Species Diversity 20: 19–22
25 May 2015
DOI: 10.12782/sd.20.1.019

First Japanese Specimen-based Record of
Liopropoma tonstrinum (Teleostei: Serranidae),from Minami-daito Island, Daito Islands, southern Japan
Keita Koeda1,3, Satoru N. Chiba2, and Hiroyuki Motomura1
1 The Kagoshima University Museum, 1-21-30 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan

E-mail: hatampo@gmail.com (KK);

motomura@kaum.kagoshima-u.ac.jp (HM)2 National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0005, Japan

E-mail: chiba_s@kahaku.go.jp
3 Corresponding author(Received 11 September 2014; Accepted 11 April 2015)
A single specimen (25.8 mm standard length) of a serranid fish, Liopropoma tonstrinum Randall and Taylor, 1988, wascollected from Minami-daito Island in the Daito Islands, southern Japan. This species was previously known based on specimens from Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and various islands in the Pacific Ocean, including the Society
Islands, American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Wake Island, as well
as from underwater photographs taken in the Mariana Islands and southern Japan. Thus, the present specimen represents
the first record from Japan based on a voucher specimen, as well as the northernmost specimen-based record of this species
up to now.
Key Words: Liopropoma tonstrinum, Liopropoma multilineatum, Perciformes, new record, voucher specimen, distribution, taxonomy, Daito Islands, Japan.

Introduction
The serranid genus Liopropoma, inhabiting deep to shallow waters, comprises 23 species from the Indo-Pacific
Ocean (Eschmeyer 2014). Of these, 11 species have been recorded from Japanese waters, most of them occurring fromthe Izu Islands to the Ryukyu Archipelago (Senou 2013).
During an ichthyofaunal survey at Minami-daito Island,
Daito Islands (ca. 300 km east of Okinawa Island), southern
Japan, a single specimen of L. tonstrinum Randall and Taylor, 1988 was collected off the island at a depth of 25 m. This
species, one of seven new species of this genus described by
Randall and Taylor (1988), has been recorded from the eastern Indian and Pacific oceans, and the northernmost recordon the basis of voucher specimens has been from Palau.
The Minami-daito specimen is herein described as the first
specimen-based record of L. tonstrinum from Japan and thenorthernmost record of this species.

Materials and Methods
Counts and measurements follow Randall and Taylor(1988). Predorsal, preanal, and prepelvic lengths given in
Randall and Taylor (1988) are described as pre-dorsal-fin,pre-anal-fin, and pre-pelvic-fin lengths, respectively, inthe present paper. Measurements were made to the nearest
0.1 mm with needle-point calipers under a dissecting microscope. Standard and head lengths are abbreviated as SL and

HL, respectively. The morphological description is based on
the specimen collected from Minami-daito Island. Curatori­
al procedures for the collected specimen followed Moto­mura and Ishikawa (2013). The specimen of L. tonstrinum
examined in this study is deposited at the National Museumof Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan (NSMT). The under­
water photographs of L. tonstrinum referred to in this paper
are registered at the Image Database of Fishes in the Kana­
gawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, Odawara,
Japan (KPM-NR). The mitochondrial gene COI (653 bp)
was sequenced following Ivanova et al. (2007), and the seq­
uence is available at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under accession
number AB983160.
Liopropoma tonstrinum Randall and Taylor, 1988
[New standard Japanese name: Borojino-hanasuzuki](Fig. 1)
Liopropoma sp. 1: Allen and Steene 1979: 24 (Christmas Island, Australia).
Liopropoma tonstrinum Randall and Taylor, 1988: 38, pl. 2,
fig. B (holotype locality: Augulpelu Reef, Palau; paratypes
localities: Christmas Island, Australia; Tutuila, American
Samoa; Ono-Ilau Island, Fiji; Pohnpei and Ant Atoll, Micronesia; Kwajalein Atoll and Enewetak Atoll, MarshallIslands); Kulbicki and Williams 1997: 14 (Ouvea Atoll,
New Caledonia); Heemstra and Randall 1999: 2460 (western Pacific); Randall et al. 2002: 159, fig. 4 (Tahiti, Society
Islands); Allen and Adrim 2003: 32 (Sulawesi, Indonesia);
Myers and Donaldson 2003: 618 (Mariana Islands); Lobel© 2015 The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology

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Keita Koeda et al.

Fig. 1. Fresh (A) and alcohol-preserved (B) specimen of Liopropoma tonstrinum. NSMT-P 120483, 25.8 mm SL, off Minami-daito Fishing
Port, Minami-daito Island, Daito Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

and Lobel 2004: 70 (Wake Island); Randall 2005: 172,
lower fig. (Palau); Fricke et al. 2011: 385 (New Caledonia); Allen and Erdmann 2012: 309, upper fig. (Christmas
Island, Australia).
Liopropoma sp.: Myers 1989: 111, pl. 36, fig. D (Guam, Mariana Islands).
Material examined. NSMT-P 120483, 25.8 mm SL,
off Minami-daito Fishing Port (25°52′14″N, 131°13′25″E),
Minami-daito Island, Daito Islands, Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan, 25 m depth, 7 July 2014.
Description. Dorsal fin rays VI-I-I, 12 (first ray unbranched, last branched at base); anal fin rays III, 8 (last ray
branched at base); pectoral fin rays 14 (upper 2 and lower 2
unbranched); pored lateral line scales 46; scale rows above
lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 5; scale rows below lateralline to origin of anal fin 14; circumpeduncular scales 32; gillrakers 5+15.
Following morphometrics expressed as percentages of SL:
body depth 30.0%; body width 12.3%; head length 38.6%;
snout length 9.6%; orbit diameter 10.2%; bony interorbital

width 6.6%; upper jaw length 17.2%; caudal peduncle depth
14.0%; caudal peduncle length 20.3%; pre-dorsal-fin length
47.3%; pre-anal-fin length 66.5%; pre-pelvic-fin length
35.3%; length of dorsal fin base 37.9%; length of first dorsal
fin spine 3.0%; length of second dorsal fin spine 9.3%; lengthof third dorsal fin spine 9.8%; length of longest dorsal fin
ray 20.3%; length of anal fine base 15.0%; length of first anal
fin spine 2.3%; length of second anal fin spine 8.1%; lengthof third anal fin spine 9.0%; length of longest anal fin ray
20.7%; caudal fin length 20.3%; pectoral fin length 25.5%;
length of pelvic fin spine 10.6%; length of longest pelvic fin
ray 23.4%.
Body moderately elongate and compressed; depth of
caudal peduncle slightly less than half of body depth. Headpointed, dorsal profile nearly straight; snout length 4.0 in
HL; orbit diameter 3.8 in HL; interorbital space flat, leastbony width 5.3 in HL. Posterior margin of preopercle slightly irregularly curved, not obviously serrate; 6 small pores
along preopercular margin. Anterior nostril a thin, membranous tube located in front of center of eye and just above
upper lip; posterior nostril an elliptical opening slightly an-Liopropoma tonstrinum from Japan

terior to orbit at level of upper edge of pupil; distance between anterior and posterior nostrils 3.1 times in orbit diameter. Three pores in area between snout and interorbital
space on each side of head.
Mouth large, slightly oblique; lower jaw projecting; posterior margin of maxilla short of vertical drawn through posterior edge of orbit; upper jaw length 2.2 in HL. Villiform
teeth bands on jaws, teeth bands broader anteriorly, particularly in upper jaw with 8 irregular rows of teeth anteriorly and 4 rows posteriorly; in lower jaw, 7 irregular rowsof teeth anteriorly and 3 rows posteriorly; inner teeth except
for those on posterior part of upper jaw notably longer andslender than others; lips smooth.
Lateral line highly arched over middle to tip of pectoralfin, highest point below base of fifth dorsal fin spine. Headnearly fully scaled, only region around nostrils and large
pores on snout naked; 8 diagonal rows of scales on cheekbetween orbit and corner of preopercle; small scales onbasal one-third of second dorsal, anal, and caudal fins.
Origin of dorsal fin above seventh pored lateral-line scale;first dorsal fin spine slender, its base close to base of second
spine; third spine of dorsal fin longest, its length 3.9 in HL;
distinct scaly ridge between dorsal fins; seventh spine clearlyvisible above middle of ridge, its exposed part about half as
long as eighth spine; fifth soft ray of dorsal fin longest, its
length 1.9 in HL. Origin of anal fin below base of third soft
ray of dorsal fin; first spine of anal fin shorter than second
and third spines, its length 4.3 in HL; second soft ray of anal
fin longest, its length 1.9 in HL. Pectoral fins pointed, fifth
ray longest, reaching vertical drawn through base of first
soft ray in dorsal fin; pectoral fin length 1.5 in HL. Origin ofpelvic fin slightly anterior to upper base of pectoral fin; pelvic fin length 1.7 in HL. Caudal fin slightly emarginate withrounded lobes.
Color when fresh—Body dominated by 2 broad longitudinal ocher stripes, these being separated by mid-lateral white
stripe edged with reddish orange; broadest portion of white
stripe almost half as wide as each ocher stripe. Head reddish
orange anteriorly, shading to yellow posteriorly, yellowish
region extending onto thorax and lower abdomen and narrowly along base of first dorsal fin to origin of second dorsal
fin. Lips and chin reddish orange, maxilla yellow. First dorsal fin, and anterior half of second dorsal fin, pectoral fin,pelvic fin, anterior half of anal fin yellowish; caudal fin withbroad extensions of ocher body stripes, remaining part offin whitish.
Color in alcohol—Pale tan with 2 faint dark longitudinal stripes on each side of body; dark stripes separated byground-color stripe, its width subequal to that of dark
stripes. Head white anteriorly, pale yellow posteriorly. Caudal fin with two pale gray stripes; other fins semi-transparent.
Distribution. Currently known from the eastern Indian
Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Specimens have been collectedfrom Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and thefollowing islands in the Pacific Ocean: Tahiti (Society Islands), Tutuila Island (American Samoa), Ono-Ilau Island(Fiji), Ouvea Atoll (New Caledonia), Sulawesi (Indonesia),

21

Augulpelu Reef (Palau), Pohnpei and Ant Atoll (Micronesia), Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands), Wake Island, andMinami-daito Island (Daito Islands) (Randall and Taylor
1988; Kulbicki and Williams 1997; Allen and Adrim 2003;
this study). Underwater photographs of L. tonstrinum havebeen taken at Palau (KPM-NR 99042), Guam and Rota
(Mariana Islands; Myers 1989, KPM-NR 93876), Chichi Island (Ogasawara Islands; KPM-NR 70243, 98690, 156910–
156912), Hachijo Island (Izu Islands; KPM-NR 156628),
and Kume Island (Ryukyu Archipelago; KPM-NR 16408,
22548). Collection data for the species indicate capture
depths from 11 to 50 m, and the photographic record from
Kume Island was taken at a depth of 65 m.
Remarks. Many characteristic of the present specimen
collected from Minami-daito Island are consistent withthose of the holotype and paratypes of L. tonstrinum given
by Randall and Taylor (1988): e.g., VI-I-I, 12 dorsal fin rays;
the seventh dorsal fin spine clearly visible above the interdorsal ridge and about half as long as the eighth spine; 14
pectoral fin rays; 46 lateral-line scales; 5+15 gill rakers; anon-serrate posterior margin of the preopercle; three poreson area between the snout and the interorbital space oneach side of the head; the posterior part of the head, upper
back, and lower abdomen yellowish, without stripes; theanterior part of the head reddish orange. In the following
respects, however, the specimen from Minami-daito Islanddiffers from the type series: circumpeduncular scales (32vs 33–34 in the latter), body width (2.4 in SL vs 1.55–1.8),
snout length (4.5 vs 4.15–4.4), bony interorbital width (5.3
vs 6.3–7.4), length of third dorsal fin spine (3.9 vs 2.45–2.85), and length of third anal fin spine (1.9 vs 2.55–3.15).
These generally small differences in counts and measurements may simply reflect the limited number of specimens
available for study. In addition, a color difference when both
fresh or alive is evident. There are two ocher stripes on theside of the body and the head is reddish-orange in specimen
from Minami-daito Island, whereas the individuals reported by Randall and Taylor (1988), Myers (1989), Randall etal. (2002), Randall (2005), and Allen and Erdmann (2012)
had bright red stripes on the body and either a red or whitehead.
Among its congeners, L. tonstrinum is morphologicallymost similar to L. multilineatum Randall and Taylor, 1988,
sharing the presence of a scaly ridge between the dorsal fins,
the obvious emergence of the seventh dorsal fin spine, threepores in the area between the snout and interorbital spaceon each side of the head, 14 pectoral fin rays, and similarcolor patterns, with reddish-orange and white stripes on thetail, a yellowish body, and a reddish-orange head (Randall
and Taylor 1988). The former can be clearly distinguishedfrom the latter by the non-serrate posterior margin of thepreopercle (vs serrate in L. multilineatum), a more slenderbody outline (body depth 27.0–29.1% of SL vs 28.7–33.9%),
the slightly emarginate caudal fin (vs more deeply emarginate), shorter paired fins (pectoral fin length 25.4–28.3% of
SL, pelvic fin length 22.6–28.0% of SL vs 27.0–30.0% and25.2–28.2% respectively), the lack of a linear color pattern(vs having dark red longitudinal lines following scale rows

Keita Koeda et al.

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on the sides of the body), and the presence of two longitudinal broad, ocher or red stripes on the side of the body posterior to the head (vs two broad, red stripes only on the region
posterior to the insertion of the second dorsal fin).
Although L. tonstrinum has been recorded from the Mariana Islands, the Ogasawara Islands, the Izu Islands, andthe Ryukyu Archipelago on the basis of underwater photographs (see above), the northernmost record of the species
based on a collected specimen was hitherto from Augulepelu Reef, Palau (07°16′N, 134°32′E, BPBM 9531, holotype).
The specimen collected from Minami-daito Island represents the first record of L. tonstrinum from Japan based ona collected voucher specimen and, as well, the northernmost
specimen-based record of the species (an approximately
2,000 km northward range extension).
Minami-daito Island, located 300 km east of Okinawa Island, is one of a handful of isolated oceanic islands in Japan.
Koeda et al. (2013) recently described a new pempherid fish,
Pempheris ufuagari Koeda, Yoshino, and Tachihara, 2013,
from this island, and in the present study L. tonstrinum wascollected during a survey lasting just a few days. These now
finds are indications that the marine biodiversity around
Minami-daito Island is still not well understood, and further
taxonomic studies combined with extensive field surveys
around this island are urgently required.
The proposed Japanese name is a combination of “borojino”, originating from the Russian warship “Borodino” which
first discovered the Daito Islands, and “hanasuzuki”, meaning a fish of the genus Liopropoma. Minami-daito Island wascommonly known as South Borodino Islands in Westerncountries after the Russians discovered it in 1820.

Acknowledgments
We are especially grateful to H. Kohama (Minami-daito Island), K. Kuriiwa (University of the Ryukyus), and T.
Yoshida and S. Tashiro (Kagoshima University) for their
help in field collections and examination of specimens. We
also thank H. Senou (KPM) for the opportunity to examine
underwater photographs. We thank T. Yoshino (Okinawa
Churashima Foundation) for providing several references.
James D. Reimer (University of the Ryukyus) improved theEnglish in the manuscript. This study was supported in partby a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for JSPS Fellows (PD: 26-477) to the first author, a Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research(26650149) to the second author, the JSPS Asian Core Program “Establishment of Research and Education Network
on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia”, the “Coastal
Area Capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia” projectof the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto,
Japan, “Establishment of Research and Education Network
on Biodiversity and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands” project of Kagoshima University adopted by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Tech-

nology, Japan, and the “Biological Properties of Biodiversity
Hotspots in Japan” project of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan.

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