Specimen analysis reveals the first Japanese record and genetic distinction of Parupeneus moffitti, indicating a sister relationship with Parupeneus chrysonemus.
A single specimen of Parupeneus moffitti Randall and Myers, 1993, known formerly only from three type specimens collected from the Mariana Islands, was collected off Kitadaito Island, Daito Islands, southern Japan in August 2025. The former specimen therefore represents the second record of the species, and first from Japanese waters. A full description of the specimen and limited genetic analysis is provided, indicating a possible sister relationship of P. moffitti to Parupeneus chrysonemus (Jordan and Evermann, 1903). The pairwise distance (5.1%) between the two taxa justified their interspecific differentiation. The new standard Japanese name “Kotou-himeji” is proposed for the species.
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Shinoda et al. (2026) studied this question.
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