''Japonolycodes'' is a

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The only species in the genus is ''Japonolycodes abei''. This species is found Northwestern Pacific Ocean off Japan.

Taxonomy

''Japanolycodes'' was first proposed as a genus in 2002 by the Japanese zoologists

Gento Shinohara Gento may refer to: * Gento (son of Genseric) (died 477), the fourth and youngest son of Genseric, the founder of the Vandal kingdom in Africa * Gento (Goth), 5th century Gothic soldier in Eastern Roman service * Francisco Gento (1933–2022), als ...

Hiroshi Sakurai is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

and

Y. Machida ''Y.'' is the second studio album released by Spanish singer-songwriter Bebe. Released on June 29, 2009, the album received positive critical reviews, and entered the Spanish Album Chart at number one. It was released after Bebe's four-year hia ...

with ''Davidijordania abei'' as its type species and only species, ''J. abei''. ''D. abei'' had originally been described by

Kiyomatsu Matsubara was a Japanese marine biologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Born Kiyomatsu Sakamoto in Hyogo Prefecture, Kiyomatsu Matsubara was the first professor of the Department of Fisheries of the University of Kyoto and is considered to be the fou ...

from the

Kumano Sea The Kumano Nada () is a body of water belonging to North Pacific Ocean (Philippines Sea) located off the coast of Kumano Region of the Kii Peninsula located in central Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an ...

on the Pacific coast of Mie Prefecture on Honshu in Japan. In 2002 Shinohara, Sakurai and Machida obtained new specimens, as well as re-examining the older specimens, and were able to erect a new monotypic genus, ''Japonolycodes'', for this taxon. They were also able to show that this taxon lacks the derived features of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Gymnelinae Gymnelinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean but one genus is cosmopolitan, and another is endemic to the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy Gymenli ...

and belongs in the more

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

Lycodinae. Some authorities recognise a second species in this genus, ''Japonolycodes magellanicus'' ( M.E. Anderson, 1988) from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, but ''

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

'' classifies this species within the genus '' Letholycus''.

Etymology

''Japanolycodes'' is a combination of ''japon'', meaning "Japan", and the genus ''

Lycodes ''Lycodes'' is a genus of Zoarcidae, zoarcid fish in the subfamily (biology), subfamily Lycodinae. It is the most species-rich genus in its family (biology), taxonomic family as well as in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters. They occupy both sh ...

'', the type genus of the subfamily Lycodinae. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

, Genkiti Abe of Nisiura in the

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

Distribution and habitat

''Japonolycodes abei'' is known only from Japan where it has been collected from Kumano-nada Sea, Sagami Bay and Tosa Bay at depths between .

Biology

''Japonolycodes abei'' is likely to spawn in the Autumn as a female specimen taken in August had mature eggs. One captive fish lived for 11 years in an aquarium.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1853243, from2=Q2498732 Lycodinae Fish described in 1936 Taxa named by Kiyomatsu Matsubara Monotypic ray-finned fish genera