First Confirmed Record of the Samoan Pipefish Halicampus mataafae (Perciformes: Syngnathidae) from Japan

Abstract

A single specimen (135.5 mm standard length) of the Indo-West Pacific species Halicampus mataafae (Jordan and Seale, 1906), previously known to range from the Red Sea and South Africa to Taiwan and Australia, was collected from Yoron Island, Amami Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. A detailed description is given for the specimen, being the first collected from Japanese waters and northernmost record of the species.