First record of the dotted grouper Epinephelusepistictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Perciformes, Serranidae) in Malaysia

Jianguo Du; Kar-Hoe Loh; Amy Yee-Hui Then; Xinqing Zheng; Teguh Peristiwady; Mohammed Rizman-Idid; Man Alias

doi:10.3897/zookeys.861.34043

First record of the dotted grouper Epinephelusepistictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Perciformes, Serranidae) in Malaysia

Zookeys. 2019 Jul 8:861:107-118. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.861.34043. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Jianguo Du¹, Kar-Hoe Loh², Amy Yee-Hui Then^{2

3}, Xinqing Zheng¹, Teguh Peristiwady⁴, Mohammed Rizman-Idid², Man Alias⁵

Affiliations

¹ Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.
² Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
³ Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
⁴ Bitung Marine Life Conservation, Research Center for Oceanography, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Bitung 97255, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
⁵ Planning and Development Division, Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Putrajaya 62628, Malaysia.

Abstract

Five specimens of Epinephelusepistictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) were collected from a major landing site located on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia during a fish faunal survey on 23 August 2017. The present study extends the distribution range of E.epistictus southwards from Andaman Sea to the Strait of Malacca. Species identification was confirmed by colour pattern and DNA barcoding (567 bp of cytochrome C oxidase I) of all E.epistictus specimens and nine closely related Epinephelus species. The interspecies genetic distance ranged from 0.002-0.245. This study also presents, for the first time for Malaysia, data on length-weight relationships and otolith measurements. It contributes to a better understanding of taxonomy, and phylogenetic and genetic diversity of E.epistictus.

Keywords: DNA barcoding; new record; otolith aspect ratio; phylogenetic and genetic diversity; taxonomy.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund Project "China-ASEAN Marine Protected Areas Ecosystem Management Network" and "China-ASEAN Countries Collaboration on Marine Endangered Species", the University of Malaya research grants RP018B-16SUS, IF030B-2017 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41676096.