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April 11, 2026Species Diversity0 citationsOpen Access

The Rare Snailfish Menziesichthys alaid (Teleostei: Liparidae), Newly Recorded from the Southern Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea Slope, Now Transferred to the Genus Paraliparis

YKYoshiaki KaiKMKenta MurasakiTMT. Mōri

Key Points

  • To describe and classify newly recorded specimens of the rare snailfish Menziesichthys alaid from the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea.
  • Collection of three specimens from Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan.
  • Detailed osteological description of the specimens.
  • Comparison with earlier known specimens to assess taxonomic affiliation.
  • Identified as second and third records of the species.
  • Showed a range of diagnostic osteological features distinct from other snailfishes.
  • Proposed taxonomic transfer of Menziesichthys alaid to the genus Paraliparis based on morphological characteristics.

Abstract

Three specimens of a rare snailfish, Menziesichthys alaid Prokofiev and Iftime, 2020 (Teleostei: Perciformes: Liparidae), collected from Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan, the southern Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea Slope, represent the second and third records of the species, previously known only from two type specimens caught off the northern Kuril Islands. A detailed description (including selected osteological characters) based on the former three specimens, showed the species to differ from other snailfishes as follows: vertebrae 61–68; dorsal-fin rays 61; anal-fin rays 55–57; caudal-fin rays 3 or 4; no pelvic disk; a shallowly notched pectoral fin with 11–14 rays, lower lobe longer than upper lobe; teeth simple; cephalic pores 2-6-7-1, chin pores paired in separate pits, coronal pore present; lower tip of retroarticular pointed; gill slit large, extending to lower base of pectoral fin; stomach and peritoneum black. Because the species displays many diagnostic characters of Paraliparis Collett, 1879 rather than Menziesichthys Nalbant and Mayer, 1971, it is here regarded as a member of Paraliparis.

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Cite This Study

Kai et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d9e4d578050d08c1b752d4https://doi.org/10.12782/specdiv.31.23
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