The world’s first exhibit of the Slender pinjalo akashichu (Pinjalo lewisi)!!

　The world’s first exhibit of the slender pinjalo (Pinjalo lewisi) which is rarely caught in Japanese waters, and is now on live display at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

≪セダカタカサゴ≫
学名：Pinjalo lewisi
Okinawan name: Akashichu

　The word takasago “fusilier” is included in its Japanese name, but it is actually in the snapper family. It reaches 50 cm in length, and lives in relatively deep waters at around 60 meters. It has a distinctive red body. At birth, there are dark red diagonal stripes on the sides of its body. It also has white spots on the uppermost part of its caudal fin. Few have been recorded in Japanese waters, and its ecology is poorly known. Distributed in the Indo-West Pacific south of the Yaeyama Islands.

　Shichu-machi is Japanese snapper in the Okinawan language (it’s body is blue).
The Pinjalo lewisi is in the same family as the Japanese snapper, and because it has a similar shape it is called the akashichu (the red shichu-machi).

Pinjalo lewisi is considered a phantom fish as no aquariums in the world have ever reared them, and there is no academic literature. With the help of the fisherman of Iriomote Island and the fisheries logbooks, it was possible to collect a specimen in January 2024.
Rearing, conducted at the aquarium, has allowed us to learn that dark red diagonal stripes are on the side of its body at birth .
Currently, there is a school of ten individuals swimming in The Sea of Tropical Fish, where the water current is relatively fast.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, through rearing and surveys will continue to shed light on the ecology of this species and the biodiversity of creatures in the waters surrounding Okinawa Prefecture.