Equulites rivulatus ( Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 )

Miki, Ryohei, Murase, Atsunobu & Wada, Masaaki, 2018, A checklist of ponyfishes (Teleostei, Leiognathidae) from Miyazaki Prefecture, east coast of Kyushu, southern Japan, with range extensions of three tropical species, Check List 14 (1), pp. 243-255 : 247

Equulites rivulatus ( Temminck & Schlegel, 1845) : Figure 2E, F

Equula rivulata Temminck and Schlegel 1845: 126 .

Equulites rivulatus — Senou 2013:904, Fujiwara and Motomura 2016:191.

Diagnosis. This species is characterized by the following combination of characters: body deep, its depth longer than head length; mouth protruding downwards; small slender teeth on both jaws; anterior dorsolateral surface of body and breast completely scaled; anterior spinous dorsal fin without conspicuous black blotch; irregular black blotches dorsolaterally on body ( Senou 2013).

Distribution. Equulites rivulatus is known from Japan and the southern coast of Korean Peninsula. In Japanese waters, this species is known from the coast of Akita Prefecture to the southern part of western coast of Kyushu (Sea of Japan coast), the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture to the southern part of eastern coast of Kyushu, the Seto Inland Sea (Pacific coast), and the continental shelf of East China Sea ( Senou 2013).

Remarks. 96 specimens (30.1–73.4 mm SL) of E. rivulatus were caught from the northern and southern coasts of Miyazaki Prefecture in November to January.