Mao-Ying Lee

• Ph. D. Researcher
• Scientific technician at Fisheries Research Institute, COA

Combined results based on morphological characters and analyses of partial sequences of the 16s rRNA and coI genes confirm the validity of a new, cryptic, symphurine tonguefish from the western North Pacific Ocean. Symphurus leucochilus n. sp., a diminutive species reaching sizes to c. 67 mm standard length, is described from nine specimens that we...

Aphoristia (= Symphurus) orientalis Bleeker 1879, collected from an unspecified depth and location in Japanese waters, is the first described species of symphurine tonguefish from Indo-Pacific waters. The original description with accompanying illustration is based on the unique holotype specimen and provides limited diagnostic characters for this...

Flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) are a species‐rich and distinct group of fishes characterized by cranial asymmetry. Flatfishes occupy a wide diversity of habitats, including the tropical deep‐sea and freshwaters, and often are small‐bodied fishes. Most scientific effort, however, has been focused on large‐bodied temperate marine species important in...

Species of Symphurus (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae) are relatively small-sized tonguefishes occurring worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate seas. In the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, species of Symphurus inhabiting waters shallower than 200 m are rarely reported; only five have been described, S. microrhynchus (Weber, 1913), S. holo...

A new species of symphurine tonguefish, Symphurus oxyrhynchus sp. nov., is described from two specimens captured in deep waters (718-852 m) off Taiwan and Japan. This new species is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: predominant 1-2-2-1-2 pattern of interdigitation of dorsal pterygiophores and neural spines, 14...

The large-mouth pricklefish, Malacosarcus macrostoma (Günther, 1878), previously known from five specimens collected from the central Pacific Ocean, is redescribed based on three specimens collected from the abyssal zone (4,412–4,813 m) off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. These specimens contribute to a more comprehensive description of M. macros...

Dongsha Island, situated in the northern part of the South China Sea, is surrounded by coral reefs and deep-sea habitats. The coastal areas of the atoll, a marine protected area, serve as important nursery habitats for many reef fish species. At the same time, the offshore deep-sea continental slopes are historically important fishing grounds. Alth...

Thought to be monotypic for decades, the only species in the goosefish genus Lophiomus Gill, Lm. setigerus (Vahl), shows a wide range of morphological variation and is distributed widely in the Indo-West Pacific (IWP). In this study, datasets for two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes sequences obtained from samples of Lophiomus collected in diffe...

Imagery has become a key tool for assessing deep-sea megafaunal biodiversity, historically based on physical sampling using fishing gears. Image datasets provide quantitative and repeatable estimates, small-scale spatial patterns and habitat descriptions. However, taxon identification from images is challenging and often relies on morphotypes witho...

The South Java Deep-Sea (SJADES) Biodiversity Expedition 2018 was conducted between Indonesia and Singapore with the aim to investigate the deep-sea biodiversity in southern Java, Indonesia, in the eastern Indian Ocean. Examination of the fishes collected during the survey revealed 222 distinct taxa in 62 families. Of these, 54 species are known, t...

With six valid species, Luciobrotula is a small genus of the family Ophidiidae, commonly known as cusk-eels. They are benthopelagic fishes occurring at depths ranging from 115–2300 m in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Among them, Luciobrotula bartschi is the only known species in the West Pacific. Three specimens of Luciobrotula were coll...

With 11 species, the genus Chelidoperca is a small group of teleost fishes belonging to the Serranidae. They are bottom-dwelling fishes living on continental shelves/slopes in offshore areas or on remote seamounts/banks at depths ranging from around 40–400 m mostly in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. Over the past few years, efforts have been made t...

Left-eyed flounders of the genus Chascanopsetta Alcock 1894 (Bothidae) occur in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans at depths ranging from 120 to 1500 meters. They possess some unique features in bothid fishes including a strongly compressed and elongated body and a tremendously large mouth. Currently, nine species of Chascanopsetta are recogn...

In this study, we combined both morphological and molecular evidences to recognize those specimens that present a new species of Chascanopsetta

Species identification based on the DNA sequence of a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in the mitochondrial genome, DNA barcoding, is widely applied to assist in sustainable exploitation of fish resources and the protection of fish biodiversity. The aim of this study was to establish a reliable barcoding reference database...

Symphurus longirostris, a new, cryptic tonguefish, was discovered by combining evidence from both morphological characters and the genetic divergence data of partial sequences of the 16S rRNA and COI genes. This dwarf species, reaching sizes to 65.5 mm standard length (SL), is described from 37 specimens collected from shallow waters around souther...

After Randall & Lim (2000) compiled a checklist of 3,365 species of marine fishes from the South China Sea (SCS), it was expected that there would be an increase of many new species or new records, especially the deep-sea fishes, in this region. In this paper, we went through the Fish Database of Taiwan and sorted a total of 38 orders, 230 families...

The study of deep-sea fish fauna is hampered by a lack of data due to the difficulty and high cost incurred in its surveys and collections. Taiwan is situated along the edge of the Eurasia fig, at the junction of three Large Marine Ecosystems or Ecoregions of the East China Sea, South China Sea and the Philippines. As nearly two-thirds of its surro...

Symphurus multimaculatus new species, described from nine specimens captured in deep waters off Taiwan, is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: predominant 1–2–2–2–2 pattern of interdigitation of dorsal pterygiophores and neural spines, 14 caudal-fin rays, 92–94 dorsal-fin rays, 79–82 anal-fin rays, 9 abdominal a...

A new symphurine tonguefish species, Symphurus megasomus, is described on the basis of 18 specimens collected in deep waters (471-640 m) off eastern Taiwan. This species is characterized by the combination of a predominant 1-2-3-2-2 pattern of interdigitation of dorsal pterygiophores and neural spines, 14 caudal-fin rays, 106-111 dorsal-fin rays, 9...

After Randall & Lim (2000) compiled a checklist of 3,365 species of marine fi shes from the South China Sea (SCS), it was expected that there would be an increase of many new species or new records, especially the deep-sea fi shes, in this region. In this paper, we went through the Fish Database of Taiwan and sorted a total of 38 orders, 230 famili...

Ten new records of alepocephlid species, and seven new records of genera were collected by R/V 'Ocean Researcher I' in the deep waters around Taiwan from 316-2547 meters during August are the new records of Taiwan. Thus, the total number of Taiwanese alepocephalids currently is nine genera and 12 species. This paper includes diagnostic characters a...

Three new records of halosaurid species and two new records of genera were collected by R/V 'Ocean Researcher I' and R/V ‘Fishery Researcher I’ in the deep waters around Taiwan from 488-2423 meters during August 2001 - August 2005. They are Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877), Aldrovandia phalacra (Vaillant, 1888), and Halosauropsis macrochir (Günt...

This paper reports two new record species of deep-sea cusk eels, Dicrolene tristis and Bassozetus multispinis, which were recently collected by Fishery Research Institute of Taiwan from the southern (22°01'N, 120°09'E; 22°11'N, 121°02'E) and eastern (24°16'N, 122°11'E) Taiwan waters at depths more than 1000 m. D. tristis were characterized by two m...

Fifteen new records and two reconfirmed records of ophidiid species, and seven new records of genera were collected by R/V 'Ocean Researcher I' in the deep waters around Taiwan from 227- 3590 meters during August 2002-July 2004. They are Acanthonus armatus Günther, 1878, Bassozetus compressus (Günther, 1878), Bassozetus glutinosus (Alcock, 1890), B...