Plectranthias takaseiis the newest species of reef fish to be described and what a fantastic new fish it is. This attractive ‘Hinomaru Perchlet’ also has the honor of being described by some serious fish nerds, including the Ichthyologist formerly known as Lemon TYK.
Of all the ‘mysterious’ groups of aquarium suitable reef fish, thePlectranthiasare definitely among our favorites. Ranging from the ubiquitousPlectranthias inermis, to the rareP. pelicieri, to the handful of species that are officially undescribed and poorly known.
Plectranthias takaseijoins an illustrious group of fish, many of which are found in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and Japan, such as this one. Since it comes from Japan and has an obvious big red spot on its side, the common name ofPlectranthias takaseiis the Hinomaru Perchlet, with Hinomaru being Japanese for ‘circle of the sun’, and a common reference to the Japanese flag.
ButPlectranthias takaseiis not the only species with that distinctive red spot, sharing this feature, and its range with thelargerPlectranthias yamakawai.And there’sanother perchlet in this genuswith a distinctive red spot on its side too, which has sometimes been confused with the Hinomaru Perchlet, which is tentatively undescribed.
The newly mintedPlectranthias takaseiwas first collected in march 2008 at Izu Oceanic Park, in Sagami Bay, Honshu, Japan. Interestingly, this is also the home of the Sagami perchlet,Plectranthias sagamiensisbut thankfully, this species was found at the modest depth of 55 meters, or about 180 feet deep.
LikeCichlasomafor new world cichlids andPseudotropheusfor African cichlids, thePlectranthiasgenus is starting to get bloated into a catch-all for all of the perchlets with this particular body shape. The taxon likely represents multiple groups of fish and a formal revision in the future will likely result into thePlectranthias规范ies being divided into more cohesive genera.
The Hinomaru Perchlet,Plectranthias takaseiis described by Gill, Tea & Senou in the latest edition ofZooTaxa.