Cephalopholis cyanostigma, : Masuda, 1984

Nakamura, Jumpei, Sakurai, You, Yoshino, Tetsuo & Motomura, Hiroyuki, 2020, The Bluespotted Hind Cephalopholis cyanostigma (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the Southern Ryukyu Islands: First Specimen-based Records from Japan, Species Diversity 25 (2), pp. 129-133 : 129-132

Cephalopholis cyanostigma

(Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1828) [English name: Bluespotted Hind; new standard Japanese name: Samidare-hata] ( Figs 1 , 2 ; Table 1)

Serranus cyanostigma Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1828: 359 (type locality: Java, Indonesia).

Cephalopholis kendalli Evermann and Seale, 1907: 76 , fig. 11 (type locality: Bacon , Sorsogon, Luzon, Philippines) .

Cephalopholis xanthopterus Allen and Starck, 1975: 246 , fig. 1 (type locality: Alite Reef , Solomon Islands) .

Cephalopholis cyanostigma: Masuda 1984: 58 unnumbered fig. ( Philippines); Masuda and Allen 1987: 105, fig. C ( Philippines); Randall et al. 1990: 101, unnumbered figs (Great Barrier Reef); Randall and Heemstra 1991: 41, figs 11, 12, pl. II-C, D, XXIX-G, H (Cebu, Philippines, Ambon, Indonesia, Queensland, Australia and Alite Reef, Solomon Islands); Heemstra and Randall 1993: 40, fig. 79, pl. II-C, D (Cebu, Philippines and Ambon, Indonesia); Masuda 1995: 130, unnumbered fig. ( Philippines); Heemstra and Randall 1999: 2477, unnumbered figs, pl. I-4 ( Ambon, Indonesia); Myers 1999: 64, pl. 36-F, G ( Micronesia); Allen et al. 2003: 154, unnumbered fig. (in part: Tropical Pacific); Kimura et al. 2003: 48, unnumbered fig. (Bitung, Sulawesi, Indonesia); Teguh 2006: 66, unnumbered fig. ( Indonesia); Cabanban et al. 2011: 23–24, unnumbered figs (Bali, Indonesia, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Queensland, Australia, and Solomon Islands); Allen and Erdman 2012: 262, unnumbered figs (El Nido, Philippines); White et al. 2013: 125, fig. 51.7 ( Indonesia); Akita et al. 2016: 17, fig. 2A (Yaeyama Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan); Hata 2017: 81, unnumbered fig. (Panay Island, Philippines); Koeda and Ho 2018: 76, fig. 1 (Pingtung, Taiwan); Konishi 2018: 201, unnumbered fig. (locality unknown).

Material examined. 10 specimens (174.1–235.1 mm SL; all specimens purchased from Okinawa Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations ): KAUM –I . 71388, 205.9 mm SL, southern Ryukyu Islands , 16 March 2015, coll . Y . Sakurai; KPM-NI 45355, 233.2 mm SL, southern Ryukyu Islands , 8 November 2017, Y . Sakurai; URM-P 28562, 208.8 mm SL, around Taketomi-jima island, Yaeyama Islands , 21 August 1992, A . Kawaguchi et al.; URM-P 29429, 235.1 mm SL, Yaeyama Islands , 23 April 1993, Y . Sakurai et al.; URM-P 29752, 178.5 mm SL, Yaeyama Islands , 8 May 1993, Y . Sakurai et al.; URM-P 29972, 196.8 mm SL, Yaeyama Islands , 2 July 1993, Y . Sakurai et al.; URM-P 31758, 174.1 mm SL, Yaeyama Islands , 27 April 1994, T . Shimojo; URM-P 35125, 176.3 mm SL, Yaeyama Islands , 25 January 1999, H . Yoshigou; URM-P 44415, 221.9 mm SL, southern Ryukyu Islands , 27 October 2007, Y . Sakurai; URM-P 44416, 208.6 mm SL, southern Ryukyu Islands , 3 November 2007, Y . Sakurai.

Description. Counts and measurements are provided in Table 1. Body oblong, moderately compressed. Dorsal profile of head and body elevated from snout to dorsal-fin origin (slightly concave above eye), decreasing to caudal peduncle. Ventral profile of head and body decreasing from lower-jaw tip to pelvic-fin origin, parallel to body axis from pelvic-fin origin to anal-fin origin, thereafter elevated to caudal-fin base. Eye and pupil rounded. Anterior (smaller, with dermal flap on posterior edge) and posterior (larger) nostrils round or oval, close together. Mouth terminal, moderately large. Posterior tip of maxilla extending beyond posterior margin of eye. Anterior tip of lower jaw anterior to upper jaw. Rows of inwardly curved conical teeth on upper and lower jaws, paired canine-like teeth anteriorly on both jaws. Small inwardly curved conical teeth densely on vomer and palatines. Upper limb gill rakers short, rounded. Lower limb gill rakers long, slender. Posterior margin of preopercle finely serrated, lower margin of preopercle smooth. Three spines on upper part of opercle. Body scales generally cte- noid, cycloid on dorsum of head and on abdomen. Scales absent on jaws, around eyes, and on axillary region. Lateral line complete, almost parallel to dorsal profile, originating from upper end of opercle to middle of caudal-fin base.

Dorsal-fin origin anterior to vertical through posterior tip of opercle. End of dorsal-fin base posterior to vertical through end of anal-fin base. First to third dorsal-fin spines gradually lengthening, third to ninth spines almost equal in length. Upper end of pectoral-fin base anterior to vertical through posterior tip of opercle. Lower end of pectoralfin base posterior to vertical through pelvic-fin spine base. Posterior margin of pectoral-fin rounded, reaching to below eighth dorsal-fin spine to first dorsal-fin soft ray base. Pelvic-fin origin slightly posterior to vertical through dorsal-fin origin. Basal half of last pelvic-fin soft ray with membranous connection to abdomen. Posterior tip of depressed pelvic fins not reaching to anus. Anal-fin origin below first to third dorsal-fin ray base. Caudal fin rounded.

Color when fresh ( Fig. 1 ). Head and body reddish-orange to reddish-brown. Numerous small dark green- to black-edged blue spots, their width less than eye diameter, on head, body, and all fins. Blue spots on head and all fins smaller than spots on body, and few spots on outer margin of all fins. Some indistinct whitish transverse bands on entire body. Dorsal, pectoral, and anal fins reddish-orange to reddish-brown, distal margins edged white to blue. Pectoral fin orange to dark orange, becoming bright orange posteriorly, posterior margin blue. Caudal fin reddish-brown to dark brown, posterior margin white to blue.

Distribution. Known from the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans, ranging from eastern Sumatra, Indonesia east to the Solomon Islands, north to the Yaeyama Islands, Japan, and south to northern Australia ( Randall and Heemstra 1991; Cabanban et al. 2011; Akita et al. 2016; Koeda and Ho 2018). Akita et al. (2016) recorded C. cyanostigma from the Yaeyama Islands (Ryukyu Islands), Japan solely on the basis of a photograph. The present specimens constitute the first specimen-based records from the Ryukyu Islands.

Remarks. The characteristics of the specimens collected from the Ryukyu Islands agreed well with those of the genus Cephalopholis , as defined by Randall and Heemstra (1991) and Heemstra and Randall (1993, 1999), viz., 9 dorsal-fin spines, head length 2.3–2.5 in SL, snout length greater than orbit diameter, and rounded caudal fin. The specimens closely matched the diagnostic features of C. cyanostigma given by Randall and Heemstra (1991), Heemstra and Randall (1993, 1999), Cabanban et al. (2011), and Koeda and Ho (2018), viz., dorsal-fin rays IX, 15 or 16; anal-fin rays III, 8; pectoral-fin rays 16 or 17, lateral-line scales 46–50; longitudinal scale series 98–105; gill rakers 8 or 9+16 or 17; posterior tips of depressed pelvic fins not reaching anus; and dark-edged blue spots on head, body and all fins ( Fig. 1 ).

Cephalopholis cyanostigma is similar to congeners Cephalopholis argus Schneider, 1801 and Cephalopholis miniata (Forsskål, 1775) in having numerous blue spots on the head and body ( Fig. 2 ). However, C. cyanostigma is easily distinguishable from both in having 8 anal-fin soft rays [vs. 9 rays in C. argus ; 8 or 9 (rarely 8) rays in C. miniata ], blue spots on the entire pectoral fin, except posterior margin (vs. blue spots on basal half of pectoral fin in C. argus ; spots absent on pectoral fin, except on base, in C. miniata ), and some indistinct whitish transverse bands on the entire body (vs. 5 or 6 pale vertical bands posteriorly on the body in C. argus ; pale colored pattern absent in C. miniata ) ( Randall and Heemstra 1991; Cabanban et al. 2011; this study).

In Japanese waters, C. cyanostigma has been recorded only by a single photograph ( Akita et al. 2016), the specimen-based northernmost record of the species being off Kenting, Pingtung, southern Taiwan ( Koeda and Ho 2018). Accordingly, the Ryukyu Island specimens represent the first specimen-based records of the species from Japan and northernmost record for the species. Notwithstanding, Masuda (1984) and Masuda and Allen (1987), who published an underwater photograph of C. cyanostigma taken at a depth of 8 m in El Nido, Philippines (same photograph in both publications), assigned to it the common Japanese name “El Nido-yukata-hata”, such also being used in Masuda (1995) and Yoshino (1999). Masuda and Allen (1987) also mentioned that C. cyanostigma had been recently found in Japan but provided no information on Japanese specimens or photographs. Later, Masuda (1995) provided an underwater photograph of the species taken at a depth of 5 m in the Philippines, and noted that he had observed the same species in the vicinity of Kohama-jima Island, Yaeyama Islands several years earlier but had failed to collect it. Subsequently, Yoshino (1999) included C. cyanostigma in his “Fishes of Okinawa”. However, “El Nido-yukata-hata” has not been widely regarded as the standard name of the species and has not been used in other recent publications. Therefore, the new standard Japanese name “Samidare-hata” is proposed here for C. cyanostigma , [based on the southern Ryukyu Island specimen (KAUM–I. 71388; Fig. 1A )], “Samidare” meaning ‘continuous rain’ in Japanese, reminiscent of the blue spots of the species, and “hata” being the common Japanese name for groupers.

Comparative material examined. Cephalopholis cyanostigma (9 specimens, 166.6–237.7 mm SL, all from Malaysia): KAUM–I. 12051, 168.5 mm SL, KAUM–I. 12084, 170.7 mm SL, KAUM–I. 12085, 169.1 mm SL, KAUM–I. 12104, 216.3 mm SL, KAUM–I. 22112, 217.9 mm SL, KAUM–I. 49192, 186.2 mm SL, off Kota Kinabalu , Sabah (obtained at Kota Kinabalu Central Fish Market); KAUM –I . 79811, 237.7 mm SL, off northwest coast of Bidong Island, off Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, hand net, 3–12 m depth; KAUM –I . 79919, 217.4 mm SL, off northwest coast of Kapak Island, off Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, spear, 1–15 m depth; KAUM –I . 80091, 166.6 mm SL, off Kudat, Sabah (obtained at Kudat Fish Market).

Figures

Fig. 1. Fresh specimens of Cephalopholis cyanostigma from Japan. A: KAUM–I. 71388, 205.9mm SL, southern Ryukyu Islands (photo by KAUM); B: URM-P 35125, 176.3mm SL, Yaeyama Islands, Ryukyu Islands (photo by URM).

Fig. 2. Photograph of three species of Cephalopholis at Tomari Fish Market, Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on 25 October 2007 (specimens not retained). Upper: C. argus; middle: C. cyanostigma; lower: C. miniata. Photo by Y.Sakurai.