A postage stamp on the Nature Conservation Series : Tokyo Bitterling :

Issued by Japan

Issued on Aug 26, 1976

Issued for : As the 11^th of the Nature Conservation Series, a 50 yen postage stamp will be issued having for its subject “Miyako tanago”.

Colour : Multicolour

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 50 Yen

Printing Process : Photogravure & Engraved

Perforation : 13

About : 

• Miyako tanago (Tanakia tanago) is a small fish measuring about 4cm long on the average, even the biggest being less than 8cm long. At the breeding season, the male bears the beautiful marriage color; that is, the body is colored in reddish purple with its fin parti-colored in black and vermilion. Though the female remains unchanged outwardly, it extends its slender spawning tube in front of the rear fin and thrusts the tube into the bivalved gill to lay eggs. Indigenous to Japan, the fish is distributed in the limited area of Kanto district. It has decreased remarkably in its number and is on the brink of extinction. On June 25, 1976 it was designated as a natural monument.

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