Record of a Sandperch, Parapercis xanthozona (Actinopterygii : Pinguipedidae), from Japan, with Comments on its Synonymy

Abstract

Six specimens of the pinguipedid fish Parapercis xanthozona (Bleeker, 1849) were collected from Amami-Oshima Island of the Ryukyu Islands in 1991 and 1994. This represents the first reliable record of the species from Japan. It is concluded that Percis pleurostigma Sauvage, 1891, which had been considered conspecific with P. xanthozona, is a junior synonym of Parapercis punctulata (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829). We concur with synonymizing Parapercis dorsonebulosa Martin and Montalban, 1935 with P. xanthozona ; this synonymy has been overlooked since 1951.