Saurida fortis, a new species of lizardfish (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) from the northwestern Pacific Ocean

Saurida fortis sp. nov., a lizardfish (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) from the northwestern Pacific Ocean, previously misidentified as Saurida umeyoshii Inoue and Nakabo 2006 and/or Saurida wanieso Shindo and Yamada 1972, is morphologically and genetically distinct from both species and described as new. It is characterized by the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays 11 or 12; lateral-line scales 53–56; vertebrae 51–54; pre-dorsal-fin scale rows 19–22; scale rows below lateral line 5.5; scale rows below lateral line with melanophores 3–5.5; pectoral fin moderately long, its length 12.5–16.9% of standard length (SL), tip of fin just short of or extending slightly beyond P–D line; pelvic girdle width 8.0–11.1% SL; anterior end of base of anteriormost gill raker on lower gill arch located behind posterior end of basibranchial/hypobranchial junction, with gap between gill raker and junction subequal in length to 1–3 gill-raker bases; body dark brown dorsally, silvery-white ventrally, with a row of poorly defined brownish-black blotches along lateral line and a pair of similar blotches posterior to both dorsal- and adipose-fin bases; scale pockets below lateral line with melanophores (usually absent anterior to pelvic-fin bases, rarely present in adults), melanophore number decreasing ventrally and increasing with growth; single row of indistinct black spots along caudal-fin upper margin.