New record of Chromis weberi (Actinopterygii: Ovalentaria: Pomacentridae) from Jeju Island, southern Korea

Abstract

Discovering tropical marine species outside of their distribution limits is important for evaluating the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. One specimen (31.6 mm standard length) of a tropical fish, Chromis weberi Fowler et Bean, 1928, representing the family Pomacentridae, was first recorded from Jeju Island, Korea, on 8 December 2021. It was characterized by black posterior margins of the preopercle and opercle and black upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin. A specimen of this species collected from Munseom was distinguished from Chromis xanthura (Bleeker, 1854) based on distinct differences in the tips of the upper and lower caudal fin lobes, which are not black in C. xanthura. In addition, C. weberi was easily distinguished from the other four species in the genus Chromis, by the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequence (345 bp), with genetic distances ranging from 0.130 to 0.252. This study documents the first record of C. weberi in temperate Korean waters, implying a poleward range expansion for this species. The Korean name ‘geom-eun-jeom-ggo-ri-ja-ri-dom’ has been proposed for C. weberi.