Biogeography 15.
45–48．Aug. 20, 2013

First Records of the Eightfinger Threadfin, Filimanus sealei(Perciformes: Polynemidae), from Indonesia
Satokuni Tashiro1, Teguh Peristiwady2 and Hiroyuki Motomura3
1

The Graduate School of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, 4-50-20 Shimoarata,
Kagoshima 890-0056, Japan
2
Technical Implementation Unit for Marine Biota Conservation, Indonesian Institute of Science,
J1 Tandurusa, Kel. Kotamadya Bitung 95227, Indonesia
3
The Kagoshima University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, JapanAbstract. Four specimens (101.6–106.5 mm standard length) of Filimanus sealei (Jordan & Richardson,1910), previously known from the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Taiwan, were collected from Bitung, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The four specimens, describedherein, represent the first records of this species from Indonesia. These new records suggest that F. sealei iswidely distributed in the tropical western Pacific Ocean.
Key words: Sulawesi, Bitung, Filimanus, distribution, record.

Introduction
The polynemid fish genus Filimanus Myers, 1936
contains six species, and is characterized by a largeeye, the width of the teeth bands on the upper andlower jaws narrower than the space between the teeth
bands on the opposing premaxila, the basisphenoid
not in contact with the prootic, and the pectoral fin
insertion well below the lateral midline of the body
(Feltes, 1991; Motomura, 2004a).
During ichthyofaunal surveys of Bitung, North
Sulawesi, Indonesia (e.g., Motomura & Peristiwady,2010, 2012), four specimens of Filimanus were collected and identified as Filimanus sealei (Jordan &Richardson, 1910). These specimens represent thefirst records of the species from Indonesia, and aredescribed herein.
Counts and measurements generally followed
Feltes (1991). Measurements were made to the nearest 0.1 mm with needle-point calipers. Standard
length is expressed as SL. Curatorial procedures forthe collected specimens followed Motomura & Ishikawa (2013). Specimens from Indonesia examinedin this study have been deposited at the Kagoshima*Corresponding author: motomura@kaum.kagoshima-u.ac.jp

University Museum, Japan (KAUM). Other institutional abbreviations used in the text are as follows:
the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA (ANSP) and the BiodiversityResearch Museum, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan(ASIZP).
Filimanus sealei (Jordan & Richardson, 1910)(Fig. 1; Table 1)
Polydactylus opercularis Seale & Bean, 1907: 234(type locality: Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines; junior secondary homonym of Trichidion
opercularis Gill, 1863).
Polydactylus sealei Jordan & Richardson, 1910: 16(replacement name for P. opercularis Seale &Bean).
Filimanus sealei; Feltes 1991: 319 (Philippines,New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and Solomon Islands); Motomura, 2004a (listed nameonly); Motomura 2004b: 27, fig. 53, pl. I, g (Philippines, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, andSolomon Islands); Shao et al., 2010: 808 (Taiwan;based on a specimen).
Material examined. KAUM–I. 43957, 101.6mm SL; KAUM–I. 43958, 106.5 mm SL; KAUM–− 45 −

First Records of Filimanus sealei from Indonesia

Table 1. Counts and measurements, expressed as percentages of standard length, of Filimanus sealei. Modes ormeans in parentheses.

Standard length (mm)Counts
Dorsal-fin rays
Anal-fin rays
Pectoral-fin rays
Pectoral filaments
Gill rakers
Lateral-line scales
Scales above / below lateral linePreopercle serrations
Measurements (% of SL)
Head length
Body depth
Second body depth
Body width
Pre-1st-dorsal-fin lengthPre-2nd-dorsal-fin lengthPre-anal-fin length
Origin of 1st dorsal fin to origin of anal fin
Origin of pelvic-fin to origin of anal fin
Base of second dorsal fin
Base of anal fin
Pectoral-fin length
Length of longest pectoral filament (3rd or 4th)
Pelvic-fin length
Length of longest 1st dorsal-fin spine
Length of 2nd dorsal-fin spine
Length of longest 2nd dorsal-fin ray
Length of longest anal-fin spine (3rd)Length of longest anal-fin ray
Caudal-peduncle length
Caudal-peduncle depth
Caudal-peduncle width
Caudal lobe length
Snout length
Eye diameter
Upper-jaw lengthInterorbital length
Postorbital length
Depth above pectoral fin
Depth below pectoral fin
Gill-raker length1

including holotype of Polydactylus sealei.

− 46 −

This study
Indonesia
n=4
101.6–106.5

Feltes (1991)
Western Pacificn = 141
59.3–147.5

XIII-I, 12III, 11148
44–50
48–50 (50)
6 / 10
26–29 (27)XIII-I, 11–12 (12)III, 11
14–15 (14)
7–8 (8)40–48 (46)46–50 (49)
6–7 (7) / 9–10 (10)17–34 (21)30.9–32.3 (31.8)
29.3–30.8 (30.3)
30.8–32.9 (32.1)
12.6–13.7 (13.3)
35.3–36.7 (35.9)
59.6–61.9 (60.6)
60.6–63.9 (61.9)
41.6–44.3 (42.9)
24.8–26.6 (25.6)
18.0–18.9 (18.4)
18.1–18.9 (18.5)
24.5–25.5 (25.1)
45.4–48.0 (47.0)
18.7–20.8 (20.0)
23.5–25.7 (24.4)
10.1–11.2 (10.8)
25.3–26.5 (26.0)
8.9–10.8 (10.2)
21.2–22.2 (21.8)
24.1–27.0 (25.3)
14.6–15.1 (14.9)
4.4–5.3 (4.7)
39.4–42.8 (41.4)
6.1–6.6 (6.2)
7.0–8.8 (7.9)
15.0–15.9 (15.6)
8.5–8.9 (8.7)
17.6–18.4 (18.0)
23.2–24.7 (24.1)
7.7–9.6 (8.6)
6.3–7.0 (6.5)

29.3–33.5 (31.6)
28.6–34.7 (32.3)
27.7–34.8 (32.4)
9.4–15.6 (13.5)
35.5–39.1 (37.0)
58.5–61.8 (60.5)
57.9–68.0 (63.4)
41.8–46.1 (44.0)
20.9–29.1 (24.4)
14.8–19.6 (17.2)
16.5–19.6 (18.1)
23.6–28.4 (25.4)
36.6–54.8 (41.8)
17.6–20.5 (19.0)
19.4–25.0 (22.0)
8.3–13.2 (10.0)
18.8–27.6 (23.4)
6.8–12.1 (9.8)
15.9–23.8 (20.4)
23.7–28.3 (26.0)
14.3–15.9 (15.1)
3.5–5.8 (4.8)
33.3–42.0 (37.8)
5.2–7.3 (6.1)
7.2–10.1 (8.4)
14.2–16.2 (15.5)
7.9–9.5 (8.9)
15.8–18.7 (17.7)
22.6–28.4 (26.0)
6.6–11.0 (8.5)
5.7–7.1 (6.5)

Satokuni Tashiro, Teguh Peristiwady and Hiroyuki Motomura

Fig. 1.

Fresh specimen of Filimanus sealei. KAUM–I. 43957, 101.6 mmstandard length, off Bitung, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

I. 43959, 101.6 mm SL; KAUM–I. 43960, 105.8 mm
SL, all off Bitung, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, 11Dec. 2011, purchased at Girian Market, Bitung by H.
Motomura, T. Peristiwady, and S. Kimura.
Diagnosis. A species of Filimanus with the following combination of characters: eight pectoral
filaments; pectoral filaments not extending beyond
level of midpoint of anal-fin base; 11 anal-fin softrays; 46–50 gill rakers; depth of posterior margin ofmaxilla less than eye diameter.
Description. Counts and proportional measurements are given in Table 1. Body oblong, compressed; maxilla covered with scales; lip on lower
jaw well-developed; posterior margin of maxilla extending beyond vertical through posterior margin of
adipose eyelid; depth of posterior margin of maxilla
less than eye diameter; posterior margin of preopercle with 26–29 serrations; dentary teeth restricted
to dorsal surface; teeth villiform in narrow bands on
palatines and ectopterygoids; all pectoral-fin rays unbranched, inserted lower than midline of body; posterior tip of pectoral fin just reaching to anus; pectoral filaments eight, fourth filament longest, its tip
extending beyond level of anal-fin origin; all basesof first dorsal-fin spines of similar thickness; lateralline simple, extending from upper end of gill opening to mid-distal margin of caudal-fin membrane;
caudal fin deeply forked, upper and lower caudal-fin
lobes not filamentous.

Color when fresh (Fig. 1). Head and body grayish
black dorsally, whitish ventrally; first dorsal fin grayish with black margin; second dorsal, anal, and caudal fins pale yellow with blackish margins; pectoral
fin white basally, black posteriorly; pelvic fin black.
Remarks. The four specimens from Indonesia
are identified as Filimanus sealei on the basis of following combination of characters: eight pectoral filaments; pectoral fin filaments not extending beyond
level of midpoint of anal-fin base; 11 anal-fin softrays; 46–50 gill rakers; depth of posterior margin of
maxilla less than eye diameter. These characters of
the present specimens agree well with the diagnostic characters of F. sealei given by Feltes (1991),
except for 46–50 gill rakers (vs. 40–48 in Feltes,1991). Some morphometric data for the Indonesian
specimens of F. sealei also differ from those for
specimens from the Philippines, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands givenby Feltes (1991): the length of longest 1st dorsal-fin
spine [23.5–25.7% (mean 24.4%) of SL vs. 19.4–
25.0% (22.0%) in Feltes, 1991] and caudal-lobe
length [39.4–42.8% (41.4%) of SL vs. 33.3–42.0%(37.8%)]. These minor differences are regarded
herein as intraspecific variation of F. sealei.
Filimanus sealei has been recorded from theSolomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua
New Guinea, the Philippines (Feltes, 1991: fig. 10;
Motomura, 2004b: fig. 54), and Taiwan (Shao et al.,− 47 −

First Records of Filimanus sealei from Indonesia2010). Shao et al. (2010) listed F. sealei on the Taiwan species checklist, but provided no literature orspecimens for the basis of their record. This Taiwanese record was most likely based on a single specimen (ASIZP 70173, 123 mm SL, Taitung, Taiwan,22°29′N, 120°08′E, H.-C. Ho, 6 May 2007) deposited at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. The identification of the specimen was confirmed by the thirdauthor in 2008. A single specimen (ANSP 123498,107.9 mm SL) supposedly collected from Western
Australia in 1950, lacks detailed locality and othercollection data (Feltes, 1991; Motomura, 2004b).
The presence of this species in Australian waters remains unconfirmed (Motomura, 2004b). The presentspecimens from Bitung, North Sulawesi, representthe first records of F. sealei from Indonesia.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Y. Haraguchi, M. Ito, and K.
Uchimura (KAUM), and G. Ogihara, M. Meguro, M.
Matsunuma, T. Yoshida, H. Nishiyama, and H. Iwatsubo (KAUM fish laboratory) for their kind curatorial assistance, and G. Yearsley (Ellipsis Editing) forchecking an early version of manuscript. This study
was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific
Research (B, 24370041 and C, 23580259) from theJapan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo,
Japan (JSPS), a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B,19770067) from the Ministry of Education, Science,Sports and Culture, Tokyo, Japan, JSPS Asian Core
Program Establishment of Research and Education
Network on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast
Asia , JSPS International Training Program Protect Diversity of Bioresources in the Tropical Area ,and the Coastal Area Capability Enhancement inSoutheast Asia Project of the Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.

References
Feltes, R. M., 1991. Revision of the polynemid fish
genus Filimanus, with the description of two new
species. Copeia, 1991: 302–322.

Gill, T. N., 1863. Descriptive enumeration of a collection of fishes from western coast of Central
America, presented to the Smithsonian Institutionby Captain John M. Dow. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Phila., 15: 162–174.
Jordan, D. S. & Richardson, R. E., 1910. Check-listof the species of fishes known from the Philippine
Archipelago. Dept. Interior, Bur. Sci., Manila.
Pub., (1): 1–78.
Motomura, H., 2004a. Family Polynemidae Rafinesque 1815 –– threadfins. Annot. Checklist Fish.,Calif. Acad. Sci., San Francisco, (32): 1–18.
––––––, 2004b. Threadfins of the world (familyPolynemidae) . An annotated and illustrated
catalogue of polynemid species known to date.
FAO species catalogue for fishery purposes No. 3.
FAO, Rome.
–––––– & Ishikawa, S. (eds.), 2013. Fish collectionbuilding and procedures manual. English edition. Kagoshima Univ. Mus., Kagoshima and Res.
Inst. Humanity Nat., Kyoto (available at http://www.museum.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/staff/motomura/
dl_en.html).
–––––– & Peristiwady T., 2010, Scorpaena onaria(Scorpaenidae), previously considered to have anantitropical distribution, found in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia, western central Pacific Ocean.
Biogeography, 12: 127–131.
–––––– & Peristiwady T., 2012, First equatorial records of Neosebastes entaxis and N. longirostris(Scorpaeniformes: Neosebastidae) from northern
Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biogeography, 14: 31–36.
Myers, G. S., 1936. A new polynemid fish collectedin the Sadong River, Sarawak by Dr Williams T.
Hornaday. J. Wash. Acad. Sci., 26: 376–382.
Seale, A. & Bean, B. A., 1907. On a collection offishes from the Philippine Islands, made by Major Edgar A. Mearns, surgeon, US Army, withdescription of seven new species. Proc. US Nat.
Mus., 33: 229–248.
Shao, K.-T., Peng, C.-I. & Wu, W.-J., 2010. Taiwan
species checklist 2010. Academia Sinica, Taipei.
（Received March 18, 2013; Accepted April 24, 2013）− 48 −