Epinephelus tankahkeei, a new species of grouper (Teleostei, Perciformes, Epinephelidae) from the South China Sea

By

Wu, Haohao
Qu, Meng
Lin, Hung-du
Tang, Wei
Ding, Shaoxiong

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

933

Pages

125--137

Subjects

Epinephelidae , Epinephelus tankahkeei , Groupers , new species , South China Sea

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.933.46406

 

Abstract

A new species of grouper, Epinephelus tankahkeeisp. nov. is described from the South China Sea based on examination of morphological and molecular characteristics. This new species has been treated as, and is similar to, its congener E. chlorostigma. Epinephelus tankahkeeisp. nov. can be distinguished from E. chlorostigma by the following combination of characters: a convex anal fin; closer dark spots on the body; a lack of dark spots on the abdomen, cheek, and pectoral fin; the absence of a clear posterior white margin on the caudal fin. Molecular analyses of the mitochondrial COI sequence variation, genetic distances, and a phylogeny, all highly support E. tankahkeeisp. nov. as a distinct species. A key to E. tankahkeeisp. nov. and its most closely related species is provided.