Engyprosopon hureaui Quéro et Golani, 1990

Engyprosopon hureaui Quéro et Golani, 1990 View in CoL

English name: Hureau’s flounder Chinese name: 圓頭短額鮃 Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 ; Tables 1 View Table 1 , 2 View Table 2 .

Engyprosopon hureaui Quéro et Golani, 1990. — Quéro and Golani (1990): 38, fig. 1. (Type locality: North Beach, Eilat, Israel, Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, depth 1–1.5 m; holotype: HUJ 12563). — Amaoka et al. (1993): 402 (description; New Caledonia). — Goren and Dor (1994): 71 (listed, Red Sea). — Amaoka and Kishimoto (1996): 2 (first record from Japan). — Anderson et al. (1998): 28 ( Maldive Islands). — Hensley and Amaoka (2001): 3830 (listed; western central Pacific). — Nakabo (2002): 1363 (in key, Japan). — Hoese and Bray in Hoese et al. (2006): 1818 (listed, Australia). — Amaoka et al. (2008): 113 (in key, Japan). — Nakabo and Doiuchi in Nakabo (2013): 1667 (in key, Japan). — Amaoka (2016): 96 (description; Japan). — Golani and Fricke (2018): 173 (listed, Red Sea). — Hensley and Amaoka (2022): 336 (description; western Indian Ocean). — Motomura (2023): 225 (listed, Tanegashima Island, Japan). View in CoL

Scaeops maldevensis (non Regan). — Regan (1908): 234 (four types were reidentified as E. hureaui View in CoL by Amaoka et al. 1993).

Specimen examined.

NMMB-P 41171 , female, 40.6 mm SL, off Chi-kan , Bai-sha, northern Penghu, Taiwan Strait, ca. 23°39′58.2′′N, 119°36′25.9′′E, 16 Aug. 2024, coll. H.-W. Chen, L.-A. Chen, and R.-L. Quin GoogleMaps .

Description of Taiwanese specimen.

Meristic and morphometric data are provided in Tables 1 View Table 1 , 2 View Table 2 .

Dorsal-fin rays 74. Anal-fin rays 51. Caudal-fin rays 3 + 11 + 3. Pectoral-fin rays 11 and 9 on ocular and blind sides, respectively. Pelvic-fin rays 6 on both ocular and blind sides. Gill rakers on first arch 0 + 6 = 6. Lateral-line scales ca. 38, not including 3 scales on caudal fin. Vertebrae 10 + 23 = 33.

Body oval, greatest depth 1.7 in SL; its dorsal and ventral profiles convex and nearly symmetric. Head length 3.8 in SL; anterior profile of head rounded, and no distinct notch above snout. Snout length 4.6 in HL, distinctly shorter than both eyes. Rostral spine present on snout. Eyes sinistral, upper- and lower-eye diameter 3.3 and 3.5 in HL, respectively; anterior margin of both eyes at same vertical level. No orbital spines and ocular flaps. Interorbital space concave, its width 4.5 in HL. Two nostrils on ocular side, with anterior nostril forming tube, and situated on snout behind rostral spine; posterior nostril forming single pore, situated anterior to lower eye. Two nostrils on blind side, both minute, with anterior one forming short tube and posterior one forming pore; both situated below base of first dorsal-fin ray.

Mouth oblique and small; ocular-side upper-jaw length 3.0 in HL; its anterior tip slightly posterior to lower-jaw tip when closed; its posterior tip reaching vertical through anterior margin of lower eye. Upper- and lower-jaw teeth uniserial on both ocular and blind sides. Gill rakers present on outer-three arches; those on first arch smooth, not serrated on inner sides; those on first and second arches laterally compressed, and subequal in size; those on third arch shorter than that of first and second; no rakers on upper limb of all four arches. Scales deciduous on both ocular and blind sides; those on ocular side ctenoid, with very short ctenii; those on blind side cycloid; no scales on snout and both jaws on ocular side.

Dorsal-fin origin at horizontal through upper margin of lower eye; anterior rays not elongated; longest ray at point slightly posterior to vertical through midline of body. Anal-fin origin at vertical through ocular-side pectoral-fin origin; its shape nearly subsymmetrical to dorsal fin. Pectoral fin on ocular side not elongated, length 1.4 in HL; pectoral fin on blind side shorter than that of ocular side, length 1.9 in HL. Pelvic-fin origin on ocular side at tip of isthmus; pelvic-fin origin on blind side opposite to fifth ray of ocular-side pelvic fin. Tip of isthmus at vertical through middle of lower eye. Caudal fin rounded, slightly pointed, length 1.0 in HL. All rays simple except for middle 11 caudal-fin rays branched.

Coloration.

When fresh (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ): ocular-side body uniformly yellowish, scattered with irregularly-shaped brown spots; all fins scattered with brown spots similar to that on body; blind side body pale, slightly yellowish, with peritoneum and opercular region paler and lighter than rest.

When preserved (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ): coloration similar to fresh; ocular-side body uniformly pale and scattered with irregularly-shaped dark spots, all spots smaller than pupil; all fins scattered with dark spots similar to that on body; blind side uniformly pale.

Distribution.

Known from scattered localities in the Indo – West Pacific, including Gulf of Aqaba (type locality), Maldives ( Regan 1908; Anderson et al. 1998), New Caledonia ( Amaoka et al. 1993), Australia ( Hoese and Bray 2006), and southern Japan ( Amaoka and Kishimoto 1996; Motomura 2023). Inhabits at depths of 1–81 m ( Amaoka et al. 1993). Our specimen represents the first record from Taiwan and fills the distribution gap of this species in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The specimen was collected within the silver-stripe round herring ( Spratelloides gracilis ) fishery, and other non-target species such as Parapriacanthus ransonneti Steindachner, 1870 , Upeneus heterospinus Uiblein et Pavlov, 2019 , and Parapercis pulchella Temminck et Schlegel, 1843 , at depths not exceeding 30 m.