Western Atlantic Batrachoidid Fishes of the Genus Porichthys, Including Three New Species

The batrachoidid fishes of the genus Porichthys, commonly called midshipmen, comprise a group of bottom-inhabiting forms that are confined to relatively shallow, continental waters on both coasts of the Americas. They are one of the few groups of fishes living in shallow water to possess photophores, and are unique in this respect among teleosts occurring in the New World. The present study reviews the western Atlantic members of the genus, and concludes that five species occur in the area, of which three are described as new.