Fishes of Neoclinus bryope Species Complex from Shirahama, Japan, with Description of Two New Species

Phylogeny and biogeography of a shallow water fish clade (Teleostei: Blenniiformes)

“…These species are well-nested within IndoPacific clades (Figure 5), supporting the hypotheses that they dispersed to the Neotropics after the origin of their respective genera in the IndoPacific region [6]. Similarly, the few species of primarily Neotropical clades occuring in the eastern Atlantic (e.g., species of the labrisomid genera Labrisomus and Malacoctenus ; [6,87]), and members of the temperate genus Neoclinus in the northwestern Pacific [88], likely represent relatively recent dispersal events from their regions of origin.…”

3: Systematics of the Blenniidae(Combtooth Blennies)

“…In addition to the Labrisomus nuchipinnis complex discussed above, Malacoctenus africanus is found at Senegal in the eastern Atlantic (Springer, 1959a;Wirtz, 1990). The only chaenopsids occurring outside of the New World are six of the nine species of Neoclinus that are found in the northwestern Pacific (Stephens and Springer, 1971;Fukao, 1987Fukao, , 1990.…”

“…These relationships suggest that, unique among blennioids, the ancestor of P. azaleus dispersed to the eastern Pacific across the vast East Pacific barrier (Leis, 1984;Robertson et al, 2004). (3) Three species of the chaenopsid genus Neoclinus are found in the eastern Pacific North Temperate subregion, while six species occur in the northwest Pacific (Hubbs, 1953;Fukao, 1987). Assuming the monophyly of Neoclinus (that has not been demonstrated based on synapomorphies), this distribution implies one or more dispersal events across the temperate waters of the north Pacific, probably during interglacial periods.…”

Two New Chaenopsid Fishes, Neoclinus monogrammus and Neoclinus nudiceps (Teleostei: Perciformes: Blennioidei), from Japan

“…Males: a]1 rect and yellow colors faded; ground color pale beige, speckled with numerous grayish-brown spots (head and body entirely grayish-brown in some); spinous part of dorsal fin darker grayish-brown anteriorly; pelvic fin grayish-brown; other unpaired and pectoral fins translucent, Females: all red and yellow colors faded; less densely speckled than males; formerly reddish female now entirely pale beige with grayish-brown serrated bar (light yellow when fresh) behind eye; several small brown spots (inconspicuous white spots when fresh) on body; all unpaired and pectoral fins translucent; pelvic fin whitish. lateral line with a double row of pores and more than two supraor-bita1 cirri (Hubbs 1953;Stephens and Springer 1971;Fukao 1980Fukao , 1987, N monogranznzus has a single row of lateral-line pores and only two cirri on the orbit. Additional distinctive characters of Ai: monqgrammus include: a dark spot on the anterior part of dorsal fin (sometimes), although not classed as an "tocellus", owing to the lack of a pale marginal line (one or two ocelli are present on the anterier part of dorsal fin at least in mature males of N blanchardi, IVI uninotatus, N bryqpe, N okazakii, and IVL chihiroe: (cf.…”

“…Hubbs (1953) first reviewed Neoclinus, recognizing four species: N blanchardi Girard, 1858, N stophensae Hubbs, 1953, and An "ninotatus Hubbs, 1953 from California, and An bryope (Jordan and Snyder, 1902) from Japan. Later, Stephens and Springer (1971) described N nudus Stephens and Springer, 1971 from Taiwan, In a series of studies on Japanese IVeoclinus, Fukae (1980,1987,1990) recognized six species, including four described as new, and Aizawa (2002) reviewed their distributional records: N bT:yQpe known from the Sea of Japan and from the Boso Peninsula to Kyushu along the Pacific coast of Japan; An chihiroe Fukao, 1987 from the Boso Peninsula to the Kii Peninsula along the Pacific coast of Honshu and from Toyama Bay in the Sea of Japan; IVI lacunicola Fukao, 1980 Fukao, 1987 from Hachijo Island, the Kii Peninsula, and Okinawa Island; and N toshimaensts Fukao, 1980 have been eollected frem the PacMc coast ef Japan and from the Sea of Japan, respectively. In the present paper we describe these unknown forms from Japan as two new species of IVeoclinus, bringing the total number of speeies in the genus to 11, including three from the eastern Pacific and eight from the western Pacific including the Sea of Japan.…”