2014 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 133-139
A new scorpionfish, Sebastapistes perplexa, is described on the basis of 43 specimens from the Pacific coast of Japan, where it ranges from the Boso Peninsula to Shikoku, including the Izu Islands, in depths of 2-48 m. The new species is characterized by having 12-15 (mode 14) pectoral-fin rays; 33-42 (37) scale rows in longitudinal series; 4 or 5 (5) scale rows above the lateral line, 9-13 (10) scale rows below the lateral line; 3 or 4 (4) scale rows between the sixth dorsal-fin spine base and the lateral line; 3-5 (4) scale rows between the last dorsal-fin spine base and the lateral line; 2-4 (3) pre-dorsal scale rows; 11-17 (15) gill rakers; palatine teeth present; ctenoid body scales; simple anterior and posterior lacrimal spines; no lateral lacrimal spine or ridge; the first and second suborbital ridges fused to form a single ridge with one suborbital spine at its end; a median ridge on lower opercular spine; the opercular spines not covered by scales; and a dark blotch usually visible on the subopercle and pectoral-fin base (distinct in preserved specimens). Sebastapistes perplexa appears to be restricted to temperate waters whereas its congeners are primarily tropical and subtropical species. The new species is compared in detail to two congeneric species that share some diagnostic features with it, and to the sympatric S. strongia (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
