Introduction : Since the discovery of animal communities in oceanic hydrothermal vents in 1977 and in deep-sea cold seeps in 1984 (Londsdale, 1977; Paull et al., 1984) fishes have been regularly observed in association with these chemosynthetically-driven communities, but in most cases they are difficult to catch and therefore species identification can only rely on images taken by the diving vehicles. Ichthyological information pertaining to species inhabiting the deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps is mentioned in over 30 papers and even in the more detailed and updated lists (Geistdoerfer, 1991; 1996; 1999; Sibuet & Olu, 1998; Tunnicliffe, 1991) there are species missing. The situation is even less clear concerning the bathyal species inhabiting the periphery of the active fields, the vast majority of their identifications having been based on video records or photographs.