Littoral Water in Hong Kong as a Potential Transient Habitat for Juveniles of a Temperate Deepwater Gnomefish, Scombrops boops (Acropomatiformes: Scombropidae)
Jiehong Wei
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Jiarui Gu
Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
Min Liu
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Bai-an Lin
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Gabriel Y. Lee
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Tak-Cheung Wai
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
Paul K.S. Lam
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Meng Yan
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China
Priscilla T.Y. Leung
State KeyLam) State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China
Communicated by Felipe Ottoni
A total of 40 juveniles belonging to a temperate deepwater gnomefish species, Scombrops boops, were sampled from littoral habitats (2–5 m depth) of eastern Hong Kong waters in April and May 2017 and March 2019. The presence of gnomefish juveniles in subtropical southern China is reported for the first time, at a record low latitude of 22º11'–22º21'N. The specimens were identified based on the COI gene sequence. The genetic composition between Japan and Hong Kong gnomefish populations were compared by sequencing the mitochondrial Cytb gene, which showed no genetic differentiation. The juveniles ranged from 3.5–10.1 cm (n = 40) in total length, with 35 individuals caught from Sargassum beds and five from rocky reefs. Our findings highlighted that the littoral habitats in Hong Kong waters, in particular the seasonal Sargassum beds, are important for small juveniles of S. boops.
