Review of Armored Searobins of the Genus Peristedion (Teleostei: Peristediidae) in Japanese Waters

Abstract

The genus Peristedion Lacepede, 1801 occurring around Japanese waters is reviewed, with 4 species described based on 157 Japanese specimens: Peristedion orientale Temminck and Schlegel, 1843, P. liorhynchus (Gunther, 1872), P. nierstraszi Weber, 1913, and P. amblygenys Fowler, 1938. The four species are distinguished from each other by the shape of the rostral projection, the position of the fourth sensory pore on the rostral projection, the number of branches on the filamentous barbel on the lip, the total number of chin barbels, and the shape of the perifacial rim. The present study records P. amblygenys in Japanese waters for the first time.