The Pacific rudderfish (''Psenopsis anomala'') is a marine fish also known by such names as Japanese butterfish, melon seed, wart perch, ibodai (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

name, イボダイ) or simply but ambiguously as butterfish. This fish, which can grow to TL, is found in the Western Pacific, near

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, in the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

and in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. The Japanese butterfish prefers tropical waters: around 42°N–19°N. It has been found in the waters near

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Generally, they inhabit the epipelagic layer to 370 m (1213 ft). Adults are mainly bottom-dwelling, but migrate upward at night in search of food. The Japanese butterfish has a compressed body, somewhat oval-shaped, and is whitish to grayish in colour; in the young fish, the colour is darker: a pale brown or blackish brown. Some other features of this fish are a robust snout, a relatively small mouth, and the upper jaw extending to below the anterior margin of the eye. The fish's teeth are small, conical, and incisor-like. Spines of the Japanese butterfish's dorsal fin are short and not separated from the soft-rayed portion. The scales on the body of the butterfish are small, cycloid, and very deciduous (meaning that they are shed off easily).Kwang-Tsao Shao, 臺灣魚類資料庫網路電子�
Psenopsis anomala (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
/ref> This species is of economic importance, commercially sought after, and caught by trawl by

ese and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

ese fishermen. The total catch reported for this species in 1999 was 10,871 t, with Taiwan (5,075 t), and Japan (4,996 t) making up nearly all the catch. The peak season of the species is from October to March of the following year. The meat of the Japanese butterfish is very popular as food in its native range. The most common way of cooking the fish are steamed, pan-fried, or used in

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

. In

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

, a regional cuisine, ''bōze no sugata sushi'' (ボウゼの姿寿司), is made with Japanese butterfish. ''Bōze'' (ボウゼ) is the regional name of the Japanese butterfish in Tokushima.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2794605

Japanese butterfish The Pacific rudderfish (''Psenopsis anomala'') is a marine fish also known by such names as Japanese butterfish, melon seed, wart perch, ibodai (Japanese name, イボダイ) or simply but ambiguously as butterfish. This fish, which can grow to ...

Commercial fish Japanese seafood Fish of Japan Marine fauna of East Asia Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel