◆Sora Kyoba, a third-year student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and her colleagues have discovered three fish species in Japanese coastal waters that have never before been recorded in Japan.

Release Date:November 28, 2025

Sora Kyoba, a third-year student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (affiliated with the Marine Biology Laboratory), and her colleagues have each published research findings on three fish species confirmed for the first time in Japanese coastal waters in peer-reviewed journals. These discoveries significantly contribute to elucidating the diversity of fish in Japanese coastal waters and provide important insights for understanding and conserving marine ecosystems.Based on surveys conducted across a wide area stretching from Okinawa to Kochi, Ms. Aiba and her team carried out specimen collection, morphological analysis, and literature reviews, resulting in comprehensive findings that included the proposal of standard Japanese names. This research is a notable example of undergraduate students taking the lead in such a project and has attracted widespread attention.

[The Three Species Discovered and Their Characteristics]

・Striped Sakura Wrasse ( xml-ph-0000@deepl.internal
) A rare species of the family Pomacentridae collected near Okinawa Island. It features a yellow oblique band on its body side. This research proposed the new standard Japanese name "Tasuki Sakura-dai". The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, where a co-researcher is affiliated, displays the world's first live specimen.

・Tonkin flounder [ Pterygotrigla ( Otohime ) tagala ]
A fish of the family Scorpaenidae collected in Tosa Bay, Kochi Prefecture. It has a distinctive pattern featuring black spots and white dots on the inner side of its pectoral fins. Although previously known from Southeast Asia and the Philippines, this is the first report from Japan based on a specimen.

・Spear-toothed Gurnard ( Champsodon sagittus )
This species, belonging to the family Champsodontidae, was collected from the deep seas of southern Japan, including the Hyuga Sea off Miyazaki Prefecture, with a specimen collected in Okinawa Prefecture in 1978 and preserved at Kochi University serving as the primary record. Previously known only from the Indian Ocean and Australia, this represents the first record of the species in Japan and marks its northernmost known distribution. Characterized by a pointed snout and slender body, the new standard Japanese name “Yajiriwanigisu” has been proposed.