Inbreeding between Deep-Sea Snailfishes and in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Genetic deviation between two deep-sea snailfishes, from the Pacific Ocean and from the Okhotsk Sea, of the species complex was analyzed, based on the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b () gene. Our sampling revealed the occurrence of individuals with -type genes off northeastern Japan, in the northwestern Pacific. Most of these individuals were collected from an area off Miyagi Prefecture, while few individuals were collected from areas to its north (off Iwate Prefecture) and south (off Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures).