A team of marine biologists from the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, also in Japan, and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, has found via genetic and physical study that two groups of longtooth groupers that live off the coasts of Vietnam, China and southern Taiwan, are separate species of fish.
In their paper published in the journal Species Diversity, Kouichi Hoshino, Hiroshi Senou, and Quân Văn Nguyễn, describe how they purchased several specimens of fish from both groups and used a variety of techniques to determine that they were not the same species.
For many years, scientists and locals in parts of Asia have debated whether two groups of longtooth groupers are separate fish species, both residing in parts of the South China Sea. Back in the 1700s and 1800s, European scientists entered the debate and promptly dubbed them separate species; one they named E. bruneus, the other E. moara. Over time, for unknown reasons, both eventually became grouped under E. bruneus. In this new effort, the researchers sought to settle the matter once and for all.
The work by the team involved traveling to several sites around the South China Sea and buying longtooth groupers at fish markets. They then returned the samples to their lab and conducted a thorough study of both groups. The team looked first at their physical attributes, noting differences such as body shape and how their back dorsal fins moved. They also sequenced samples of both groups and compared them.
After looking at all the data, the research trio declared them different species. They allowed one group to keep the E. bruneus name, while the other was given a new name: E. randalli. The name E. moara was not used because it was determined to be a synonym for E. bruneus.
The research team concludes by suggesting the proper classification of the two fish species should help to manage them better as they are both very popular food fish. They also suggest officially declaring the two fish groups as separate species could have a positive impact on those who fish and sell them to the public.
More information:
Kouichi Hoshino et al, Taxonomic Status of the Commercially Important Grouper, Epinephelus bruneus and E. moara (Osteichthys: Perciformes: Epinephelidae), with the Redescription of E. bruneus and the Description of a New Species, Species Diversity (2024). DOI: 10.12782/specdiv.29.389
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Study confirms two forms of longtooth groupers in Asia are separate species of fish (2024, December 4)
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