What Is Known of Fish Diversity in the Sea of Japan? Flatfishes: A Case Study

Redescription of <i>Icelus rastrinoides</i> Taranetz in Schmidt, 1935, a Senior Synonym of <i>Ricuzenius toyamensis</i> Matsubara and Iwai, 1951, with Notes on Geographic Variations (Teleostei: Cottidae)

“…Although the early-life history of Icelus is largely unknown, an unidentified example of the genus was recorded from 50 m depth in April (Kojima 2014). Because the shallow area of the Sea of Japan coast of Japan is dominated by the Tsushima Warm Current, flowing from south to north, and those of Russia and Korea by the cold Liman Current, the fish faunas of western and eastern Sea of Japan regions are strikingly different (Kai and Motomura 2022;Tashiro 2022). In fact, Tashiro (2022) showed that cold-water species dominate the Eastern Korea, Primorsky Krai, Tatar, and Hok- kaido areas of the Sea of Japan.…”

“…Because the shallow area of the Sea of Japan coast of Japan is dominated by the Tsushima Warm Current, flowing from south to north, and those of Russia and Korea by the cold Liman Current, the fish faunas of western and eastern Sea of Japan regions are strikingly different (Kai and Motomura 2022;Tashiro 2022). In fact, Tashiro (2022) showed that cold-water species dominate the Eastern Korea, Primorsky Krai, Tatar, and Hok- kaido areas of the Sea of Japan. It should be noted that the I. rastrinoides specimens examined here from Areas A-C have higher numbers of dorsal-and anal-fin rays than those from Areas D-F.…”