The marine sandperch genus Parapercis Bleeker, 1863 (Pinguipedidae) is characterized by the body nearly cylindrical anteriorly and compressed posteriorly, each jaw with a single row of recurved canine-like teeth anteriorly, followed by a band of villiform teeth, the opercle with a single sharp spine, dorsal fin continuous with four or five (rarely six) spines and 19–25 soft rays, and anal fin with a single spine and 16–20 soft rays. Approximately 90 valid species have been recognized worldwide, except in the eastern Pacific, 28 having been recorded from Japanese waters to date. On 28 June 2023, a single specimen of Parapercis (99.0 mm standard length), collected from the mouth of a Red Cornetfish (Fistularia petimba Lacepède, 1803) caught by longline in 300 m depth off Amami-oshima Island, Amami Islands (Kagoshima Prefecture), Japan was subsequently identified as Parapercis moki Ho and Johnson, 2013 on the basis of the following combination of characters: very narrow interorbital space; four pairs of canine-like teeth in outer row of lower jaw; palatines each with two rows of teeth; single large spine on posteroventral corner of subopercle; dorsal fin with four spines, becoming progressively longer posteriorly; and six narrow transverse bands on body. Parapercis moki has been previously recorded only from the holotype and two additional specimens, all from southeastern Taiwan. The presently reported specimen represents the first record of P. moki from Japanese waters and northernmost record of the species, for which the new Japanese standard name “Hanezu-toragisu” is proposed.
