First Record of the Lizardfish Synodus mundyi (Actinopterygii: Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) from Japan

Abstract

A rare lizardfish, Synodus mundyi Randall, 2009, is newly reported from the northwestern Pacific around Japan, based on a single specimen (147 mm in standard length) collected from off Muko-jima island of the Ogasawara Islands at a depth of 63 m. Prior to the present study, the species was represented by only the two type specimens collected from the Hawaiian Islands. Among Japanese congeners, it is most similar to the Indo-Pacific Synodus doaki Russell and Cressey, 1979 especially in having a very long nasal flap, but differs notably from the latter in that the tip of the pectoral fin extends well beyond a line connecting the dorsal- and pelvic-fin origins (vs. just reaching this level). The Japanese specimen is fully described, with a color photograph of the fresh specimen. A new standard Japanese name, “Kaede-eso”, is proposed for S. mundyi.