First records of the Round Scorpionfish, Neomerinthe erostiris (Scorpaenidae), from Japan

Abstract

Six specimens (39.9–81.4 mm standard length) of the Round Scorpionfish Neomerinthe erostris (Alcock, 1896) (Scorpaenidae), previously recorded from the Indo-West Pacific and in the western Pacific from Taiwan to New Caledonia and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, were collected from Uchinoura Bay, Osumi Peninsula; southern Okinawa Trough; and Iriomote Island, Yaeyama Islands, southern Japan. The six specimens represent the first records of N. erostris from Japanese waters and include the northernmost records (Uchinoura Bay) for the species. The Japanese specimens are described here in detail and the new Japanese name “Yabusame-kasago” is proposed for the species.