Browsing by Author "Walters, Vladimir."
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Item Fishes of western Arctic America and eastern Arctic Siberia : taxonomy and zoogeography. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 106, article 5(New York : [American Museum of Natural History], 1955) Walters, Vladimir.Item A new toadfish (Batrachoididae) considered to be a glacial relict in the West Indies. American Museum novitates ; no. 2047(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1961) Walters, Vladimir.; Robins, C. Richard."Opsanus phobetron is described from the western Bahamas, Cuba, and the Isle of Pines. It was observed to nest in late December at Bimini, Bahamas. The black mouth functions as a warning mechanism, and under low albedo conditions, as at Bimini, the dark coloration is indicated to be of social significance. Attention is called to unidentified samples of Opsanus from Little Bahama Bank and the Gulf of Campeche. The ranges and recognition characters of O. pardus, O. tau, O. beta, and O. barbatus are discussed. Opsanus vandeuseni Fowler is referred to the synonymy of Opsanus beta (Goode and Bean). Opsanus hildebrandi Breder is placed in Marcgravia Jordan and appears not to be identical with M. ctyptocentra (Cuvier and Valenciennes). The low numbers of dorsal and anal rays attributed to Opsanus in the literature are valid if the Queensland genus Batrachoemus Ogilby is considered identical with Opsanus. Published paleotemperature measurements indicate that the 'tropical' Atlantic and Caribbean regions were not tropical during the last glacial period. The trans-Florida faunal province, now absent from southern Florida, was continuous around the southern tip of the Florida land mass; at the same time coral reefs were absent from most of the West Indies, and the shore fauna was predominantly temperate in the north and predominantly subtropical in the south. It is improbable that the Florida peninsula neck was submerged during Pleistocene interglacial periods. The presence of marine fishes in Florida fresh waters is not considered significant from the standpoint of historical zoogeography, and it is suggested that the elevated chlorinities in Florida fresh waters are maintained by current processes. Even if the neck of the Florida peninsula had been drowned, the Gulf of Mexico populations of trans-Florida fishes probably could not utilize the passage, as the temperatures would have been too high. The Gulf of Mexico disjunct trans-Florida populations are interpreted as glacial rather than interglacial relicts, and a comparison is drawn between the Gulf of Mexico and the Sea of Okhotsk. Because the spawning threshold temperature of Opsanus parallels the minimal thermal tolerance of reef corals, Opsanus is considered to be an 'indicator' of temperate coastal waters. Owing to thermal requirements and tolerances, Opsanus survives as a glacial relict in a few West Indian localities. During the last glacial period, the northern distributional limit for Opsanus may have been as far south as southern Florida. Opsanus, lacking pelagic life-history stages, could have dispersed through the West Indies by passive transport during storms"--P. 20-21.Item Notes on fishes from Prince Patrick and Ellesmere islands, Canada. American Museum novitates ; no. 1643(New York : American Museum of Natural History, 1953) Walters, Vladimir.; MacDonald, S. D.; National Museum of Canada."The following fishes were collected: Alert: Salvelinus alpinus; Gymnelis virdis; Icelus bicornis; Myoxocephalus quadricornis; Liparis koefoedi; Liparis ? liparis. Mould Bay: Salvelinus alpinus; Boreogadus saida; Anarhichas denticulatus; Lycodes pallidus; Icelus bicornis; Myoxocephalus quadricornis; Eumicrotremus spinosus. 2. Two different forms of catfish are currently referred to Anarhichas denticulatus, but it is not known whether the differences are due to sex, age, or other factors, or whether or not the differences are specific. 3. The specimens of Icelus bicornis listed by Walters (1953) from various stations in Dolphin and Union Strait, Northwest Territories, probably consisted at least in part of Icelus spatula; one specimen may have been Icelus bicornis. 4. Cottus polaris Sabine (1821) and Porocottus polaris (Sabine) Jordan and Evermann are identical to Myoxocephalus quadricornis (Linnaeus). 5. Eumicrotremus pacificus Schmidt is not identical to E. orbis (Günther). 6. The record of Eumicrotremus birulai from the Kara Sea (Popov, 1933) should be regarded as probably E. spinosus. 7. Eumicrotremus spinosus variabilis Jensen (1944) is identical to E. derjugini Popov (1926)"--P. 14-15.