Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. A, 35(4), pp. 243–248, December 22, 2009First Records of Two Ophidiid Fishes, Glyptophidium argenteum and
G. lucidum, from Japan (Actinopterygii, Teleostei, Ophidiiformes)
Masanori Nakae and Keiichi Matsuura
Collection Center, National Museum of Nature and Science,
3–23–1 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169–0073 Japan
E-mail: nakae@kahaku.go.jp (MN), matsuura@kahaku.go.jp (KM)

Abstract Two specimens of Glyptophidium argenteum Alcock, 1889 and G. lucidum Smith andRadcliffe in Radcliffe, 1913, collected from Suruga Bay, Japan, were recently found in the collection of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. The specimens represent the firstrecords from Japan and the northernmost records of the two species. Descriptions and photographsof the Japanese specimens are provided.
Key words : Actinopterygii, Ophidiiformes, Ophidiidae, Glyptophidium argenteum, Glyptophidium lucidum, first record, Japan.

Introduction
The deep-water fishes of the genus Glyptophidium Alcock, 1889 are distributed in the
Indo-West Pacific from East Africa to Hawaii(Nielsen et al., 1999). Nielsen and Machida(1988) reviewed the genus and recognized 7
species: G. argenteum Alcock, 1889; G. macropus Alcock, 1894; G. lucidum Smith and Radcliffe in Radcliffe, 1913; G. oceanium Smith andRadcliffe in Radcliffe, 1913; G. japonicum
Kamohara, 1936; G. longipes Norman, 1939 andG. effulgens Nielsen and Machida, 1988. They
classified these species into two species-groups,
the argenteum and macropus species-groups. The
argenteum species-group comprises G. argenteum, G. lucidum and G. effulgens, and themacropus species-group is composed of G.
macropus, G. oceanium, G. japonicum and G.
longipes. The macropus species-group is characterized by having 2 pelvic-fin rays (vs. 1 in theargenteum species-group), 2 median basibranchial tooth patches (1), and 12–13 precaudal
vertebrae (11) (see Nielsen and Machida, 1988
for detail). In Japan, only 2 species of Glyptophidium, G. japonicum and G. oceanium havebeen reported (Nielsen and Machida, 1988;

Nakabo, 2002).
Specimens of G. argenteum and G. lucidum
collected from Suruga Bay, Japan, were recently
found in the fish collection of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. These specimens represent the first records from Japanesewaters and the northernmost records of these
species. In this paper, the two specimens are described below.
Materials and Methods
Counts and measurements follow Hubbs andLagler (1958). Morphometric characters are expressed in percentage of head and preanal length,
owing to the lack of a complete tail in many
specimens. Although most specimens examinedin this study have an incomplete tail, total length(except for regenerated caudal-fin rays) was
shown as standard length, because that measure
was used in the review of the genus (Nielsen andMachida, 1988). It was difficult for us to clearly
distinguish the undeveloped gill rakers on the anterior arch because the gill rakers on the anteriorarch gradually decrease anteriorly in length (seefigures of Nielsen and Machida, 1988), the lower
small (i.e., undeveloped) rakers being defined as

244

Masanori Nakae and Keiichi Matsuura

those on the hypobranchial (see Table 1). Institutional abbreviations follow Leviton et al. (1985).
Taxonomic Account
Glyptophidium argenteum Alcock, 1889
[New Japanese name: Shirogane-choman](Figs. 1–2)

Material examined. NSMT-P 78388 [93.4+mm standard length (SL)], off Heda, Suruga Bay,
Honshu, Japan, 300–400 m, bottom trawl, 1 Apr.
1986.
Description. Meristic and morphometric characters are shown in Table 1. Head scaleless withskeletal thin crests; mouth large, and posterior
margin of maxilla slightly over the level below
the posterior eye margin; numerous granularteeth on premaxilla, dentary, vomer, palatine andectopterygoid; eye large and subcircular; orbit di-ameter slightly greater than snout length; opercular spine broad and weak; dorsal fin origin close
to head; dorsal-fin rays longer than corresponding anal-fin rays; pectoral-fin rays broken, butposterior margin of fin reaching level above anus;
anal-fin origin just posterior to anus; pelvic-fin
ray threadlike and long, reaching above anal-fin
origin; tail long, slender and attenuate; caudal fin
broken with regenerated rays.
Gill rakers thin and long with numerous spinules (Fig. 2A); raker on angle between epi- andceratobranchial in anterior arch without knob on
inner surface; numerous granular teeth on basibranchial tooth plate; sagitta large and subcircular outline with deep incision in the dorsal rim(Fig. 2B); sulcus long, reaching near the anterior
and posterior rims of the sagitta.
Color in alcohol. Head and body brown; dorsal surface of head and dorsal fin base with dark

Fig. 1. Glyptophidium argenteum, NSMT-P 78388, 93.4mm SL, off Heda, Suruga Bay, Honshu, Japan,
300–400 m, bottom trawl, 1 Apr. 1986.

Fig. 2. Gill raker (A) and sagitta (B) of Glyptophidium argenteum, NSMT-P 78388. A, gill raker on angle between epi- and ceratobranchial in left anterior arch; B, medial view of right sagitta.

Specimens

Specieslong and thin

Condition of gill rakers* Posterior end of tail lacking.

60–68.3 (55–74)

27.1–30.6 (21.5–28.5)
66.4–81.0 (66–91)
56.4–67.1 (52–69)

In % of preanal length
Head length

In % of head length
Orbit diameter
Body depth at dorsal fin origin
Body depth at anal fin origin

G. effulgens
3 type specimens fromUSNM and ZMUC

G. lucidum
20 specimens fromUSNM and ZMUC

long and thin

63.6–65.9 (—)

28.5–29.3 (29–31)
76.2–76.8 (78–81)
62.8–65.4 (63–65)

short and robust

56.7–66.1 (53–66)

31.4–34.6 (31.5–40.5)
71.9–81.3 (75–88)
57.5–70.3 (61–77)

133.8*–243.8* (127–287) 200.6*–227.5 (202–228) 91.1*–211* (115–196)
143–155 (140–158)
107*–144* (141)133–140 (133–146)
118–130 (114–133)
89*–122* (124–125)
110–122 (109–122)
20–22 (20–24)
21–22 (21–22)
23–26 (23–26)
1 (1)
1 (1)
1 (1)
6 (6–7)— (—)
7–8 (7–8)
1–4+17–21+4–7
1–3+18–19+6
1–4+17–20+5–7(0–5+17–23+3–8)(1–3+19+5–6)(0–3+14–20+4–9)
24–28 (23–31)
25–27 (25–28)
24–28 (23–27)
1 (1)
1 (1)
1 (1)
11 (11–12)
11 (11)
11 (11)
78–79 (74–85)
51*–74 (73–74)
72–73 (70–81)
3–4 (2–4)
3 (3)
3–4 (3–4)
19–21 (18–23)
19–21 (20–21)
19–23 (20–24)
13–15 (13–16)
13–14 (13–14)
13–15 (12–15)
7–12 (7–12)
7–9 (7–8)
12–15 (11–15)

G. argenteum
15 specimens fromUSNM and ZMUC

long and thin

65.3

short and robust

57.5

33
80.9
69.1

24
1
11
68*
3
20
14
11

24
1
11
72*
3
21
14
12
29
76.9
66.3

149.1*
135*
110*
24
1
—
1+18+5

NSMT-P 48338

G. lucidum

93.4*
135*
114*
24
1
—
1+18+5

NSMT-P 78388

G. argenteum

Meristic and morphometric characters of 3 species of Glyptophidium (argenteum species-group) fishes. Data from Nielsen and Machida (1988) in parentheses.

Standard length (mm)Dorsal-fin rays
Anal-fin rays
Pectoral-fin rays
Pelvic-fin rays
Caudal-fin rays
Gill rakers on anterior arch:dorsal smalllongventral small
Total gill rakers on anterior archMedian basibranchial tooth patch
Precaudal vertebrae
Caudal vertebrae
Dorsal-fin origin above vertebra number
Anal-fin origin below dorsal-ray number
Anal-fin origin below vertebra number
Pseudobranchial filaments

Table 1.

First Records of Glyptophidium argenteum and G. lucidum from Japan
245

246

Masanori Nakae and Keiichi Matsuura

pigmentation; peritoneum dark; membranes offins transparent.
Distribution. Western Bay of Bengal eastward
to northern Philippines, southward to Sulawesi(Nielsen and Machida, 1988), and northward to
Suruga Bay, Japan (this study).
Remarks. Within the argenteum species-group,
meristic and morphometric characters of all 3
species are mostly overlapping (Table 1). Although our specimen was lacking the posterior
end of the tail, which made it impossible to obtain the exact counts of dorsal and anal fin raysand vertebrae, it was provisionally identified as
G. argenteum by the following combination ofcharacters: 24 pectoral-fin rays, 12 pseudobranchial filaments, long and thin gill rakers, andproportional relationship between orbit diameterand body depth at anal-fin origin (Fig. 3). Glyptophidium argenteum has been reported primarily
from seas around Southeast Asia (Nielsen andMachida, 1988). The present specimen represents the first record from Japan and the northernmost record of the species.

Oct. 1995.
Description. Meristic and morphometric characters are shown in Table 1. Most features of thespecimen are the same as in G. argenteum(NSMT-P 78388). Head scaleless with skeletal
thin crests; mouth large, and posterior margin of
maxilla reaching level below the posterior eye
margin; numerous granular teeth in premaxilla,
dentary, vomer, palatine and ectopterygoid; eyelarge, slightly elliptic horizontally; orbit diameter
greater than snout length; opercular spine broad
and weak; dorsal-fin origin close to head; dorsalfin rays longer than corresponding anal-fin rays;
anal-fin origin below the posterior pectoral-fin
margin; pelvic-fin ray threadlike and long, reach-

Glyptophidium lucidum Smith and Radcliffe in
Radcliffe, 1913
[New Japanese name: Sukashi-choman](Figs. 4–5)

Material examined. NSMT-P 48338 (149.1
mm SL), South Senoumi Bank (34°4537N,
138°2932E–34°4558N, 138°2823E), Suruga
Bay, Honshu, Japan, 240–410 m, bottom trawl, 4Fig. 3. Relationship between orbit diameter andbody depth at anal fin origin in Glyptophidium
argenteum and G. lucidum. Three damaged
specimens (1 argenteum, 2 lucidum) are excluded. Abbreviations: BDA, body depth atanal-fin origin; HL, head length; OD, orbit diameter; P1, pectoral-fin rays; PSB, pseudobranchial filaments.

Fig. 4. Glyptophidium lucidum, NSMT-P 48338, 149.1mm SL, South Senoumi Bank (34°4537N,
138°2932E–34°4558N, 138°2823E), Suruga Bay, Honshu, Japan, 240–410 m, bottom trawl, 4 Oct.
1995.

First Records of Glyptophidium argenteum and G. lucidum from Japan

247

Fig. 5. Gill raker (A) and sagitta (B) of Glyptophidium lucidum, NSMT-P 48338. A, gill raker on angle between
epi- and ceratobranchial in left anterior arch; B, medial view of right sagitta. Broken line indicate outline ofsulcus.

ing near anus; tail long, slender and attenuate;
caudal fin broken with regenerated rays.
Gill rakers robust and short with numerous
spinules (Fig. 5A); raker on angle between epiand ceratobranchial in anterior arch without knob
on inner surface; numerous granular teeth on basibranchial tooth plate; sagitta large and slightly
rectangle with 3 shallow incisions in the dorsalrim (Fig. 5B); sulcus long, reaching near the anterior and posterior rims of the sagitta.
Color in alcohol. Head and body brown; snout
and dorsal parts of head and anterior half of bodywith dark pigmentation; peritoneum dark; membranes of fins transparent.
Distribution. Suruga Bay, Japan southward tonorthwestern Australia (Nielsen and Machida,
1988; this study).
Remarks. Our specimen was identified as G.
lucidum by the following combination of characters: 24 pectoral-fin rays, 11 pseudobranchial filaments, robust and short gill rakers, and relationship between orbit diameter and body depth atanal-fin origin (Fig. 3). The previous northernmost record of the species was from Taiwan (Yehet al. 2005; however, considering the description,
their specimen may be G. argenteum). The
NSMT-P specimen examined in this study extends the distributional range of the species toJapan.

Comparative Material Examined
Glyptophidium argenteum (15 specimens):
USNM 99057 (205.2243.9 mm SL, 3 specimens), “Albatross” sta. D-5410 (10°2845N,
124°0530E), 704 m, Agassiz trawl, 18 Mar.
1909; USNM 99160 (178.7217.2mm SL,3), “Albatross” sta. 5405 (10°4920N,
124°2423E), 479 m, Agassiz trawl, 17 Mar.
1909; USNM 99179 (170.9–228.7mm SL, 3),“Albatross” sta. D-5373 (13°40N, 121°3110E),
618 m, beam trawl, 2 Mar. 1909; ZMUC P77772P77777 (133.8233.9mm SL, 6), “Galathea” sta. 436 (10°12N, 124°14E), 710 m, sledge
trawl, 9 Aug. 1951.
Glyptophidium effulgens (3 type specimens):
USNM 99158 (200.6mm SL, holotype), “Albatross” sta. D-5410 (10°2845N, 124°0530E),
704 m, bottom trawl, 17 Mar. 1909; USNM
272001 (209.7mm SL, paratype), same data as
holotype; ZMUC P77783 (227.5 mm SL,paratype), same data as holotype.
Glyptophidium lucidum (20 specimens):
USNM 74144 (211.0mm SL, holotype), “Albatross” sta. 5625 (0°7N, 127°28E), 421 m, beam
trawl, 29 Nov. 1909; USNM 99107 (148.7
181.9mm SL, 7, paratypes), “Albatross” sta. D5626 (0°0730N, 127°29E), 485 m, trawl, 29
Nov. 1909; ZMUC P77548 (157.0mm SL,paratype), “Albatross” sta. D-5626 (0°0730N,248

Masanori Nakae and Keiichi Matsuura

127°29E), 485 m, trawl, 29 Nov. 1909; USNM
99272 (91.1195.4 mm SL, 11), “Albatross”
sta. 5625 (0°7N, 127°28E), 421 m, beam trawl,
29 Nov. 1909.
Acknowledgments
We express our sincere thanks to Jeffrey T.
Williams (USNM), Jorgen G. Nielsen andTammes Menne (ZMUC) for the loan of specimens. We thank Edward O. Murdy for criticallyreading the manuscript and offering helpful comments and Yoshihiko Machida (Koch University)and Gento Shinohara (NSMT) for their usefulcomments. We also thank Yoshiharu Fukui(Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology) for his help in obtaining literature. This
study was partially supported by Grant in Aids
for Scientific Research (A) by the Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science, Japan (19208019).
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