Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger, 1870

Miki, Ryohei, Hata, Harutaka & Motomura, Hiroyuki, 2019, Records of the Barracuda Sphyraena qenie from Japan, with Notes on the Taxonomic Status of Sphyraena nigripinnis (Teleostei: Sphyraenidae), Species Diversity 24 (1), pp. 23-27 : 24

Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger, 1870

[New standard Japanese name: Tatsu-kamasu] ( Fig. 1 ; Table 1 )

Material examined. Two specimens, both from Satsunan Islands, Kagoshima, Japan: KAUM–I . 98263, 174.0 mm SL, Koume-gawa river estuary, Tanega-shima island, 30°43 ′ 37 ″ N, 130°59 ′ 33 ″ E, 5 m depth, hook and line, 8 January 2017, M . Takayama ; KAUM–I . 111534, 567.7 mm SL, off Amami-oshima island , 15 December 2017, landed at Naze Fish Landing Port, T . Maekawa .

Description. Counts and measurements are shown in Table 1 . Data for larger specimen (KAUM–I. 111534, 567.7 mm SL) presented first, followed by smaller specimen (KAUM–I. 98263, 174.0 mm SL) data in parentheses (if different). Body elongate, subcylindrical, caudal peduncle relatively compressed. Dorsal profile rising from snout tip to occiput, thereafter gently elevated to origin of 2nd dorsal fin, subsequently lowering to uppermost point of caudal-fin base. Ventral profile lowering from lower-jaw tip to pelvic-fin insertion, thereafter relatively level to anal-fin origin, subsequently rising to lowermost point of caudalfin base. Uppermost point of pectoral-fin insertion slightly below posteriormost point of opercle. Posterior tip of pectoral fin pointed, slightly beyond vertical line from origin of 1st or 2nd dorsal-fin spine. Origin of 1st dorsal fin slightly posterior to posterior end of pelvic-fin base. Origin of anal fin below base of 3rd or 4th dorsal-fin ray; end of anal-fin base slightly posterior to that of 2nd dorsal-fin base. Posteriormost 2nd dorsal- and anal-fin rays slightly longer than penultimate rays. Caudal fin deeply forked, a rounded lobe posteriorly on the base of each fork (forked, without lobes in smaller specimen). Body covered with cycloid scales. Lateral line continuous, extending beyond caudal-fin base. Both jaws, snout and interorbital space scaleless. Snout long, pointed. Interorbital region almost flat. Upper jaw long, posterior tip of maxilla just reaching to below anterior margin of iris (not reaching to below anterior margin of eye in smaller specimen). Lower jaw projecting slightly anteriorly to upper jaw. Upper and lower gill arches with rough platelets, lacking distinct spines. Preopercle rounded, no produced flap.

Color when fresh ( Fig. 1 )—Small specimen (174.0 mm SL, KAUM–I. 98263). Body dark greenish-blue dorsally, whitish-silver ventrally. 22 dark bars crossing lateral line on body, each bar slightly anteriorly curved on body axis. First dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins transparent. Second dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins pale yellow. Margin of dorsal and caudal fins black. Base to anterior half of pectoral fin black.

Large specimen (567.7 mm SL, KAUM–I. 111534). Body dark bluish-black dorsally, whitish-silver ventrally. 18 dark bars crossing lateral line on body; lower portion of 11 bars anterior to end of 2nd dorsal-fin base directed slightly backwards; seven bars posterior to 2nd dorsal-fin base largely indistinct, almost vertical to body axis. Each fin black, except white inner half of pelvic fin, and last two rays and base of anal fin.

Distribution. Sphyraena qenie has been widely recorded from the Indian and Pan Pacific oceans from South Africa to Japan and Panama ( Schultz 1953; Smith 1956; Williams 1959; de Sylva 1973; Randall 1983; de Sylva and Williams 1986; Senou 1992, 2000, 2001; Randall et al. 2004; Béarez 2008; Allen and Erdmann 2012; this study). In Japan, the species has been previously reported from Yonagunijima island ( Koeda et al. 2016, as Sphyraena sp.; KPM-NR 12315–12318), Ishigaki-jima Island (KPM-NR 81213, 81215), and herein from Amami-oshima and Tanega-shima islands. Occurrence of the species at the Ogasawara Islands is uncertain (see Discussion).

Figures

Fig. 1. Color photographs of Sphyraena qenie from the Satsunan Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. A, KAUM–I. 98263, 174.0mm SL, Tanega-shima island, Osumi Islands; B, KAUM–I. 111534, 567.7mm SL, off Amami-oshima island, Amami Islands.