ABSTRACT

Since Pteragogus flagellifer was reported by Mori (1928) for the first time in Korea, many authors have recognized the Korean cocktail wrasse as P. flagellifer. However, after Iino and Motomura (2022a, 2022b), the taxonomy of the Korean cocktail wrasse has been challenged by the most similar species Pteragogus aurigarius. Morphological characteristics of the cocktail wrasse were investigated based on eight specimens collected from Jejudo Island, South Sea and Dokdo Island of Korea. We found that our Korean cocktail wrasse and the Korean records on P. flagellifer were confirmed to be P. aurigarius in having multiple abdominal spots, no supraorbital spots, and no elongated membranes on the anal fin spines. Furthermore, P. flagellifer is primarily distributed in tropical water, whereas P. aurigarius occurs in subtropical to temperate waters. On the basis of these morphological and distributional traits, we suggest that the Korean cocktail wrasse previously reported as P. flagellifer be changed to P. aurigarius.