northward extension from the previous known occurrence off Nehalem Bank, Oregon. In contrast to the rest, The Pudgy Cusk-eel (Spectrunculus crassus) was found because of re-examination of museum specimens, not from additional deep-sea exploration. For years, the Pudgy Cusk-eel was lumped with the Giant Cusk-eel, but Uiblein and others (2008) gave a list of features distinguishing the two as species. Sure enough, the smallest Spectrunculus in the Royal BC Museum’s collection (976-01087-001) had to be re-identified, and extends the range of S. crassus 308 km north of the previous record near Tillamook Bay, Oregon. While we often think we know what species are present here in the Pacific waters of BC, especially when it comes to vertebrates, there still is room for extensive deep-water surveys; the deep sea still is very poorly understood. Since 2012, we have published records of 15 new fish species for our portion of the north eastern Pacific Ocean. These new fishes were found because of increased survey effort and review of specimens already in the collection. All of the new specimens mentioned in my papers were deposited in museum collections. We cannot underestimate the value of museum collections when studying biodiversity. You can talk to researchers and read their books and journal articles, but there is no substitute for hands-on experience with actual specimens. Museums are the only places where you can examine organisms caught a year ago or a hundred years ago, to verify which species were present on Earth. royalbcmuseum.bc.ca
Spotted Cusk-eel (Chilara taylori), RBCM 014-00032-001
Bony-eared Assfish (Acanthonus armatus), RBCM 012-00130-001
Black Brotula (Cherublemma emmelas), RBCM 014-00310-001
Bassozetus zenkevitchi, RBCM 010-00199-006
Porogadus promelas, RBCM 010-00342-001
Rubynose Brotula (Cataetyx rubrirostris), RBCM 010-00209-005
Pudgy Cusk-eel (Spectrunculus crassus), RBCM 976-01087-001
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