Records of the swellfish Lagocephalus lunaris (Bloch et Schneider) from the coastal waters of Japan.

Five cases of occurrence of the toxic swellfish Lagocephalus lunaris (BLOCH et SCHNEIDER) have been recorded from the coastal waters of Japan: two specimens from Fukagawa Bay, Yamaguchi Pref., Japan Sea, in November 1977; one from Lake Hamana, Shizuoka Pref., on November 4, 1983; one from the coastal water of Nawa-machi, Tottori Pref., on June 28, 1984; tens from the waters 9.5 miles northwest of Ikitsuki L, Nagasaki Pref., in September 1984; one from offshore Kushikino, Kagoshima Pref., on December 4, 1985. Previously, the toxic swellfish was only known to occur in the waters to the south and west of Japan. The fish described above were young and adult fish (21-41cm TL). These records extend the range of this toxic swellfish into the coastal waters of middle Japan. More specimens were recorded from the coastal waters of the East China Sea-Japan Sea side than on the Pacific coasts. Rare cases of food poisoning have been attributed to Lagocephalus spp. in Okinawa-Mie Prefectures of the Pacific side, and Naga-saki, Shimane and Fukui Prefectures of the East China Sea-Japan Sea side. It is concluded that the swellfish Lagocephalus lunaris may be responsible for these cases of food poisoning.