Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

Two new species of the genus Neomerinthe (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) from northwestern Australia, Neomerinthe costata and Neomerinthe parallelaspina, are described. Neomerinthe costata sp. nov. is characterized by the following combination: lateral lacrimal and 2nd preopercular spines present; 4th preopercular spine directed posteroventrally; upper posttemporal spine present; a distinct longitudinal ridge on lateral surface of maxilla; fin membrane between last dorsal-fin soft ray and caudal peduncle present; usually 19 pectoral-fin rays; 36–38 scale rows in longitudinal series; usually 5 upper gill rakers, 10–13 lower gill rakers (8–10 rakers on ceratohyal); 2nd dorsal-fin ray length 18.6–20.8% of standard length (SL); 3rd dorsal-fin ray length 19.1–20.4% of SL; 4th dorsal-fin ray length 18.3–20.5% of SL; 5th dorsal-fin ray length 17.6–20.3% of SL; 3rd preopercular spine length 1.3–3.0% of head length (HL); 4th preopercular spine length 0.7–2.0% of HL. Neomerinthe parallelaspina sp. nov. is characterized by the following combination: lateral lacrimal and 2nd preopercular spines present; 4th preopercular spine directed parallel to the 3rd spine; upper posttemporal spine usually absent; a distinct longitudinal ridge on lateral surface of maxilla usually absent; fin membrane between last dorsal-fin soft ray and caudal peduncle absent; usually 20 pectoral-fin rays; 40–45 scale rows in longitudinal series; usually 5 upper gill rakers, 10–15 lower gill rakers (7–10 rakers on ceratohyal); 2nd dorsal-fin ray length 18.0–21.3% of SL; 3rd dorsal-fin ray length 17.7–22.4% of SL; 4th dorsal-fin ray length 18.3–22.6% of SL; 5th dorsal-fin ray length 16.8–21.7% of SL; 3rd preopercular spine length 2.3–6.1% of HL; 4th preopercular spine length 1.4–4.7% of HL. A molecular genetic analysis based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I showed that the two new species form a clade distinct from congeneric species.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-024-00975-z

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

Scorpaenopsis gigas (Scorpaenidae), a new species of scorpionfish previously confused with Scorpaenopsis orientalis Randall and Eschmeyer 2002 and Scorpaenopsis oxycephala (Bleeker 1849), is described from the Indo-West Pacific (recorded from the Andaman Sea and East Asia). The new species is characterized by the following combination of characteristics: pectoral-fin rays 19 or 20 (usually 19), some middle rays branched; scale rows in longitudinal series 54–60; pored lateral-line scales 24 or 25 (24); occipital pit extremely shallow, nearly flat; a longitudinal ridge on lateral surface of maxilla absent; lateral lacrimal spine simple; posterior lacrimal spine simple; upper opercular spine simple; scales absent on opercle between upper and lower opercular spines; first dorsal-fin spine length, 4.6–7.8% of SL (standard length); second dorsal-fin spine length 10.9–16.3% of SL; third dorsal-fin spine length 14.4–19.1% of SL; fourth dorsal-fin spine length 13.8–18.8% of SL; snout length 31.8–35.5% of head length; third or fourth dorsal-fin spine longest (both spines of similar length, third dorsal-fin spine length, 97.6–105.6% of fourth spine length); usually many small black blotches scattered on head and body in fresh and preserved specimens. A morecular genetic analysis based on the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene showed that the new species was distinct from morphologically similar congeneric species, the most closely-related being S. orientalis and S. oxycephala, separated from the former by genetic distances of 4.1% and 3.1–3.5%, respectively.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-025-01027-w

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

Phenacoscorpius trispinis (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae), a new species of scorpionfish is described from Sagami Bay, Japan. The new species is characterized by the following combination of characteristics: pectoral-fin rays 16 or 17, middle rays branched; pored lateral-line scales 4; upper gill rakers 6, lower gill rakers 14 (10 and 4 on ceratobranchial and hypobranchial, respectively), total gill rakers 20; no slit behind last gill arch; palatine teeth absent; anterodorsal and lateral lacrimal spines present; second preopercular spine smaller than third or fourth spines; nuchal and parietal spines distinct; head length 45.2% of SL (standard length); body depth 38.1% of SL; head width 17.2% of SL; snout length 11.2% of SL; maxillary depth 7.6% of SL; postorbital length 21.2% of SL; first dorsal-fin spine length 6.8% of SL; second dorsal-fin spine length 13.6% of SL; pelvic-fin spine length 19.9% of SL; longest pelvic-fin ray 23.2% of SL; longest pectoral-fin ray 39.0% of SL; caudal-fin length 25.3% of SL; caudal-peduncle length 17.2% of SL. A molecular genetic analysis based on the mitochondrial marker Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I showed that the new species formed a clade distinct from congeneric species. New standard Japanese names are proposed for both the genus Phenacoscorpius and the new species.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-024-01008-5

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

Neomerintheignea (Scorpaenidae), a new species of scorpionfish from the western Pacific Ocean, previously confused with Neomerintheerostris (Alcock 1896), is described. The new species is characterized by the following combination of characteristics: body size less than about 90 mm standard length (SL); lateral lacrimal and second preopercular spines present; usually a distinct longitudinal ridge on lateral surface of maxilla; usually 18 pectoral-fin rays; 37–42 longitudinal series scale rows; pored lateral-line scales 23–25; scale rows above lateral line 4–6, below lateral line 9–11, between sixth dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 5 or 6, and between last dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 5–7; usually 6 upper gill rakers, 9–16 lower gill rakers (8–10 and 0–7 rakers on ceratohyal and hypobranchial, respectively); numerous cycloid scales on ventral body surface between isthmus and posterior to pelvic fin; 1st dorsal-fin ray length 14.7–19.1% of SL, 2nd dorsal-fin ray length 14.6–18.9% of SL, 3rd dorsal-fin ray length 15.6–18.9% of SL, 4th dorsal-fin ray length 15.2–19.1% of SL, and 5th dorsal-fin ray length 14.2–19.5% of SL; body bright orange to reddish-white when fresh; body and pectoral fins pale yellowish, with indistinct blotches on lateral body surface when preserved. A molecular genetic analysis based on the mitochondrial marker Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I showed that the new species formed a clade distinct from congeneric species. In addition, records of N.erostris, a species similar to N.ignea, are reviewed, and additional specimens from northern Australia noted.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-023-00931-3

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

A taxonomic review of five scorpaenid nominal species included in the Neomerinthe bucephalus species group [Neomerinthe amplisquamiceps (Fowler 1938), Neomerinthe bucephalus (Alcock 1896), Neomerinthe kaufmani (Herre 1952), Neomerinthe megalepis (Fowler 1938), and Neomerinthe procurva Chen 1981], characterized by a lateral lacrimal spine, recognized four to be valid (N. amplisquamiceps, N. bucephalus, N. kaufmani, and N. megalepis), with N. procurva regarded as a junior synonym of N. bucephalus. A lectotype was designated for N. bucephalus in this study. The valid species, supported by a molecular analysis based on the mitochondrial marker Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I, can also be identified from combinations of the following characteristics: numbers of pectoral-fin rays, scale rows in the longitudinal series, scale rows below the lateral line, and scale rows between the sixth dorsal-fin spine and lateral line, eleventh dorsal-fin spine length, caudal-peduncle length and depth, and body coloration. In addition, the new species Neomerinthe harenartis is described based on four specimens collected from Vanuatu. This species, also bearing a lateral lacrimal spine, is distinguished from other Indo-Pacific Neomerinthe by having 19 pectoral-fin rays, 47 or 48 scale rows in the longitudinal series, 6 or 7 scale rows above the lateral line, and body depth 31.0–32.8% of SL, and lacking a second preopercular spine. A key to species in the N. bucephalus species group is given.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-023-00926-0

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：Ichthyological Research  

The article Phenacoscorpiustrispinis, a new species of scorpionfish (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) from Sagami Bay, Japan written by Tatsuya Matsumoto and Hiroyuki Motomura was originally published under exclusive license to The Ichthyological Society of Japan, on January 11, 2025 without Open Access. As a result of the subsequent decision to publish the article under the open access model, the article’s copyright notice was changed on 10 February 2025 to © The Author(s) 2025 and the article is now distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. The original article has been updated.

DOI： 10.1007/s10228-025-01017-y

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