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| Pseudorasbora pugnax Kawase & Hosoya, 2015 a, KUN-P 43543, holotype, 59.7 mm SL, male; Japan: Gifu Prefecture: Mino (photograph by Toshihiko Morimune); b, about 35 mm TL, female; Japan: Gifu Prefecture: Ogaki; aquarium specimen, not preserved (photograph by Ryu Uchiyama). |
Pseudorasbora pugnax, new species, is described from the Ise Bay area in central Honshu, Japan. It is distinguished from its Japanese congener P. pumila by the absence of a dark lateral stripe (vs. presence), 33-34 (vs. 34-35) vertebrae, a comparatively more developed infraorbital canal of the cephalic lateralis system with a rostral branch present (vs. absent), a nasal canal present (vs. absent) and mandibular canal complete (vs. incomplete). It is distinguished from the sympatric P. parva, by the longer head (27.5-31.9 % SL vs. 23.5-27.3), incomplete (vs. complete) lateral line, and incomplete (vs. complete) infraorbital, supraorbital and supratemporal canals of the cephalic lateralis. Pseudorasbora pumila is redescribed and a lectotype designated.
Etymology. The specific epithet, pugnax, is Latin for ‘belligerent, aggressive, pugnacious’. Mature males protect their territory very aggressively during spawning season. Locally, this species is called ‘Kenka-Moroko’ (kenka means fighting in Japanese) (Niwa, 1967). Hence, the specific epithet well represents the behavioral characteristics of this species.
Seigo Kawase and Kazumi Hosoya. 2015. Pseudorasbora pugnax, A New Species of Minnow from Japan, and Redescription of P. pumila (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 25(4): 289-298.
