Distributional Range Extension of the Pale Ornate Jobfish <i>Pristipomoides amoenus</i> (Teleostei: Perciformes: Lutjanidae) in the Western Pacific Ocean, with Notes on Newly Recognized Diagnostic Coloration

Seven specimens (149.0–221.2 mm standard length) of Pristipomoides amoenus (Snyder, 1911), previously known only from Okinawa-jima and Ishigaki-jima islands, southern Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, were collected other regions Japan (Amami-oshima island, Amami Kagoshima Prefecture), Taiwan (Dong-gang, Pingtung), the Philippines (Iloilo, Panay Island), Fiji (Viti Levu thereby representing first records species outside Prefecture. The Amami-oshima Fijian also represent northernmost Southern Hemisphere records, respectively, for species. Comparison these plus newly Islands (herein described in detail) with closely related argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes Cuvier Valenciennes, 1832) revealed following hitherto unrecognized diagnostic color features P. amoenus: a few small silvery-blue blotches present inside yellow saddles on dorsum; below trunk lateral line absent or indistinct; distinct (formed by blotches) lower caudal peduncle; large blotch upper opercle, extending anteriorly beyond preopercular margin; formed peduncle ending at caudal-fin base; pair lines along dorsal-fin base (dorsal view); larger elliptical occipital region (all retained as dark-brown after preservation). is recorded Tokara northern Japan.