Discovery of Pelagic Eggs of Two Species from the Rare Mesopelagic Fish Genus Trachipterus (Lampriformes: Trachipteridae)

Abstract

The ecology of the mesopelagic fish genus Trachipterus, which is rarely found in oceans, remains unclear. In this study, we found 22 eggs of T. trachypterus and T. jacksonensis around the Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea during ichthyoplankton surveys from 2019 to 2021. The eggs were identified through genetic relationships with the genus Trachipterus based on partial sequences (COI and 16S) or concatenated sequences of 13 protein-coding genes and 2 rRNA genes of mitochondrial DNA. T. trachypterus eggs were discovered in all seasons, but more frequently during the winter. One T. jacksonensis egg that appeared during the autumn was the first in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Identifying Trachipterus pelagic eggs would provide insight into their spawning ecology and biogeography.

Ectopleura crocea (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) Identified as a Predator of Pelagic Fish Eggs through Cytochrome c Oxidase I Metabarcoding

“…Molecular identification based on the DNA barcode has become one of the ways to complement the difficulties of morphological identification [10][11][12][13]. Among the DNA-based methods, metabarcoding is applied for the sequencing and identification of bulk samples.…”

Integrated Ecosystem Assessments for Fisheries Management in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the East/Japan Sea

“…Choi et al (2022) [10] implement a DNA barcoding approach to investigate pelagic marine fish eggs as an indicator of spawning and intrusive species in the Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea. The study discovers the eggs of Trachipterus trachypterus and Trachipterus jacksonensis for the first time in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, which broadens their potential spawning ecology and geographical distribution.…”