''Amamiichthys'' is a monospecific genus of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. Its only species is ''Amamiichthys matsubarai'', the Japanese blue-spotted seabream or hosheirenko. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is a Japanese archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is sout ...

of southern Japan.

Taxonomy

''Amamiichthys'' was first proposed as a genus in 2015 by the Japanese

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

s Fumiya Tanaka and Yukio Iwatsuki with its only species being ''Cheimerius matsubarai''. ''C. matsubarai'' was first formally described in 1962 by Masato Akazaki with its type locality given as off Naze on Amami Ōshima in the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

off southern Japan. The genus ''Amamiichthys'' is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

''. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Denticinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Etymology

''Amamiichthys''is a compound of Amami, the only known location this fish occurs at, and ''ichthys'', meaning fish. The specific name honours the ichthyologist and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Kiyomatsu Matsubara, who reviewed the

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

in which Akazaki published his original description and thanked him for his teaching and suggestions.

Description

''Amamiichthys'' has 12 spines. the first two spines being very short and the next two being extended almost into filaments, and 10 soft rays supporting its dorsal fin while its

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

is supported by 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The upper and lower jaws have an outer row of small molar-like teeth and an inner row of, even smaller, molar-like teeth. The colour of the head and body is pinkish, fading to silvery towards the ventral surface with the upper body is marked with small blue spots, some of these overlap with their neighbouring spot. This fish has a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Amamiichthys'' is known only from the Amami-Oshima in the Ryukyu Islands off southern Japan. It is thought to be restricted to southern Amami-Oshima where it is found on deep reefs at depths between .

Fisheries and conservation

''Amamiichthys'' is caught as a food fish and is also taken by recreational fishers, it is sold in fish markets and supermarkets on Amami. It is not one of the main target species for commercial fisheries around the island and its preference for deeper water may protect it from overfishing. However, it has a very restricted range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

classifies its conservation status as Vulnerable.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21216975 Sparidae Monotypic marine fish genera Fish described in 1962