Parabothus kiensis ( Tanaka, 1918 )

Amaoka, Kunio & Ho, Hsuan-Ching, 2019, The lefteye flounder family Bothidae (Order Pleuronectiformes) of Taiwan, Zootaxa 4702 (1), pp. 155-215 : 199-200

Parabothus kiensis ( Tanaka, 1918)

Yellowspotted flounder; ỳâfľ

Figures 8 D–E; Table 11

Platophrys kiensis Tanaka, 1918:225 (Type locality: Tanabe, Wakayama Pref., Japan)

Parabothus kiensis: Okada & Matsubara, 1938:423 ; Shen & Wu, 2012:754.

Parabothus chlorospilus (not of Gilbert): Shen, 1983:13.

Specimens examined. NMMB-P12622 (1 male, 1 female, 153.0–168.7), Dong-gang, 25 Mar. 2011 ; NMMB- P18021 (1 male 133.0), Dong-gang, date unknown ; NMMB-P22239 (1, 164.6), Dong-gang, 21 Jan. 2015 ; NMMB- P22265 (1 female, 118.3), Dong-gang, 11 Feb. 2015 ; NMMB-P25744 (1 female, 120.1), Dong-gang, 22 Mar. 2017 ; NMMB-P28992 (1 female 141.3), 18 Mar. 2018 ; NTUM 05402 (1, 126.3), Tungkong, 19 Nov. 1976 .

Diagnostic features. D 100–114; A 84–89; P 12–13; C 2+13+2=17; LLs 78–83; GR 0+7–9=7–9; vert. 10+31– 32=41–42.

Body elliptical, deepest slightly anterior of middle of body (38.0–42.2% SL). Head rather small (25.9–27.6% SL); upper profile of head with slight concavity anterior to interorbital space. Snout round, longer than half of eye diameter. Eye diameter about equal to upper-jaw length. Interorbital space deeply concave, its width narrower than eye diameter, wider in males than in females and juveniles, 4.1–4.9% SL in males, 1.0–2.0% in females.

Mouth moderately large, upper-jaw length 8.1–10.1% SL; maxilla extending to slightly beyond anterior margin of lower eye. Prominent knob on mandibular symphysis in males, feeble or absent in females and juveniles. Teeth on both jaws small, uniserial, some pairs of anterior teeth enlarged; lateral teeth on lower jaw somewhat stronger than those on upper jaw. Gill rakers on lower limb moderate in size, not serrate; absent on upper limb.

Scales on ocular side ctenoid with long ctenii; scales on blind side cycloid. Pectoral fin on ocular side moderately large, not elongated (13.7–16.5% SL).

Coloration. Ocular side of body grayish brown with indistinct dark spots and yellowish green blotches of irregular form; no distinct blotches on any fins; body on blind side milky white.

Size. Reaching 132 mm SL in Taiwan; up to 203 mm SL in southern Japan ( Amaoka, 1969).

Distribution. Northeastern and southwestern Taiwan; widespread in Western Pacific Ocean off southern Japan to Indonesia, northern Australia and Coral Sea ( Hensley & Amaoka, 2001).

Remarks. This species resembles Parabothus coarctatus in body shape, but it differs from the latter in having larger eye (3.0–3.5 vs. 3.5–3.9 in HL), fewer lateral-line scales (78–83 vs. 87–95), and lacking dark spots on lateral line and along upper margin of upper eye. The specimen identified by Shen (1983) as Parabothus chlorospilus is a female of P. kiensis .

Figures

FIGURE 8. A. Neolaeops microphthalmus, NMMB-P 20986, 110 mm SL. B–C. Parabothus coarctatus, NMMB-P13151, male, 188.5 mm SL (B) and NMMB-P13149, female, 188.9 mm SL (C). D–E. Parabothus kiensis, NMMB-P18021, male, 133.0 mm SL (D) and NMMB-P30894, female, 157 mm SL (E). F. Parabothus polylepis, NMMB-P26403, female, 119.7 mm SL.