A new species of sole (Pleuronectiformes, Soleidae), Soleichthys labyrinthus, from the China Sea.
6 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, and College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, and College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University Xiamen China https://ror.org/00mcjh785.
- 2School of Advanced Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China School of Advanced Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences, Xiamen University Xiamen China https://ror.org/00mcjh785.
- 3East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai, 200090, China East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences Shanghai China.
- 4Key Laboratory of Fisheries Remote Sensing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China Key Laboratory of Fisheries Remote Sensing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Shanghai China.
- 5Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans, Xiamen University Xiamen China https://ror.org/00mcjh785.
- 6Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Science, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510301, China Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Science Guangzhou China https://ror.org/0192yj155.
Abstract
The genus Soleichthys (Soleidae) suffers from taxonomic confusion due to morphological similarities. In this study, a new sole species, Soleichthys labyrinthus sp. nov., is described based on the holotype and 24 paratypes collected from the northern South China Sea and the East China Sea. This new species is readily distinguished from its congeners by a unique combination of characters: 78-86 dorsal-fin rays and 65-73 anal-fin rays; the ocular side is tawny brown, featuring a labyrinth-shaped reticulated pattern and lacking the typical transverse bands found in most congeners. The ocular-side lateral line possesses two prominent white spots, accompanied by a series of four (occasionally five) small, longitudinally arranged flaxen-white to light-brown spots occurring along both the dorsal-fin base and the anal-fin base. The caudal fin also bears a broad black transverse band followed posteriorly by a broad white marginal band. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene robustly supports S. labyrinthus sp. nov. as a distinct monophyletic lineage, while K2P genetic distances reveal deep interspecific divergence (0.182-0.227) from its congeners. This study also provides an updated taxonomic key to all eleven species of Soleichthys.
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BibTeX
@article{zheng2026species,
title = {{A new species of sole (Pleuronectiformes, Soleidae), Soleichthys labyrinthus, from the China Sea.}},
author = {Junjie Zheng and Zhiqi Zou and Siyuan Li and Yang He and Jiajie Chen and Hanye Zhang and Mingru Chen and Xiaoyu Kong},
journal = {ZooKeys},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3897/zookeys.1294.197188},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903573},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A new species of sole (Pleuronectiformes, Soleidae), Soleichthys labyrinthus, from the China Sea.
AU - Junjie Zheng
AU - Zhiqi Zou
AU - Siyuan Li
AU - Yang He
AU - Jiajie Chen
AU - Hanye Zhang
AU - Mingru Chen
AU - Xiaoyu Kong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - ZooKeys
DO - 10.3897/zookeys.1294.197188
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903573
AB - The genus Soleichthys (Soleidae) suffers from taxonomic confusion due to morphological similarities. In this study, a new sole species, Soleichthys labyrinthus sp. nov., is described based on the holotype and 24 paratypes collected from the northern South China Sea and the East China Sea. This new species is readily distinguished from its congeners by a unique combination of characters: 78-86 dorsal-fin rays and 65-73 anal-fin rays; the ocular side is tawny brown, featuring a labyrinth-shaped reticulated pattern and lacking the typical transverse bands found in most congeners. The ocular-side lateral line possesses two prominent white spots, accompanied by a series of four (occasionally five) small, longitudinally arranged flaxen-white to light-brown spots occurring along both the dorsal-fin base and the anal-fin base. The caudal fin also bears a broad black transverse band followed posteriorly by a broad white marginal band. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene robustly supports S. labyrinthus sp. nov. as a distinct monophyletic lineage, while K2P genetic distances reveal deep interspecific divergence (0.182-0.227) from its congeners. This study also provides an updated taxonomic key to all eleven species of Soleichthys.
SN - 1313-2989
SN - 1313-2970
ER -