Pempheris japonica Döderlein, 1883

Koeda, Keita & Bessho-Uehara, Manabu, 2024, A review of the genus Pempheris (Teleostei, Pempheridae) found in Japan and Taiwan, ZooKeys 1220, pp. 123-163 : 123-163

Pempheris japonica Döderlein, 1883

Figs 5 , 6 , Suppl. material 2 Standard Japanese name: Tsumaguro-hatampo

Pempheris japonica Döderlein, 1883: 125 (type locality: Tokyo, Japan); Jordan et al. 1913: 137; Tanaka 1931: 25; Uchida 1933: 208; Okada 1938: 179; Okada and Matsubara 1938: 179; Matsubara 1955: 590; Tominaga 1963: 278, fig. 6; Takemura and Yasuda 1965: 159; Masuda et al. 1975: 199, pl. 33 - B; Hayashi 1984 (in part): 160, pl. 151 - C; Kohno 1986: 135, fig. 1; Masuda and Kobayashi 1994: 180, fig. 4; Mochizuki 1995: 389, unnumbered fig.; Hatooka 1997: 380, unnumbered fig.; Hatooka 2002 (in part): 877; Senou et al. 2002: 212; Senou et al. 2006 b: 463; Aramata 2007: 171, unnumbered fig.; Yoshino 2008: 211, unnumbered fig.; Koeda et al. 2010 a: 74; Koeda et al. 2010 b: 81; Motomura et al. 2010: 131; Takagi et al. 2010: 69, unnumbered figs; Kohno et al. 2011: 208, unnumbered fig.; Koeda et al. 2012 a: 65; Hatooka and Yagishita 2013 (in part): 983; Koeda et al. 2013 b: 235; Motomura et al. 2013: 168, unnumbered fig.; Kawano et al. 2014: 48; Koeda et al. 2014: 327; Koeda and Motomura 2015: 139; Koeda et al. 2015: 275; Ikeda and Nakabo 2015: 159, figs 5–7; Takeuchi et al. 2015: 8; Koeda 2017 b: 190, unnumbered fig.; Koeda and Motomura 2017 a; Fujiwara et al. 2018: 58, Fig. 8 L; Kagoshima City Aquarium Foundation 2018: 210, unnumbered fig.; Koeda 2018 b: 298, unnumbered fig.; Nakae et al. 2018: 266; Koeda 2018 c: 341, unnumbered figs; Murase et al. 2019: 132, fig. 282; Koeda 2020 a: 408, unnumbered figs; Sonoyama et al. 2020: 78; Murase et al. 2021: 166, fig. 338; Koeda 2022: 158, unnumbered fig.; Koeda et al. 2022: 6; Motomura 2023: 127; Sakurai et al. 2024: 77, fig. 4 D.

Catalufa umbra Snyder, 1911: 528 (Misaki, Japan).

Catalufa japonica (not Döderlein, 1883): Jordan and Hubbs 1925: 227.

Pempheris umbra (not Snyder, 1911): Okada 1938: 179; Okada and Matsubara 1938: 179; Matsubara 1955: 59, pl. 54 (fig. 189); Takemura and Yasuda 1965: 159; Abekawa and Nishi 1969: 24.

Diagnosis.

Counts of syntypes and non-types are given in Table 1 of Koeda and Motomura (2017 a). Dorsal-fin rays VI, 10–12; anal-fin rays III, 34–40; pectoral-fin rays 16–17; pored lateral-line scales 69–82; scale rows above lateral line 12–13; scale rows below lateral line 26–30; predorsal scales 40–44; circumpeduncular scales 22–24; gill rakers 8–12 + 19 – 25 = 28–35; head length 28.3–31.4 % SL; body depth 43.2–47.7 % SL; eye diameter 38.1–50.0 % HL; upper jaw length 50.0–56.3 % HL; maximum 153 mm SL; scales strongly ctenoid, adherent, divided into basal and distal halves (see Koeda et al. 2013 a: fig. 2 b); body copper; no or faint blackish blotch on pectoral-fin base; tip of dorsal and anal fins broadly black, remainder brown; narrow band of villiform teeth in jaws; abdomen cross-sectional outline U-shaped.

Distribution.

Endemic to the region from southern Korea to southern Japan. In Japanese waters, P. japonica is distributed in the Pacific coast (north to Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, south to Kagoshima Prefecture), Japan Sea coast (east to Miyazu in Kyoto Prefecture, west to Tsuno-shima Island in Yamaguchi Prefecture), Tsushima Island, East China Sea coast (north to Nagasaki, south to Kagoshima prefectures), Miyake-jima and Hachijo-jima islands in Izu Islands, Tanega-shima, Yaku-shima, Iou-jima, Amami-oshima, and Okinawa-jima in Ryukyu Archipelago (very rare in the latter two islands) (Fig. 5 ).

Remarks.

Döderlein (1883) described P. japonica based on syntypes collected from Tokyo Bay, and Snyder (1911) described Catalufa umbra based on the holotype collected from Kanagawa Prefecture. The type specimens of the two nominal species were compared in the present study, and no differences were observed. Therefore, C. umbra is confirmed as a junior synonym of P. japonica , in agreement with Tominaga (1963).

Snyder (1912) and Shao et al. (2008) reported P. japonica in the fish checklists of Okinawa Island and southern Taiwan, respectively. However, the specimens they observed and identified as P. japonica ( CAS-SU 22002; ASIZP 61383) are identified as P. schwenkii and P. vanicolensis , respectively ( Koeda et al. 2012 a). Subsequently, Randall et al. (1997) reported P. japonica from the Ogasawara Islands. However, that report was not based on specimens and / or underwater observations (refer to pers. comm. of R. Mooi on p. 35) and was probably the misidentification of P. familia which is similar to P. japonica . Although Hayashi (1984) and Hatooka (2000, 2002) included the Philippines, and Hatooka and Yagishita (2013) included Taiwan in the distributional range of P. japonica , specimens of P. japonica from these localities have never been discovered. Our results indicate that P. japonica is not distributed in these localities, and the species is endemic to Japan and southern Korea. Compared to the distribution of other species of the same genus found in the Northern Hemisphere, this species can be said to be the most temperate species adapted to the lowest water temperatures. Until the 2010 s, this species was distributed only as far as the Boso Peninsula, a trend known for many tropical fish species. However, in recent years, new distribution records have been reported from Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures, likely a result of northward range expansion due to global warming.

Figures

Figure 5. Distribution of Pempheris familia (diamond) and Pempheris japonica (triangles and star for type locality) based on the collection locality of the specimens.

Figure 6. Fresh specimen of Pempheris japonica, KAUM – I. 89834, 125.0 mm SL, Nakakoshiki-jima Island, Koshiki Islands, Japan.

Figure 8. Distribution of Pempheris nyctereutes (solid triangles and solid star for holotype locality) and Pempheris sasakii (solid diamonds and open star for holotype locality) based on the collection localities of the specimens.