Swarms of striped eel catfish were observed for the first time in Eilat at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea in summer 2017. Taxonomic and genetic studies revealed them to belong to Plotosus japonicus Yoshino & Kishimoto, 2008. This is the first report of this species outside the Japanese archipelago. Molecular comparisons (mtDNA COI) of this population with previously published samples show that this species is actually present throughout the Indo-Pacific and provide indication that this genus includes two of ambiguous identity species that await further examinations.

中文翻译：

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Plotosus japonicus 在红海的新记录及其在整个印度-太平洋存在的遗传迹象（Osteichthyes：Plotosidae）

2017 年夏季，在红海亚喀巴湾北端的埃拉特首次观察到成群的条纹鳗鲶鱼。分类学和遗传学研究表明它们属于 Plotosus japonicus Yoshino & Kishimoto，2008 年。这是第一次该物种在日本列岛以外的报告。该种群与先前公布的样本的分子比较 (mtDNA COI) 表明，该物种实际上存在于整个印度-太平洋地区，并表明该属包括两个身份不明的物种，有待进一步检查。