Journey to the West: Trans-Pacific Historical Biogeography of Fringehead Blennies in the Genus Neoclinus (Teleostei: Blenniiformes).

Several temperate marine taxa of the northern hemisphere follow a trans-Pacific biogeographic track with representatives on either side of the intervening boreal waters. Shelter-dwelling blenniiform fishes of the genus Neoclinus exhibit this trans-Pacific distribution pattern with three species in the eastern North Pacific and eight species in the western North Pacific. We reconstructed the phylogeny of the Neocliniini (Neoclinus and the monotypic Mccoskerichthys) using six genetic markers: four mitochondrial genes (COI, cytochrome b, 12S and 16S), and two nuclear genes (RAG-1, TMO-4C4). Ancestral state reconstruction and molecular clock dating were used to explore hypothetical ancestral distributions and area relationships, and to estimate divergent times within this group. The monophyly of the genus Neoclinus, and the reciprocal monophyly of the eastern Pacific and western Pacific lineages were supported. Available evidence, including the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic occurrence of a New World clade of blennioid fishes that includes this lineage, supports the origin of the Neocliniini in the eastern Pacific with a single divergence event to the west across the North Pacific by the ancestor of the western Pacific clade. Estimated divergence time of the eastern and western Pacific clades of Neoclinus was 24.14 million year ago, which falls during the Oligocene epoch. Estimated times of divergence in other trans-Pacific lineages of marine fishes vary widely, from recent Pleistocene events to as early as 34 mya.

Fish rubbings, 'gyotaku', as a source of historical biodiversity data.

Methods for obtaining historical biodiversity information are mostly limited to examining museum specimens or surveying past literature. Such materials are sometimes time limited due to degradation, discarding, or other loss. The Japanese cultural art of 'gyotaku', which means "fish impression" or "fish rubbing" in English, captures accurate images of fish specimens, and has been used by recreational fishermen and artists since the Edo Period (the oldest known 'gyotaku' was made in 1839). 'Gyotaku' images often include distributional information, i.e., locality and sampling date. To determine the extent and usefulness of these data, field and questionnaire surveys targeting leisure fishing and boating stores were conducted in the following regions where threatened or extinct fishing targets exist (four regions including the northernmost to the southernmost regions). As a result, 261 'gyotaku' rubbings were digitally copied with their owners' consents. From these, distributional data were extracted for 218 individuals, which roughly represented regional fish faunas and common fishing targets. The peak number of 'gyotaku' stocked at the surveyed shops was made in 2002, while ones made before 1985 were much fewer. The number of 'gyotaku' rubbings made in recent years shows a recovery trend after 2011-2012. The present study demonstrates the validity of examining 'gyotaku' for historical biodiversity information.

Review of the Japanese records of an endangered grouper, Epinephelus tukula, with comments on its population status (Teleostei, Serranidae).

The Potato Grouper, Epinephelus tukula, is relatively rare worldwide. Records from the northernmost part of its range (Japan) have been few, resulting in a "Critically Endangered" listing on the Red List for Japan. The Japanese records were revised by examining literature, new specimens, photographs, and the internet, and a continuous distribution pattern from the tropical Ryukyu Islands (including adult individuals) to temperate regions affected by the Kuroshio Current were delineated; this suggests the species inhabits tropical Japan and can spread to temperate regions via the warm current. The species possibly reproduces in Japanese waters but further reproductive ecology research is required.

Revising the distribution of a threatened goby, Apocryptodon punctatus (Perciformes, Oxudercidae), in Japan with the discovery of an isolated population.

Five specimens of a threatened goby, Apocryptodon punctatus (21.2-40.1 mm in standard length), were collected at a mudflat site of Kushima City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, southern Japan over two seasons, autumn (September 2015) and spring (April 2016). A review of distributional records of Apocryptodon punctatus revealed that this population represents the southernmost record of the species in Japanese waters, and is isolated ca. 200 km south-southwest from the nearest point of the main range of the species along the Pacific coast of Japan. Publicising this population will help conserve it and its vulnerable habitat.

Southern limits of distribution of the intertidal gobies Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus support the existence of a biogeographic boundary in southern Japan (Teleostei, Perciformes, Gobiidae).

Understanding the distributional patterns of individual animal groups with respect to coastal topology and the local physical environment provides essential foundational frameworks for marine zoogeography. In the northwestern Pacific waters of Japan, the distributional pattern of some cool-temperate species of marine fishes suggests the existence of a biogeographic boundary corresponding to a long sandy shore on the eastern coast of Kyushu, southern Japan. The existence of this hypothetical biogeographic boundary was tested by mapping the southern distributional limit of two species of cool-temperate intertidal gobies, Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus, which are endemic to East Asia and common in rock pools within their range in the Japanese Archipelago. Distribution and abundance were assessed by survey of museum collections from south-east Kyushu (i.e., the entire coasts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures); and a quantitative survey of the abundance of these gobies in rock pools at various sites around the hypothesized boundary on the eastern coast of Kyushu, including the subtropical Tanega-shima Island. The museum collection survey showed different distribution patterns between the two species: C. annularis was distributed along the entire coasts of south-east Kyushu including subtropical islands, whereas C. gulosus was distributed along these coasts, including one site on a subtropical island, except for an area south of the hypothesized boundary on the eastern coast of Kyushu. The density and occurrence rates of C. annularis in rock pools decreased with latitude, it being absent from a subtropical island, and C. gulosus was not detected from sites south of the hypothesized boundary. The qualitative survey showed that the southernmost records of C. annularis and C. gulosus were the adjacent subtropical islands (Yaku-shima and Tanega-shima islands respectively), although the quantitative survey suggested that their normal range of distribution was limited to the southern part of the Kyushu mainland. A combination of qualitative and quantitative survey methods in the present study highlighted that the southernmost record of a certain species may not necessarily indicate the true limit of its distribution. The distribution of C. gulosus supports the existence of the hypothetical biogeographic boundary, and the different distribution patterns of the two species may be caused by differences in their early life histories.

Records of chimaeroid fishes (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with the description of a new species of Chimera (Chimaeridae) from the eastern Pacific Ocean.

A new species of Chimaera Linnaeus 1758 is described from three specimens collected from off the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Peru. Chimaera orientalis n. sp., the first species of the genus described from the eastern Pacific Ocean, is distinguished from its other congeners by a combination of coloration and morphology. Additionally, new records of occurrence for another four species of chimaeroid fishes (Harriotta raleighana (Goode & Bean 1895), Rhinochimaera africana Compagno, Stehmann & Ebert 1990, Hydrolagus colliei Lay & Bennett 1839, and H. macrophthalmus de Buen 1959) previously unknown for the continental shelf of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Central America are reported. A key to the eastern Pacific species of the order Chimaeriformes is also presented.