A single specimen of the genus
Sillago
, collected from Gwangyang, Korea, in May 2009, is characterized by XI first dorsal fin spines, 3 or 4 rows of melanophore pattern along the second dorsal fin membrane, and a darkish posterior margin of the caudal fin. Our specimen was identified as
Sillago sinica
reported as a new species; this identification is confirmed by mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences, which show that our specimen corresponds to
S. sinica
(
d
=0.000) and differs from the congeneric species
Sillago parvisquamis
(
d
=0.170). Comparisons of Korean specimens previously reported as
S. parvisquamis
with specimens of
S. sinica
show that the
S. parvisquamis
specimens are actually
S. sinica
. We propose the new Korean name “buk-bang-jeom-bo-ri-myeol” for
S. sinica
.
INTRODUCTION
The family Sillaginidae, order Perciformes, comprise 31 species in three genera worldwide (Nelson, 2006) and 4 species in 1 genus in Korea (Kim et al., 2005; Kwun and Kim, 2010). The Korean species are
Sillago sihama
(Forsskål, 1775);
Sillago japonica
Temminck and Schlegel, 1843;
Sillago parvisquamis
Gill, 1861; and
Sillago aeolus
Jordan and Evermann, 1902. Sillaginid fishes are morphologically similar, which has led to considerable confusion in specieslevel identifications (Sano and Mochizuki, 1984). A number of recent molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies of cryptic species have been conducted (Kon et al., 2007; Kai et al., 2011), and the family Sillaginidae has been studied by DNA sequencing (Xue et al., 2010). Kwun and Kim (2010) indicated slight morphological differences between Korean and Japanese specimens of
S. parvisquamis
. We closely compared
S. parvisquamis
from Korea (reported by Kwun and Kim, 2010) with
Sillago sinica
specimens reported by Gao et al. (2011) and performed molecular analyses on a single specimen of
S. sinica
collected in Gwangyang, Korea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A single specimen of
Sillago sinica
was collected from Gwangyang, Korea on 29 May 2009. After collection, the specimen was fixed in 10% formalin after extraction of muscle tissue, and transferred to 70% ethanol. Muscle tissue was stored in 99% ethanol. The specimen is deposited in the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), Korea. Counts and measurements followed Hubbs and Lagler (2004) with a vernier caliper to the nearest 0.1 mm. The vertebrae were counted from a radiograph (HA-100; Softex, Tokyo, Japan).
Genomic DNA was extracted from muscle tissue using Chelex 100 resin (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) using universal primer set (VF2: 5′-TCAACCAACCACAAAGACATTGG CAC-3′ and FishR1: 5′-TACACTTCTGGGTGGCCAAA GAATCA-3′) (Ivanova et al., 2007), with PCR solution containing 5 μL of genomic DNA, 5 μL of 10× buffer, 4 μL of 2.5 mM dNTPs, 1 μL of each primer, 0.5 μL of FR Taq polymerase (Biomedic, Korea), and distilled water to bring the final volume to 50 μL. PCR was performed under the following conditions: initial denaturation was for 2 min at 95℃, followed by 35 cycles of 30 s at 94℃ for denaturation, 30 s at 61℃ for annealing, and 30 s at 72℃ for extension, with a final extension at 72℃ for 3 min. The nucleotide sequence was deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases (accession no. KC708229). The sequence was aligned with ClustalW (Thompson et al., 1994) in BioEdit version 7 (Hall, 1999). The sequences of 4
Sillago
species (
S. aeolus
,
S. japonica
,
S. parvisquamis
, and
S. sihama
), from the National Center for Biological Information database, were used for the sequence comparison. Also,
Lateolabrax japonicus
(PKU 547; KC708230) was used as an outgroup. The genetic distances were calculated with the Kimura-2-parameter model (Kimura, 1980) in MEGA 5 (Tamura et al., 2011). Neighborjoining
Comparison of meristics and morphometrics ofSillago sinicaandS. parvisquamis
Comparison of meristics and morphometrics of Sillago sinica and S. parvisquamis
(NJ) tree was constructed in MEGA 5 (Tamura et al., 2011) with 1,000 bootstrap replications.
SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTS
-
Order Perciformes
-
Family Sillaginidae
-
1*Sillago sinicaGao and Xue in Gao, Ji, Xiao, Xue, Yanagimoto and Setoguma, 2011
-
(new Korean name: Buk-bang-jeom-bo-ri-myeol)
-
(Table 1,Fig. 1)
-
Sillago sinicaGao and Xue in Gao, Ji, Xiao, Xue, Yanagimoto and Setoguma, 2011: 256, figs. 1, 3F (type locality: coastal waters of East China Sea, China).
-
Sillago parvisquamis(non Gill): Kwun and Kim, 2010: 109, figs. 2B, 3B (Korea).
Material examined.
NIBR-P0000019930 (previously PKU2043), 1 specimen, 157.0 mm in standard length (SL),
A, Sillago sinica, NIBR-P0000019930 (previously PKU 2043); B, Sillago sinica, preserved specimen, CNUC 28572; C, Sillagoparvisquamis, preserved specimen, FAKU 68748.
Gwangyang, Korea, 29 May 2009; collected by Kwun HJ and Kim JK.
Description.
Counts and measurements are shown in
Table 1
. Body elongated, slightly compressed, and head tapering. Mouth small, terminal, and snout long. Body depth low, and dorsal margin of head slightly sloping. Eyes normal and located middle of the head, and cheek large. Posterior tip of maxilla not reaching to anterior margin of eye, and upper jaw projecting beyond lower jaw. Single row of conical teeth on both jaws. Two pairs of nostrils located in front of eyes. Interorbital region flat and covered with scales. Lateral line extending to caudal fin base with a slight curvature along middle of body. Body and head covered with ctenoid scales; cheek covered with both ctenoid and cycloid scales; only small scales on base of caudal fin. Posterior margin of preopercle serrated. Opercle with a small spine. Two dorsal fins that appear contiguous but completely separated; origin of first dorsal fin located posterior to origin of pelvic fin; origin of second dorsal fin located vertically above origin of anal fin. Second dorsal spine longest, and others gradually became shorter. Pectoral fin slender. Origin of pelvic fin located vertically above lowest base of pectoral fin, and pelvic fin rays shorter than pectoral fin rays. Caudal fin slightly emarginate but nearly truncate.
Coloration.
When fresh, body is yellowish-green dorsally and silver-white ventrally. Darkish brown band on snout, gradually fading posteriorly. Two dorsal fins with transparent membranes; first fin darkish anteriorly and second fin with 3 or 4 rows of dusky spots. Pectoral fin pale yellow; pelvic fin white; anal fin membrane transparent with small irregular black spots; caudal fin yellowish with darkish posterior lobe. After fixation, body is bright yellow and silvery white from upper base of the pectoral fin to the ventral side. A single faint stripe is present along middle of body.
Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree for cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene sequences of 4 Sillaginidae species. The NJ tree was constructedunder the kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model using Lateolabrax japonicus as an outgroup. Sillago sinica (PKU 2043) indicatepresent specimen (NIBR-P0000019930). Bar indicates genetic distance of 0.02.
Dorsal fin showing the melanophore distribution pattern of Sillago species. A, Sillago sinica, NIBR-P0000019930 (previouslyPKU 2043); B, Sillago parvisquamis (Sano and Mochizuki, 1984: 141, fig. 3B).
MtDNA COI analysis.
A total of 550 bp of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subnit I (mtDNA COI) were obtained from our specimen and the base pair sequence was then compared with those of four Sillaginidae species. The sequence from our specimen corresponds exactly to that of
S. sinica
(
d
=0.000) but differs from that of
S. parvisquamis
(
d
=0.170), which is a morphologically similar species. The sequence from our specimen also shows significant departures from those of
S. sihama
(
d
=0.190), (
S. aeolus
(
d
=0.193), and
S. japonica
(
d
=0.216). A NJ tree shows that the present specimen corresponds to
S. sinica
(bootstrap value, 100%) (
Fig. 2
).
Distribution.
Sillago sinica
is distributed in China (East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea) (Gao et al., 2011) and Korea (South Sea) (present study).
Remarks.
The specimen in this study was identified as
S. sinica
, a new species recently reported by Gao et al. (2011) as having XI first dorsal fin spines, 38 vertebrae, a second dorsal fin with 3 or 4 rows of dusky spots, and a caudal fin with a darkish posterior margin (
Table 1
,
Fig. 3
). The specimen is morphologically very similar to
S. parvisquamis
, but is distinguishable from
S. parvisquamis
by the number of first dorsal fin spines (XII-XIII in
S. parvisquamis
) and the melanophore pattern on the second dorsal fin membrane (5-6 rows in
S. parvisquamis
) (Sano and Mochizuki, 1984; Gao et al., 2011). Also,
Sillago sinica
is distributed in Asia including China and Korea, whereas the congeneric species
S. parvisquamis
is distributed in the South China Sea, Japan, and Taiwan (Shao and Chang, 1978; McKay, 1985, 1992; Hayashi, 2002). In addition, our mtDNA COI analysis showed that our specimen corresponds to
S. sinica
(genetic distance,
d
= 0.000), whereas it differs from
S. parvisquamis
(
d
=0.170) and
S. sihama
(
d
=0.190). In the past, the slight morphological variations between the species were considered as regional variations. Recently, however, a number of studies have revealed that these are cryptic species, based on molecular markers (Kon et al., 2007; Ji et al., 2011; Kai et al., 2011; Kwun et al., 2011). Similarly, Kwun and Kim (2010) identified this specimen as
S. parvisquamis
based on some meristic characters and having several rows of dark spots on second dorsal membrane. In addition, they considered morphological differences between Korean and Japanese specimens of
S. parvisquamis
as regional variations, and suggested that molecular investigations of the two groups should be conducted to confirm their species identifications. In present study, we confirmed that
S. parvisquamis
collected in Korea by Kwun and Kim (2010) is
S. sinica
. If
S. parvisquamis
is found in Korea in the future, considerable confusion may result it the same Korean name is used to describe both
S. parvisquamis
and
S. sinica
. Therefore, we propose the new Korean name “buk-bang-jeom-bo-ri-myeol” for
S. sinica
, based on its areal distribution in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea.
Korean name: 1*북방점보리멸
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Jong-Young Park (Chonbuk National University,Korea), Dr. Yoshiaki Kai (Kyoto University, Japan) forthe loan of the comparative species. This research was supportedby the project on survey and excavation of Koreanindigenous species of the National Institute of Biological Resources(NIBR) under the Ministry of Environment, Korea.
Forsskål PS
1775
Descriptiones Animalium, Avium, Amphibiorum,Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium, quae in itinere orientaliobservavit Petrus Forskål. Post mortem auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Adjuncta est material medica kahirinaatque tabula maris rubric geographica.
Ex Officina Molleri, Hauniae
1 -
164
Gao TX
,
Ji DP
,
Xiao YS
,
Xue TQ
,
Yanagimoto T
,
Setoguma T
2011
Description and DNA barcoding of a new Sillagospecies, Sillago sinica (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), fromcoastal waters of China.
Zoological Studies
50
254 -
263
Gill TN
1861
Description of a new species of Sillago.
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
13
505 -
507
Hall TA
1999
BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequencealignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT.
Nucleic Acids Symposium Series
41
95 -
98
Hayashi M
2002
Sillaginidae. In: Fishes of Japan with pictorialkeys to the species. English ed. (Ed., Nakabo T).
Tokai University Press
Tokyo
871,1561 -
Hubbs CL
,
Lagler KF
2004
Fishes of the Great Lakes region.Revised ed.
University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor, MI
1 -
332
Ji HS
,
Lee SJ
,
Kim JK
2011
Molecular Identification, ontogenyand evolutionary note of Echelus uropterus Leptocephali.
Korean Journal of Ichthyology
23
217 -
224
Jordan DS
,
Evermann BW
1902
Notes on a collection of fishesfrom the island of Formosa.
Proceedings of the United States National Museum
25
315 -
368
DOI : 10.5479/si.00963801.25-1289.315
Kai Y
,
Orr JW
,
Sakai K
,
Nakabo T
2011
Genetic and morphologicalevidence for cryptic diversity in the Careproctusrastrinus species complex (Liparidae) of the North Pacific.
Ichthyological Research
58
143 -
154
DOI : 10.1007/s10228-010-0202-2
Kim IS
,
Choi Y
,
Lee CL
,
Lee YJ
,
Kim BJ
,
Kim JH
2005
Illustratedbook of Korean fishes.
Kyo-Hak Publishing Co.
Seoul
(in Korean)
1 -
615
Kimura M
1980
A simple method for estimating evolutionaryrates of base substitutions through comparative studies ofnucleotide sequences.
Journal of Molecular Evolution
16
111 -
120
DOI : 10.1007/BF01731581
Kon T
,
Yoshino T
,
Mukai T
,
Nishida M
2007
DNA sequencesidentify numerous cryptic species of the vertebrate: a lessonfrom the gobioid fish Schindleria.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
44
53 -
62
DOI : 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.12.007
Kwun HJ
,
Kang CB
,
Kim JK
2011
Redescription of the Hawaiianladyfish Elops hawaiensis from Korea.
Korean Journal of Ichthyology
23
80 -
84
Kwun HJ
,
Kim JK
2010
A taxonomic review of four Sillaginidfishes (Perciformes) from the adjacent waters of Korea.
Korean Journal of Ichthyology
22
105 -
114
McKay RJ
1985
A revision of the fishes of the family Sillaginidae.
Memoirs of the Queensland Museum
22
1 -
73
McKay RJ
1992
FAO species catalogue. Vol. 14. Sillaginidfishes of the world (family Sillaginidae). An annotated andillustrated catalogue of the Sillago, Smelt or Indo-Pacificwhiting species known to date.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome
1 -
87
Nelson JS
2006
Fishes of the world.
4th ed
John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Hoboken, NJ
1 -
601
Sano M
,
Mochizuki K
1984
A revision of the Japanese sillaginidfishes.
Japanese Journal of Ichthyology
31
136 -
149
Shao KT
,
Chang KH
1978
A revision of the sandborers (GenusSillago) of Taiwan.
Bulletin of the Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica
17
1 -
11
Tamura K
,
Peterson D
,
Peterson N
,
Stecher G
,
Nei M
,
Kumar S
2011
MEGA5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysisusing maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximumparsimony methods.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
28
2731 -
2739
DOI : 10.1093/molbev/msr121
Temminck CJ
,
Schlegel H
1843
Fauna Japonica, sive descriptioanimalium quae in itinere per Japoniam suscepto annis 1823-30 collegit, notis observationibus et adumbrationibus illustravitP. F. de Siebold.
Pisces, Fauna Japonica Part
2-4
21 -
72
Thompson JD
,
Higgins DG
,
Gibson TJ
1994
CLUSTAL W:improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequencealignment through sequence weighting, position-specific gappenalties and weight matrix choice.
Nucleic Acids Research
22
4673 -
4680
DOI : 10.1093/nar/22.22.4673
Xue TQ
,
Ning DU
,
GAO TX
2010
Phylogenetic relationshipsof 4 Sillaginidae species based on partial sequences of COIand cytochrome b gene.
Periodical of Ocean University of China
40
91 -
98