SHIMANTOGAWA OFFLINE MEETING ­¶


Akame

These fish live in the Shimanto River, and are called Akame (Lates japonicus) or Japanese late.
It is a rare and shy fish endemic in Japan.
It has a comparatively long and compressed body and a large mouth.
It is a metallic grey in overall colour, with a bluish tint, darker upperparts, and lighter underparts.
Its fins are greyish black, and its pupils are red.
The Japanese lates was first scientifically described in 1984,
having previously been considered the same species as the barramundi (L. calcarifer).
Even when it was realised it was a separate species,
publication of a formal description was delayed
since the type specimen of the barramundi was alleged to originate in Japan,
and because of confusion caused by the deformities of the barramundi's type specimen.
The Japanese lates differs from the barramundi in several features.
It has a deeper body, longer third dorsal and second anal spines,
fewer pectoral fin rays, more scales, and fewer gill rakers.
It reaches a maximum length of and a maximum weight of.
The Japanese lates is a bottom dweller in shallow water in freshwater, estuaries, and the ocean.
The Japanese lates is known in the south-western part of the Japanese main islands,
where it is found in the seas around Tosa Bay in Shikoku and near Miyazaki City in Kyushu.
It is believed to spawn here, and younger fish are found up the Ohyodo and Shimanto rivers.
The barramundi is believed to replace it in the Ryukyu Islands.



















PHOTOGRAPHED BY
BIKKLE,KINDAIKON,CHIBIOYAJI,AND KINZOH
October 10th 2010



SHIMANTOGAWA OFFLINE MEETING ­¶
October 8th to 11th 2010






©2010-2040 KINZOH NO YAKATA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.