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Issue: Vol. 3811 No. 1: 30 May 2014
Type: Article
Published: 2014-05-30
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3811.1.7
Page range: 119–128
Abstract views: 31
PDF downloaded: 2

On the colour types in Lycodes nakamurae (Tanaka, 1914) and species composition of the subgenus Furcimanus (Perciformes: Zoarcidae: Lycodes) in the Sea of Japan

Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky St. 17, Vladivostok, 690041, Russia 2Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanov St. 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia
Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky St. 17, Vladivostok, 690041, Russia 2Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanov St. 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia
Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky St. 17, Vladivostok, 690041, Russia 2Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanov St. 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia
Zoarcidae Furcimanus Lycodes Sea of Japan colour variability

Abstract

Two colour types were revealed in a zoarcid fish of the subgenus Furcimanus, genus Lycodes, in the Sea of Japan. A comparison of morphometric, meristic and genetic characters in dark coloured and light coloured individuals suggests that the two colour morphs represent a single species, determined to be Lycodes nakamurae (Tanaka, 1914). Variability in colouration within L. nakamurae and a lack of morphological or molecular characters distinguishing L. nakamurae from L. nishimurai Shinohara & Shirai, 2005 suggest that the latter should be considered a synonym of L. nakamurae (Tanaka, 1914). A record of L. pectoralis in the waters of the Republic of Korea is regarded as a misidentification. Thus, we conclude that only one species of the Lycodes subgenus Furcimanus, L. nakamurae, with dark and light colour morphs as well as specimens of intermediate colouration, inhabits the Sea of Japan.