-ally) have always, been considered as senior synonyms, albeit of questionable affinities (authors listed chronologically by earliest publication): Bleeker (1859) essentially followed Kaup by listing Xenocephalus in a subfamily Xe-nocephaliformes of a family Gadoidei. Giinther (1862) included Xenocephalus ar-matus, with no mention of Xenocephalinae, as an "Appendix to the Anacanthini ga-doidei," and (1880) stated that Xenocepha-lus was "a gadoid anacanth," but (1909) presciently opined that it appeared to be a larval form of a fish that is unrelated to the anacanthin gadoids; Gill (1872, 1884, fam-ily listed essentially according to Giinther, 1862); Gill (1888, family "approximated to Ophidioidea"; 1893, family listed under Ophidioidea); Scudder (1882, genus listed); Perrier (1903, genus in Macruridae); Jordan (1905, 1907, 1925, genus included in Zoar-cidae under "the great family Blenniidae"; 1919, genus listed; 1 923, family included in Blenniiformes); Fowler (1928, family, ge-nus, species recognized); Berg (1940, 1947, 1955, family and genus listed in Blennioi-dei); Neave (1940, genus listed); Schultz (1948, family listed in Blennioidea); Munro (1956, family, genus, species listed; 1967, family, genus, species questionably includ-
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