Crimson seabream

A marine fish belonging to the order Perciformes, family Sparidae, subfamily Pagrus major. It is found on the Pacific coast from Aomori to Kochi prefectures, along the southern coast of Kyushu to Tanegashima, along the coast of Japan in Yamaguchi prefecture, in the East China Sea, the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, along the coast of Taiwan, and in the Gulf of Tonkin. Its body is ovoid, tall, and often laterally flattened. Its body length is 2.2 times its body height or less. It has two rows of molars on the sides of both jaws. The third and fourth spines of the dorsal fin are significantly elongated and thread-like. It has nine soft rays in its anal fin, the same as the closely related Crimson Sea Bream. Its total length is about 40 centimeters. Its body is pale pink. The bright red part of the gill membrane above the gill slits is narrow. Small blue-green spots are scattered on the sides of its body. It is a bottom-swimming fish that mainly lives on the continental shelf in the southern East China Sea and is caught with bottom trawls. Its pale pink white flesh is enjoyed as sashimi, in soup, grilled with salt, or simmered. It is a fish of the subfamily Pagrus major, which belongs to the same genus as the Crimson Sea Bream, but can be easily distinguished from the Crimson Sea Bream by the significantly elongated third and fourth spines of its dorsal fin.

[Masato Akasaki and Kunio Amano, September 19, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

硬骨魚綱スズキ目タイ科マダイ亜科に属する海水魚。青森県から高知県の太平洋岸、九州南岸から種子島(たねがしま)、山口県の日本海岸、東シナ海、朝鮮半島南岸、台湾沿岸、トンキン湾に分布する。体は卵形で、体高は高くて、よく側扁(そくへん)する。体長は体高の2.2倍以下。両顎(りょうがく)側部に2列の臼歯(きゅうし)がある。背びれ第3棘(きょく)、第4棘は著しく伸びて糸状を呈する。臀(しり)びれは近縁のチダイと同じく9軟条。全長約40センチメートル。体は淡紅色。鰓孔(さいこう)の上部にある鰓膜の鮮紅色部の幅は狭い。体側に小青緑色斑点(はんてん)が散在する。おもに東シナ海南部の大陸棚上に多く生息する底層遊泳魚で、底引網で漁獲される。淡紅色を帯びた白身の肉で、刺身、吸い物、塩焼き、煮つけなどにして賞味される。チダイと同じチダイ属に属するマダイ亜科の魚で、背びれ第3棘と第4棘が著しく伸長することでチダイと容易に区別できる。

［赤崎正人・尼岡邦夫　2017年9月19日］

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