Neobythites japonicus Uiblein & Nielsen 2023, n. sp.
Creators: name: Uiblein, Franz
name: Nielsen, Jørgen G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Ophidiiformes
Ophidiidae
Neobythites
Neobythites japonicus

description: Neobythites japonicus n. sp.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: BF75A602-402D-4F50-B0D2-72E14E75DAFE
Figures 3–4, Tables 1, 3
N. australiensis: Okamoto et al. 2011
Holotype. KAUM -I. 37071, 167 mm SL, female, W Pacific, west of Okinawa Island, Japan, ca. 100 m depth, 16 May 1998.
Diagnosis. Hind margin of preopercle with two spines; dorsal-fin rays 91; anal-fin rays 75; pectoral-fin rays 26; precaudal vertebrae 13; total vertebrae 52; pseudobranchial filaments 6; long rakers on anterior gill arch 11; head length 23% SL; pelvic-fin length 16% SL, fins not reaching anus; orbit length 4.1% SL and 18% HL; longest gill filament 1.6% SL and 7.1% HL; dorsal fin with two ocelli, one smaller ocellus placed close to fin origin, spot distance 29% SL and spot covers 6 dorsal-fin rays, and a larger central ocellus placed behind line through anus, spot distance 46% SL and spot covers 9 dorsal-fin rays; both ocellus spots not extending ventrally onto body; preserved specimens with two dark-brown ocellus spots; no vertical bars on body; otolith length 5.3% SL, sulcus length 4.2% SL, and ostium height 15% sulcus length and 23% ostium length.
Description. The principal meristic and morphometric characters are shown in Table 3. Body elongate with indistinct lateral line; body and head covered by deciduous cycloid scales; origin of dorsal-fin above middle of pectoral-fin; origin of anal fin slightly in front of midpoint of fish; snout slightly blunt, equal in length to diameter of eye window; two distinct spines on hind margin of preopercle; opercular spine short and pointed; anterior gill arch on both sides with 5 short and 2 long rakers on upper branch, one long raker at angle, and 7–8 long and 6–7 short rakers on lower branch; longest filaments on anterior gill arch 7.1% HL; longest gill raker on anterior gill arch 13% HL.
Sagittal otolith (Fig. 3B). Otolith oval, pointed at posterior end, its depth 2.0 times in its length; sulcus 1.3 times in otolith length; ostium 1.5 times in sulcus length; ostium depth 6.5 times in sulcus length and 4.4 times in ostium length.
Dentition. Premaxillaries, palatines, and dentaries with many small, pointed, close-set teeth in irregular rows; vomer boomerang-shaped with many small, pointed teeth; two median basibranchial tooth patches, anterior one long and narrow and posterior one small and circular.
Axial skeleton. Precaudal vertebrae 13, all with pointed tip; anterior neural spine about half as long as second spine; neural spines on vertebrae 3–10 depressed; parapophyses developed on vertebrae 8–13, pleural ribs on vertebrae 4–13, and epipleural ribs indistinct; bases of neural spines 3–13 enlarged.
Colour. Preserved fish (Fig. 4A). Body and head in preserved HT mostly pale brown and mottled, lateral line pale beige, mostly indistinct, belly whitish; two distinct ocelli, one anterior and central ocellus placed behind vertical line through anus, central-ocellus spot diameter about twice orbit length, covering 9 dorsal-fin rays, not extending ventrally onto body; contrasting pale whitish-grayish ring surrounds central-ocellus spot almost entirely; anterior ocellus placed closely behind dorsal-fin origin, its spot diameter about orbit length, covering 6 dorsal-fin rays, not extending onto body below; contrasting pale ring almost completely surrounds anterior ocellus spot; dorsal fin between ocelli and posterior of central ocellus pale brown ventrally, lighter dorsally and distally towards caudal fin, anal fin rather pale along first two-thirds, then slightly pale-brown, pigmented like dorsal and caudal fins in posterior tail region; no vertical bars.
Etymology. The species name refers to the type locality.
Distribution and size. Only known from HT (167 mm SL) caught west of Okinawa, Japan, at a depth of ca. 100 m.
description: Published as part of Uiblein, Franz & Nielsen, Jørgen G., 2023, Five new ocellus-bearing species of the cusk-eel genus Neobythites (Ophidiidae, Ophidiiformes) from the West Pacific, with establishment of three new species groups, pp. 179-205 in Zootaxa 5336 (2) on pages 188-190, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5336.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8272417