2008/1/14

Japanese Giant Perch occurred in the Miyazaki waters, called as Maruka


Japanese name: Akame. Lates japonicus Katayama & Taki, 1984. 50 cm in standard length, Nobeoka Bay, Miyazaki Pref., photographed by Y. Iwatsuki. This photograph was used for Masuda et al (1984), published by Tokai Univ., Press.


Lates japonicus Katayama & Taki, 1984. ca. 120 cm TL, collected in mouth of the Mimi River, captured by Mr. Shiro Kamogawa.　Eye is shinning in ruby red.

Akame has long been considered as Lates calcalifer but Katayama and Taki (1984) described it to be a new to science. It is considered that Japanese Giant Perch is a surprising organism because the species fortunately survived in smaller estuay habitant of Japanese rivers, so to speak "too small rivers" in Japan, until or beyond over present days. There was a record of the largest size in Hitotsuba Inlet of Hitotsuba River, Miyazaki Prefecture. It attained to 2.1 m in total length and 220 kg (7 Shaku, 55 Kan) in early Meiji era in 1878 according to Hitotsuba Fisheries Association of Miyazaki Prefecture. Unfortunately it is not seen in such larger individuals at now and the species is listed in an endangered species in Japanese Government.


Referenes.

• Katayama, M. & Y. Taki. Lates japonicus, a new centropomid fish from Japan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 30 : 361-367. 1984.
• Iwatsuki, Y., K. Tashiro and T. Hamasaki. 1993. Distribution and fluctuations in occurrence of a Japanese centropomid fish, Lates japonicus.　Japan. J. Ichthyol., 40(3): 327-332.
• Iwatsuki, Y., K. Tashiro, M. Endo and H. Ono. 1994. The matured female of the Japanese centropomid fish from the Oyodo River estuary, Miyazaki Prefecture. Bull. Fac. Agri., Miyazaki Univ., 41(1): 11-14.
• Tashio, K. and Y. Iwatsuki. 1995. Growth and feeding habits in reared Japanese centropomid fish, Lates japonicus. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi, 61(5): 684-688. (In Japanese with English abstract.)