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Red-eyed creature — with ‘needle-like' teeth — is a new species on Japan reef
In the shallow reefs off the coast of southwestern Japan, a small fish scuttles along the rocky seafloor.
With colors that blend into the bright coral of the reef, it's just waiting for the opportunity to use its sharp teeth to catch prey.
The animal is a lizardfish, part of the fish family Synodontidae, and known for their mottled coloration, lizard-like heads and carnivorous diet.
It's also a species new to science.
Synodus autumnus, or the autumn lizardfish (Iroha-eso in Japanese), derives its name from its warm-toned coloration, reminiscent of the time when leaves turn orange, yellow and red in the fall, also known as 'iroha' in Japan, according to a study published June 26 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.
One of the fish was caught in a hand net in 2023 about 16 feet below the surface, according to the study.
The fish grows to about 2 inches long, researchers said, and has a 'large' mouth filled with 'numerous small, needle-like' teeth.
The background color of the fish's body is 'orangish-brown' with a white belly and 'reddish saddle-like blotches' along its back, according to the study.
Brown and white blotches create rows along the autumn lizardfish's sides, and the fins have reddish bars on a translucent membrane, researchers said.
The fish's iris is orangish-red, matching the color of the saddles, photos show.
The new species was originally discovered in Japan, but it also was found to be living in other parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans, according to the study.
The fish was found in the waters around Taiwan, the Philippines, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Tonga and Hawaii, researchers said.
'It inhabits inshore areas with coral or rocky reefs and boulders, at depths of (about 3 to 100 feet),' according to the study.
Researchers believe the fish may have actually been recorded decades ago in other regions based on underwater photographs, but because they can only be differentiated from another species. S. rubromarmoratus, by examining the teeth and scale lines, photographs alone wouldn't have been enough to identify the fish as a separate species at the time, according to the study.
Other records that included drawings were also found but are not considered reliable in the scientific record, researchers said.
The autumn lizardfish was found off Kyushu, the southwestern-most large island of Japan.
The research team includes Ryusei Furuhashi and Hiroyuki Motomura.
