The specimens described below are part of a collection of fishes assembled by a group of American, Canadian and Japanese biologists who were engaged in a study of the North Pacific fur-bearing seal during the spring of 1952. Although all three specimens are juveniles, they are sufficiently developed to be recognizable as an undescribed species and to be compared with thier known ralatives. Among other distinctive characters, the teeth of the tongue serve to identify our specimens with the family Scopelarchidae.

View full abstract

The teeth, teeth-bearing bones and the teeth-band-folds coverirg the vomer and palatines on the roof of mouth were investigated for using as a taxonomical character. Their arrangement, forms and connective conditions were compared among 8 species belonging to 3 genera in Japan (Table 1.) and the characters of them showed to admit the determination of each species. The results are summarized as follows.
(1) Vomer and hyoid bone are more characteristic for determination of genus and species of Salmonoid fishes than the other bones of mouth cavity (Figs. 2, 3). The number of teeth on the vomer, palatines and tongue was less adequate as taxonomical character, because the teeth often disappear in the spawning season and the number of teeth reduces with age and shows wide individual variations.
(2) The author could not find individual variations and changes by age and sex in the arrangement, forms and the connective conditions of the folds on the vomer and palatines and in the form of labial fold (Plate 1, 2, 3). Therefore these could be adopted as the taxonomical characters of genera and species of Salmonoid fishes.
(3) Three genera of Salmonidae can be identified easily by the arrangement of the teeth-band-folds, i. e. Oncorhynchus shows +-shape (Fig. 1, A-D), Salmo T-shape (Fig. 1, E, F) and Salvelinus M-shape (Fig. 1, G, H).
(4) Each species, in Oncorhynchus (Fig. 1, A-D) and Salvelinus (Fig. 1, G, H), can be identified by the forms and connective conditions of the folds on vomer and palatines and the form of labial fold. In Salmo (Fig. 1, E, F), besides the abovementioned character, each species can be identified by the forms of teeth on maxillaries and palatines.

View full abstract

The present article contains an introductory notes on Lake Biwa with some notes on the fishes, a brief history of the study on the fishes of this lake, from 1806 to the most recent (1951), and a complete list of the fishes of Lake Biwa (45 species and subspecies found in the lake itself, in addition to two species found near this lake and 13 introduced species) with their distribution records in Japan and the neighbouring couneries.
The mark × indicates simply the occur ence of the species or forms found in the region named at the top of the column and the mark _??_, that the same is known to be found as an introduced species in the region.
Next I have given the names of localities around or near Lake Biwa with the names of collected fishes in old and new records.
Lastly, in my conclusion concerning the distribution of these fresh water fishes found in this lake, I have noted two endemic forms: Gnathopogon elongatus caerulescens and Chaenogobius annularis isaza; 19 species are confined to the Japanese waters, and most of the remaining ones (about 30) are common to the Asiatic Continent in their distribution.

View full abstract

In this paper are given notes on studies of some Chinese fishes, which were made while the author was a member of the staff of the Shanghai Science Institute, from 1938 to 1945.
1. Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Cuv. et VAL.). H. moitrix (Cuv. et VAL.), Aristichthys nobilis (RICHARDSON), Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Cuv. et Val.) and Mylopharyngodon aethiopus (BASILEWSKY) are much appreciated as edible pondfishes in the lower Yangtze region. It has been said that these cyprinoid fishes never spawn in fish ponds; however, on hearing that some of them spawn in a pond near Shaohing, Chekiang, a visit was made to this pond at the beginning of the spawning season to confirm this fact. Dissection of several individuals of both sexes of H. molitrix, which attained the adult size in the natural condition, showed that the ovary was well developed, but the testis slender and very poorly developed. The fishermen stated that this species, the only one which was being cultured in this district, spawned every year, but the eggs sooner or later decayed completely. These facts suggest that the ovary of this fish is able to develop even in fish ponds, but the testis cannot mature, when the fish is cultured artificially.
2. Hemirhamphus kurumeus (JORDAN et STARKS). H. sajori (nec TEM. et Sand.) heretofore always reported from the lower Yangtze basin (except the esturary) is to be synonymised with H. kurumeus (JORDAN et STARKT).
3. Fugu (Torafugu) ocellatus obsculus (ABE). The puffer occurring in the Yangtze River and its tributaries, which has hitherto been known as Spheroides ocellatus (nec OSBECK), is referable to F. (T.) ocellatus obsculus (ABE). The species ocellatus of Os-BECK has the characteristic white-edged black band across the back, but none of the specimens of the puffer collected by the author from the lower Yangtze region has such a band; the geunus Fugu and the subgenus Torafugu were proposed by Dr. ABE. As young individuals of this puffer are caught in this region throughout the year, some of them are believed to remain in the purely freshwater region without returning to the sea from a large river such as the Yangtze.
4. Alerisucus sp.Although the name A. abbreviatus (Gray) has been given to the species of sole occurring in the lower Yangtze River and its tributaries, there seem to be reseans to doubt this classification. For the determination of the scientific name of this sole, it is desirable that comparative studies between this and many related Chinese species be carried out.
5. Acanthogobius hasta (TEM. et ScHL.). Gobius ommaturus RICHARDSON is certainly a synonym of A. hasta (TEM. et ScHL.); hasta was described from a specimen in poor condition after spawning, while ommaturus was based on a specimen before spawning.
6. Chaeturichthys sp.A species of Chaeturichthys occurs near Chusan Island, Chekiang. This species is closely allied to C. hexanemus BLEEKER, but is distinguished by the irregular arrangement of the scales on the posteior part of the body and the caudal peduncle. The specimen of this goby collected by the author were left in a bottle, labelled Chaeturichthys variegatus, in the Shanghai Science Institute.

View full abstract