NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

Check List 13 (4): 47–51
https://doi.org/10.15560/13.4.47

First record of the engraulid fish Encrasicholina macrocephala(Clupeiformes) from Somalia
Harutaka Hata,1 Hiroyuki Motomura2
1 The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan. 2 The Kagoshima
University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
Corresponding author: Harutaka Hata, k2795502@kadai.jp

Abstract
A single specimen of Encrasicholina macrocephala Hata & Motomura, 2015 (58.7 mm in standard length), collectedin Somalia in 1986, is the first record of the species from Somalian waters. This species is otherwise known only fromthe type specimens, collected in Djibouti and Oman.
Key words
Range extension; Engraulidae; Teleostei; fish fauna; morphology; new record.

Academic editor: Hudson Tercio Pinheiro | Received 2 February 2017 | Accepted 10 May 2017 | Published 11 July 2017
Citation: Hata H, Motomura H (2017) First record of the engraulid fish Encrasicholina macrocephala (Clupeiformes) from Somalia. Check List
13: 47–51. https://doi.org/10.15560/13.4.47

Introduction
The engraulid fish genus Encrasicholina Fowler, 1938
is characterized by a short isthmus muscle not reachinganteriorly to the posterior margin of the gill membrane,
an exposed urohyal, prepelvic scutes and the absence of
postpelvic scutes (Whitehead et al. 1988, Wongratana etal. 1999). The genus contains 9 valid species (Whitehead
et al. 1988, Hata and Motomura 2015, Hata and Motomura
2016a, Hata and Motomura 2016b, Hata and Motomura
2017), including E. macrocephala Hata and Motomura,2015, currently known only from the type specimens,
collected from Djibouti and Oman (Hata and Motomura2015). During a revisionary study of Encrasicholina, asingle engraulid specimen from Somalia was identified
as E. macrocephala. That species is distinguished fromits congeners by having a long upper jaw, the posterior
tip of which extends beyond the posterior margin of thepreopercle, in addition to three unbranched fin rays inthe dorsal and anal fins, and a large head (29.5–31.7% of
standard length; Hata and Motomura 2015). The present
specimen, described here in detail, represents the firstrecord of the species from Somalia.

Methods
Counts and proportional measurements follow Hata andMotomura (2015). All measurements were made withdigital calipers to the nearest 0.1 mm. Standard and headlengths were abbreviated as SL and HL respectively. The
specimen of E. macrocephala from Somalia is depositedat the Museum Support Center of the National Museumof Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland,
MD (USNM). Comparative specimens were listed
in Hata and Motomura (2015). Collection sites of E.
macro­cephala are shown in Figure 1.

Copyright Hata and Motomura. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

48

Check List 13 (4)Figure 1. Previous and new records (Somalia) for Encrasicholina
macrocephala. Circles indicate previous records.

Results
Examined material. USNM 306070, 58.7 mm SL, Somalia, 10 February 1986, G. J. Small (Fig. 2; Tables 1, 2).
Description. Unbranched dorsal-fin rays 3. Brancheddorsal-fin rays 10. Unbranched anal-fin rays 3. Branchedanal-fin rays 14. Unbranched pectoral-fin rays 1.
Branched pectoral-fin rays 12. Unbranched pelvic-fin
rays 1. Branched pelvic-fin rays 6. Caudal-fin rays 19.
Gill rakers on 1st gill arch 18 + 22. Gill rakers on 2ndgill arch 15 + 22. Gill rakers on 3rd gill arch 12 + 12. Gillrakers on 4th gill arch 10 + 10. Gill rakers on posterior
face of 3rd gill arch 8. Prepelvic scutes 5. Lateral-line
scales 39. Pseudobranchial filaments 18. The following
morphometrics are expressed as percentage of SL: headlength 29.5; body depth 16.4; pre-dorsal-fin length
54.6; length from snout tip to pectoral-fin insertion 30.3;
length from snout tip to pelvic-fin insertion 43.4; lengthfrom snout tip to anal-fin origin 65.6; dorsal-fin baselength 12.3; anal-fin base length 16.0; caudal-peduncle
length 19.9; caudal-peduncle depth 7.6; pectoral-fin
length 15.1; pelvic-fin length 9.4; interorbital width 5.7;
upper-jaw length 22.3; mandibular length 20.0; lengthfrom supramaxilla end to maxilla end 1.9; 1st unbrancheddorsal-fin ray length 1.4; 2nd unbranched dorsal-fin ray
length 6.3; 1st unbranched anal-fin ray length 1.2; 1stpectoral-fin ray length 15.1; 1st pelvic-fin ray length 9.4.
The following morphometrics are expressed as percentage
of HL: orbit diameter 27.7; eye diameter 20.6; snout length
17.7; D–P1 (distance from dorsal-fin origin to pectoral-fin
insertion) 94.4; D–P2 (distance from dorsal-fin origin topelvic-fin insertion) 60.5; D–A (distance from dorsalfin origin to anal-fin origin) 69.4; P1–P2 (distance frompectoral-fin insertion to pelvic-fin insertion) 61.5; P2–A
(distance from pelvic-fin insertion to anal-fin origin) 57.6;
postorbital length 52.9; width of ventral urohyal 4.3.

Table 1. Meristics of specimens of Encrasicholina macrocephala.
This study

Standard length (SL; mm)

Hata and Motomura (2015)

Nontype
Somalia
USNM 306070

Holotype
Djibouti
MNHN 2014-0152

Paratypes
Djibouti and Omann = 16

58.7

44.6

42.3–55.7

Counts
Dorsal-fin rays (unbranched)

3

3

3

Dorsal-fin rays (branched)

10

11

10–11

Anal-fin rays (unbranched)

3

3

3

Anal-fin rays (branched)

14

15

14–16

Pectoral-fin rays (unbranched)

1

1

1

Pectoral-fin rays (branched)

12

11

10–13

Pelvic-fin rays (unbranched)

1

1

1

Pelvic-fin rays (branched)

6

6

6

Caudal-fin rays (upper + lower)

19

19

19

Gill rakers on 1st gill arch (upper)

18

19

17–20

Gill rakers on 1st gill arch (lower)

22

23

21–25

Gill rakers on 1st gill arch (total)

40

42

40–45

Gill rakers on 2nd gill arch (upper)

15

15

13–17

Gill rakers on 2nd gill arch (lower)

22

21

20–22

Gill rakers on 2nd gill arch (total)

37

36

33–38

Gill rakers on 3rd gill arch (upper)

12

12

11–13

Gill rakers on 3rd gill arch (lower)

12

13

11–13

Gill rakers on 3rd gill arch (total)

24

25

22–26

Gill rakers on 4th gill arch (upper)

10

10

9–12

Gill rakers on 4th gill arch (lower)

10

10

9–11

Gill rakers on 4th gill arch (total)

20

20

18–23

Gill rakers on posterior face of 3rd gill arch

8

6

5–8

Prepelvic scutes

5

5

5–6

Lateral-line scales

39

39

39–41

Pseudobranch filaments

18

16

15–18

Hata and Motomura | Encrasicholina macrocephala from Somalia

49

Figure 2. Encrasicholina macrocephala, USNM 306070, 58.7 mm SL; Somalia (preserved).

Table 2. Morphometric of specimens of Encrasicholina macrocephala.
This study

Hata and Motomura (2015)

Non-type
Somalia
USNM 306070

Holotype
Djibouti
MNHN 2014-0152

Paratypes
Djibouti and Omann = 16

58.7

44.6

42.3–55.7

Head Length

29.5

31.3

29.5–31.7

Body depth

16.4

16.4

14.0–16.4

Predorsal length

54.6

54.9

51.1–55.5

Snout tip to pectoral-fin insertion

30.3

31.5

30.2–32.6

Snout tip to pelvic-fin insertion

43.4

49.6

45.8–51.3

Snout to anal-fin origin

65.6

66.9

64.5–70.9

Length of dorsal-fin base

12.3

11.8

10.7–12.7

Length of anal-fin base

16.0

17.0

13.9–17.2

Length of caudal peduncle

19.9

17.4

16.9–20.1

Depth of caudal peduncle

7.6

7.9

7.6–8.7

Pectoral-fin length

15.1

broken14.8–16.2

Pelvic-fin length

9.4

9.2

8.5–10.4

Interorbital width

5.7

6.0

5.8–6.5

Upper-jaw length

22.3

21.3

21.6–23.5

Mandibular length

20.0

19.8

19.5–21.2

Supramaxilla end to maxilla end

1.9

1.3

1.7–2.6

1st unbranched dorsal-fin ray

1.4

1.0

0.6–1.3

2nd unbranched dorsal-fin ray

6.3

broken4.6–7.3

3rd unbranched dorsal-fin ray

brokenbroken14.4–18.2
0.5–1.0

Standard length (SL; mm)
Measurements (% of SL)

1st unbranched anal-fin ray

1.2

1.0

2nd unbranched anal-fin ray

brokenbroken3.0–4.5

3rd unbranched anal-fin ray

brokenbroken9.8–12.1

1st pectoral-fin ray

15.1

broken15.2–16.2

1st pelvic-fin ray

9.4

broken8.1–10.4

Length of orbit

27.7

28.9

26.9–31.9

Length of eye

20.6

21.9

21.9–25.3

Snout length

17.7

18.0

16.8–18.5

D–P1

94.4

86.3

83.2–95.2

D–P2

60.5

53.6

48.0–55.2

D–A

69.4

62.9

59.3–71.8

P1–P2

61.5

52.5

51.4–70.1

P2–A

57.6

57.2

53.6–62.6

Postorbital length of the head

52.9

51.4

51.1–55.6

Width of urohyal

4.3

1.5

1.0–4.8

Measurements (% of HL)

Body cylindrical, elongate, deepest at dorsal-fin origin. Dorsal profile of head and body slightly convex fromsnout tip to dorsal-fin origin, straight along dorsal-finbase. Ventral profile of head and body slightly convex
from lower-jaw tip to pelvic-fin insertion, slightly convex to straight from pelvic-fin origin to anal-fin origin,50

and almost straight along anal-fin base. Dorsal and ventral profiles of caudal peduncle slightly concave. Bellyslightly rounded, covered by 5 sharp needle-like scutes
anterior to insertion of pelvic fins. Postpelvic and predorsal scutes absent. Anus situated just anterior to anal-finbase. Caudal peduncle compressed; its depth greater thaneye diameter. Head large, compressed. Snout tip rounded;
snout length less than orbit diameter. Interorbital width
less than orbit diameter. Mouth inferior, ventral to bodyaxis; large, extending backward beyond posterior margin of eye. Lower jaw slender, shorter than upper jaw,
93.0% (89.4–94.9%) of upper-jaw length. Posterior tip ofmaxilla pointed, projecting beyond second supra-maxilla
and reaching to interopercular margin. Single row ofconical teeth on each jaw and on palatines. Small conical teeth on vomer. Eye lateral on head, located dorsal
to horizontal through pectoral-fin insertion; eye large,
covered with adipose eyelid; visible in dorsal and ventral views. Eye and pupil round. Orbit elliptical. Nostrils
close to each other, positioned anterior to orbit. Posterior
margin of preopercle smooth. Subopercle with rounded
posterior margin. Opercular membrane without serrations. Interorbital space flat. Pseudobranchial filaments
present; length of longest filament less than eye diameter.
Posterior frontal fontanelles on top of head near occiput
open. Gill rakers long and slender, rough; visible fromside of head when mouth opened. Distance between
pectoral-fin and pelvic-fin insertions subequal to distance
between pelvic-fin insertion and anal-fin origin. Isthmus
muscle short, not reaching anteriorly to posterior borderof gill membrane, preceded by exposed urohyal between
gill membranes. Gill membrane not broadly joined overisthmus. No scales on head. Lateral line absent. No scales
on fins except for broad triangular sheath on caudal fin.
Dorsal-fin origin posterior to vertical through base oflast pelvic-fin ray, slightly posterior to middle of body.
Dorsal-fin base short, its length 76.9% of anal-fin baselength. Dorsal and anal fins with three anteriormost
rays unbranched. First dorsal-fin ray and first anal-fin
ray minute. Three anteriormost dorsal-fin rays and three
anteriormost anal-fin rays closely spaced. Posterior tip
of depressed dorsal fin reaching to vertical through analfin origin. Anal-fin origin posterior to vertical throughbase of last dorsal-fin ray. Posterior tip of depressed anal
fin not reaching to caudal-fin base. Caudal fin forked.
Uppermost pectoral-fin ray unbranched, inserted below
midline of body. Posterior tip of pectoral fin not reaching to vertical through pelvic-fin origin. Pelvic fin shorter
than pectoral fin; pelvic-fin insertion anterior to verticalat dorsal-fin origin. Posterior tip of depressed pelvic finreaching vertical through base of 8th dorsal-fin ray, notreaching to anus.
Color of preserved specimen. Head and body almost
uniformly pale brown.
Remarks. The Somalian specimen was identified as E.
macrocephala on the basis of the following combination of characters, which closely matched the diagnostic

Check List 13 (4)features given by Hata and Motomura (2015): dorsal andanal fins with three unbranched rays; total pectoral-fin
rays 13; pseudobranchial filaments 18; gill rakers 18 inupper series on 1st gill arch, 22 in lower series, 40 intotal; gill rakers 15 in upper series on 2nd gill arch, 22 inlower series, 37 in total; gill rakers 12 in upper series on
3rd gill arch, 12 in lower series, 24 in total; gill rakers 10
in upper series on 4th gill arch, 10 in lower, 20 in total;
prepelvic scutes 5; head large, length 29.5% of SL; upper
jaw long, length 22.3% of SL, posterior tip reaching tointeropercular margin; lower jaw long, length 20.0% of
SL; D–P1 short, 94.4% of HL.
In addition, the meristics and morphometrics of thepresent specimen greatly agree with those of E. macro­
cephala given by Hata and Motomura (2015) (Tables 1,2). Nine species are attributed to the genus Encrasicho­
lina (Hata and Motomura 2015, 2016a, 2016b, 2017).
Encrasicholina macrocephala can be distinguished fromE. gloria Hata & Motomura, 2016, E. intermedia Hata
& Motomura, 2016, E. oligobranchus (Wongratana,1983), E. punctifer Fowler, 1938, and E. purpurea(Fowler, 1900) by its long upper jaw, with posterior tip
extending beyond the posterior margin of the preopercle(vs. posterior tip of upper jaw not reaching to posterior
margin of preopercle in the other 5 species; Whitehead
et al. 1988, Wongratana et al. 1999; Hata and Motomura
2015, Hata and Motomura 2016b). Encrasicholina mac­
rocephala differs from E. pseudoheteroloba in having
the dorsal and anal fins with 3 unbranched rays (vs. 2
unbranched rays). This species resembles E. heteroloba(Rüppell 1837) and E. auster Hata & Motomura, 2017
in having its long upper jaw, with posterior tip reaching to or extending beyond the posterior margin of thepreopercular margin, and the dorsal and anal fins with
3 unbranched rays. Encrasicholina macrocephala can be
distinguished from the latter 2 species in having a longer
head (29.5%–31.7% vs. 24.9–28.9% in E. heteroloba and29.1–29.2% in E. auster). Detailed comparisons amongthe 3 species were given in Hata and Motomura (2015, E.
heteroloba was treated as E. devisi; 2017).

Discussion
Encrasicholina macrocephala has been recorded only
from Djibouti and the Batina Coast, Oman (Hata andMotomura 2015). The present specimen represents thefirst record of the species from Somalian waters andsuggests that it is widely distributed in the northwestern
Indian Ocean.
Distributional range of a related species, Encrasicho­
lina gloria partly overlaps with that of E. macrocephala(Hata and Motomura 2016a). Encrasicholina intermedia
Hata & Motomura, 2016, the probable sister species ofE. gloria, is distributed off the eastern coast of Africa
and the western coast of India, but with these species notoccurring sympatrically (Hata and Motomura 2016a).
In addition, several clupeiform species in the northern
Indian Ocean, such as Herklotsichthys lossei Wongratana,

Hata and Motomura | Encrasicholina macrocephala from Somalia

1983, known only from the Persian Gulf, H. punctatusfrom the Red Sea, and Nematalosa arabica Regan, 1917
from the Gulf of Aden to Oman Bay, do not occur along
the east coast of Africa (Whitehead 1985). Judging fromthe distributional patterns of the above-mentioned species, E. macrocephala is not likely to occur southwardfrom Kenya along the east coast of Africa. In addition,
since E. gloria and H. punctatus have been reported from
the Mediterranean Sea following Lessepsian migration(Whitehead 1985, Hata and Motomura 2016a), E. mac­
rocephala, which is expected to occur in the Red Sea,
may also be collected in the Mediterranean Sea in the
future. Because E. macrocephala was recently described
as a new (Hata and Motomura 2015), information on its
biology and distribution is limited; additional specimens
and data for this species are required.

Acknowledgements
We are especially grateful to J. Williams and D. Pitassy(USNM) for opportunities to examine specimens, andthank G. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand), who readthe manuscript and provided help with English. This
study was supported in part by a Sasakawa Scientific
Research Grant from the Japan Science Society (28-745);
a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science JSPS Fellows (DC2: 29-6652); JSPS
KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP26241027, JP24370041,
JP23580259, and JP26450265; the JSPS Core-to-Core
Program: B Asia-Africa Science Platforms; the “Coastal
Area Capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia Project” of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature,
Kyoto, Japan; the “Biological Properties of Biodiversity
Hotspots in Japan” project of the National Museum of
Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan; and “Establishmentof Research and Education Network on Biodiversity
and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands” project ofKagoshima University, adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

51

Authors’ Contributions
HH collected the data and made the analysis, HH and HM
wrote the text.

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