The complete mitochondrial genome of Thamnaconus hypargyreus (Tetraodontiformes: Monacanthidae)

Lesser-spotted leatherjacket Thamnaconus hypargyreus (Tetraodontiformes: Monacanthidae) is an economically important fish species in the South China Sea. In this study, we designed 15 pairs of primers for amplification of the mitochondrial fragments of T. hypargyreus by PCR. The complete mitogenome sequence has 16,438 bp, containing the usual 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 1 control region, the gene composition and order of which are similar to most of other vertebrates. Most mitochondrial genes except ND6 and eight tRNA genes are encoded on the heavy strand. The overall base composition of the heavy strand is 27.5% A, 26.0% T, 17.4% G, 29.1% C with a slight AT bias of 53.5%. There are 12 regions of gene overlaps totaling 32 bp and 11 intergenic spacer regions totaling 68 bp. This mitogenome sequence data of T. hypargyreus would provide the fundamental genetic data for further conservation genetic studies for this important fish species.