First Japanese records of Priacanthus alalaua (Perciformes: Priacanthidae), named “Tsubasakimtoki”.
A research team from the Kagoshima University Museum and the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences reported the confirmation of one specimen each from Kuchinoshima and Yoronjima of Priacanthus alalaua, a member of the family Priacanthidae, which had never been recorded from Japan and had no standard Japanese name applied to it. We reported that one specimen of Priacanthus alalaua was confirmed from Kuchinojima and Yoronjima, respectively, and proposed the new standard Japanese name for this species, Tsubasa kintoki. This Japanese name is derived from the species’ characteristic long pectoral fins, which are reminiscent of wings.
Priacanthus alalaua was previously known only from Guam, the Hawaiian Islands, and the west coast of Mexico. The specimen from Kuchinoshima is the northernmost record of this species. This species is thought to inhabit slightly deeper reef areas.
The results of this study were published in Biogeography, published by the Biogeographical Society of Japan, on April 14, 2025. Two specimens (standard length 183.7-204.9 mm) identified as Tsubasaki Ibis are in the collection of the Kagoshima University Museum.
[Article] First Japanese records of Priacanthus alalaua (Perciformes: Priacanthidae) from the Ryukyu Islands.
[Author(s)] Shintaro Hashimoto and Hiroyuki Motomura
[Journal]Biogeography, 27: 47-51
[DOI] https://doi.org/10.11358/biogeo.27.47
Related page
Professor MOTOMURA Hiroyuki, The Kagoshima University Museum
http://www.museum.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/staff/motomura/motomura.html
(Fresh specimen photo of the standard for the standard Japanese name “Tsubasakinoki.”)