2017 Volume 42 Pages 48-53
A specimen of the tilefsh, Hoplolatilus fourmanoiri Smith, 1964 was collected from off Amitori Bay, Iriomote Island, Yaeyama Islands of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It represents the northernmost record for the species and the first record of the species from Japan. Hoplolatilus fourmanoiri can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: caudal fin not forked; pointed spines located at corner of the preopercle and the mid-posterior margin of the opercle; maxillary broad, its maximum depth almost equal to diameter of pupil; ctenii of scales prominent; a large dark blotch located at posterior tail to caudal fin; a yellow band running from head to shoulder. The present specimen has a slightly deeper head (69.7% of head length vs. 62–68%) and more scales below lateral line (42 vs. 34–41) than other specimens, but these differences are insignificant. The dark posterior blotch of the present specimen is paler and more yellowish than the previous report, however the body coloration of the Japanese specimen is paler, which we feel is due to the condition of the specimen. The shape of the caudal fin of H. fourmanoiri was formerly described as truncate with dorsal produced. We described it as shallow double truncate. A new standard Japanese name “Hotarubi-sango-amadai” is proposed for the species.
Circular of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology
