Coreoperca maruoi, a new species of freshwater percoid fish from the Miocene of Iki Island, Nagasaki, Japan

Abstract

A percoid fish from the Middle Miocene freshwater beds of Iki Island, Nagasaki, Japan is described as a new species, †Coreoperca maruoi of the family Sinipercidae. It is characterized by having a large head, 13 abdominal and 18 caudal vertebrae, 13 dorsal fin spines and 13 soft rays, 3 anal fin spines and 9 soft rays, the wide fifth hypural exhibiting a groove near the ventral margin. Based on fossil records, it is proposed that the ancestor of sinipercids arose in the shallow seas of eastern Asia before Miocene or in the Early Miocene.