Corresponding author: Jin-Koo Kim (
Academic editor: S. Kullander
Morphological and molecular analyses were conducted on 182 specimens belonging to the
Han S-Y, Kim J-K, Kai Y, Senou H (2017) Seahorses of the
The seahorse genus
The species (or species group)
Although the Korean seahorse (Korean name:
A total of 182 specimens of
Distribution of the species within the
Procedures used for counts and measurements follow
Meristic data were obtained from soft X-rays of the 182
Meristic and morphometric characters used in
Tissue from the right eye ball or from the right-side of the tail was used to isolate genomic DNA from 22 specimens with moderately high coronets, collected in Busan, Tongyeong, Boseong, Soan Island, Maizuru, and Minami-ise, and from four specimens with extremely high coronets collected in Miura. Isolation was performed using an AccuPrep® Genomic DNA Extraction Kit (Bioneer, Daejeon, Korea), according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Three partial mitochondrial DNA loci (cytochrome
Sequences of the three gene regions belonging to members of the
GenBank accession numbers and sources of the mitochondrial gene sequences used in the evaluation of the phylogenetic relationships among species belonging to the
Species | Locus | Accession No. | Source |
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cyt |
Present study | ||
16S rRNA | |||
12S rRNA | |||
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cyt |
Present study | |
16S rRNA | |||
12S rRNA | |||
12S rRNA |
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cyt |
Present study | |
16S rRNA | |||
12S rRNA | |||
12S rRNA |
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complete mitogenome |
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12S rRNA |
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complete mitogenome |
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complete mitogenome |
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complete mitogenome |
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complete mitogenome |
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Specimens within the
A species of
Head and trunk folded at approximately right angle; snout elongated and fused; pelvic and caudal fins absent; prehensile tail;
Southeastern coast of Honshu (Japan), from Izu Peninsula (Shizuoka Prefecture) to Boso Peninsula (Chiba Prefecture) (Fig.
Coloration of fresh specimens.
The Latin word
The type series does not match
The type locality of
Although
X-radiographs of
A species of
Head and trunk folded at approximately right angle; snout elongated and fused; pelvic and caudal fins absent; prehensile tail;
Distinctive morphological characters among species within the
Southeastern coast of Honshu (Japan), from Tanabe (Wakayama Prefecture) to Boso Peninsula (Chiba Prefecture) (Fig.
The specific name
The 14 Japanese specimens of
Neighbor-joining tree showing the relationships among species of
139 specimens: specimens (74.0–99.0 mm
A species of
Head and trunk folded at approximately right angle; snout elongated and fused; pelvic and caudal fins absent; prehensile tail;
Korea: southern and southeastern coasts of the Korean Peninsula (from Soan Island to Ulsan); Japan: western coast of Kyushu (western Kagoshima Prefecture), northwestern coast of Honshu (from Kyoto Prefecture to Akita Prefecture) (Fig.
The Korean word
Our data also suggest the existence of two subgroups, one from Korea and another from Japan: cyt
The NJ trees based on cyt
Meristic and morphometric characters assessed in the species comprising the
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Present study | Present study |
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Present study |
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N | 140 | 28 | 5 | – | 7 | 14 | 1 | 6 |
15.9–113.9 | 24.1–133.0 | ?–127.0 | 90.0–115.0 | – | 30.9–108.3 | 38.0 | – | |
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10 | 10 | – | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
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35–38 (36) | 37–40 (39) | – | 38–40 | 38–40 (39) | 35–38 (36) | 37 | 36–38 (37) |
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2 + 0, 2 + 1 | 2 + 0, 2 + 1 | – | 2 + 1 | 2 + 0 | 2 + 0, 2 + 1 | 2 + 0 | 2 + 1 |
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11–14 (13) | 12–15 (14) | – | 13–14 | 14 | 11–15 (12) | 15 | 11–15 (12) |
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4 | 4 | – | – | – | 4 | – | – |
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10–13 (12) | 10–13 (12) | – | 11 | 12 | 11–14 (11) | 14 | 12–14 |
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1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 |
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1–2 (1) | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
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1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 0 |
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4 | 4 | 4 | – | – | 5 | – | – |
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% |
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22.7–41.6 (32.2) | 43.0–60.1 (51.6) | 44.4 | 42.9 | – | 26.8–41.0 (33.9) | 35.7 | – |
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34.1–54.9 (44.5) | 55.7–79.0 (67.4) | – | – | – | 36.3–55.4 (45.9) | – | – |
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28.8–49.0 (38.9) | 35.6–44.2 (39.9) | 44.4 | 42.9 | 40.0–43.4 (41.7) | 28.7–37.2 (33.0) | 35.7 | 30.3–35.7 (33.0) |
% |
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27.1–68.9 (48.0) | 32.3–62.9 (47.6) | – | 33.3 | – | 41.5–69.0 (55.3) | 57.1 | – |
% |
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57.3–88.7 (73.0) | 56.6–71.3 (64.0) | – | 60.0–66.7 (63.4) | – | 57.2–80.1 (68.7) | 75.0 | – |
% |
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37.4–57.2 (47.3) | 42.6–64.5 (53.6) | – | 50.0–71.4 (60.7) | – | 38.3–52.1 (45.2) | 50.0 | – |
N (number of samples),
Frequency distribution of meristic counts among species within the
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17 | 53* | 50 | 18 | 138 | |||
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1 | 9* | 15 | 3 | 28 | ||
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4 | 4 | 4* | 2 | 14 | ||
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1 | 22 | 89 | 28* | 140 | ||
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1 | 6 | 18* | 3 | 28 | ||
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1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1* | 14 | |
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6 | 45 | 65 | 24* | 140 | ||
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2 | 4 | 18* | 4 | 28 | ||
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7 | 5 | 1 | 1* | 14 |
Pairwise genetic distances between
Multiple loci | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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0.000–0.004 | ||||||||
0.025–0.028 | 0.000–0.001* | |||||||
0.075–0.079 | 0.082 | 0.000 | ||||||
0.104–0.108 | 0.114–0.115 | 0.121 | – | |||||
0.131–0.135 | 0.139–0.140 | 0.148 | 0.110 | – | ||||
0.134–0.138 | 0.143–0.144 | 0.153 | 0.111 | 0.020 | – | |||
0.131–0.136 | 0.139–0.140 | 0.151 | 0.109 | 0.031 | 0.028 | – | ||
0.241–0.244 | 0.247–0.248 | 0.251 | 0.232 | 0.217 | 0.219 | 0.231 | – | |
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0.000 | ||||||||
0.015 | 0.000 | |||||||
0.042–0.046 | 0.042–0.045 | 0.000–0.003* | ||||||
0.049–0.052 | 0.058 | 0.042–0.052 | 0.006 | |||||
0.074 | 0.074 | 0.055–0.058 | 0.039 | – | ||||
0.074 | 0.074 | 0.074–0.078 | 0.049–0.052 | 0.055 | – | |||
0.068 | 0.068 | 0.071–0.074 | 0.046–0.049 | 0.055 | 0.009 | – | ||
0.216 | 0.208 | 0.204–0.208 | 0.211–0.213 | 0.195 | 0.180 | 0.191 | – |
1 | No lump on bony body; double gill openings; 10–11 trunk rings |
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– | Reddish lumps on fleshy body; single gill opening; 12 trunk rings |
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2 | 11 trunk rings |
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– | 10 trunk rings |
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3 | Blunt spine or no spine on body |
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– | Sharp spine on body |
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4 | One blunt cheek spine; trapezoid-shape coronet; no dorsal spot |
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– | Two blunt cheek spines; moderately high triangle-shape coronet; no dorsal spot |
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– | One recurved and sharp cheek spine; very low triangular coronet (degenerative coronet); three dorsal spots (on the 1st, 4th, and 7th trunk rings) but sometimes absent |
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5 | Wide body; 34–38 (36) tail rings |
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– | Narrow body; 39–41 (40) tail rings |
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6 | Four tips on corona flat (5th tip degenerated, and separated from the other four); wing-tip spine on dorsal fin base |
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– | Five tips on corona flat (5th tip developed, and combined with the other four); no wing-tip spines on dorsal fin base |
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7 | 37–40 (39) tail rings; coronet height from gill opening 43.0–60.1 % head length; coronet height from mid-point of cleithral ring 55.7–79.0 % head length |
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– | 35–38 (36) tail rings; coronet height from gill opening 22.7–41.6 % head length; coronet height from mid-point of cleithral ring 34.1–54.9 % head length |
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*This key was compiled from |
We sincerely thank J. M. Lee (MarineCom, Korea), S. Rho, G. E. Noh, and S. O. Shin (Haecheonma, Korea), and W. G. Park and J. Y. Bae (