Thursday, September 3, 2015

[Ichthyology • 2015] Pseudorasbora pugnax • A New Species of Minnow from central Honshu, Japan, and Redescription of P. pumila (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)


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.