Occurrence of three red listed species of  Epinephelus (Perciformes: Serranidae) on Digha coast, India

 

Prasanna Yennawar 1, Prasad Tudu 2 & Anil Mohapatra 3

 

1,2,3 Marine Aquarium & Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Digha, West Bengal 721428, India

Email: 1yprasanna@rocketmail.com(corresponding author),

2 dular4u@gmail.com,3 anil2k7@gmail.com

 

 

 

Date of publication (online): 26 October 2011

Date of publication (print): 26 October 2011

ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

 

Editor: K. Rema Devi

 

Manuscript details:

Ms # o2641

Received 15 December 2010

Final received 08 June 2011

Finally accepted 08 September 2011

 

Citation: Yennawar, P., P. Tudu & A. Mohapatra (2011). Occurrence of three red listed species of Epinephelus(Perciformes: Serranidae) on Digha coast, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(10): 2150–2152.

 

Copyright: © Prasanna Yennawar, Prasad Tudu & Anil Mohapatra 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Acknowledgements: We are thankful to Dr. K. Venkataraman, Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for his support and guidance. We are also thankful to anonymous reviewer & Editor for critically reviewing the manuscript and useful suggestions.

 

 

 

For images -- click here   

 

 

Serranidae is one of the widely distributed marine fish families in Indian waters.  This family has 137 species available throughout the world out of which 110 species are known in the Indo-Pacific region (Fishbase 2010) and around 70 species under 15 Genera in Indian waters.  In this family, Epinephelus is the major genus contributing 38 species out of 77 species in the Indo-Pacific and 97 species world over.  Digha coast, being one of the major marine fish landing stations on the eastern coast of India, several efforts were made for inventorying marine and estuarine fishes in the area (Manna & Goswami 1985; Goswami 1992; Talwar et al. 1992).  The recent updated information about fish fauna of Digha coast was given by Chatterjee et al. (2000) and updated by (Yennawar & Tudu 2010).  During routine efforts to maintain diversity in the public aquarium at Marine Aquarium & Regional Centre, ZSI, Digha. The authors encountered three more species of Epinephelus, which after thorough literature survey were found to be unreported from this area though listed in the IUCN Red list of threatened fauna.  Three new site records of occurrences of the genus Epinephelus are Epinephelus coioides Orange Spotted Grouper (Hamilton, 1822), Brindle Grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus (Bloch, 1790) and Striped Grouper Epinephelus latifasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842) .

The specimens were collected between August 2009 and November 2010 by the local fishers from the Digha coast in live condition for display in the marine aquarium of the Zoological Survey of India.  The specimens were identified following (Heemstra & Randall 1993).

 

Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822)

 

Synonyms: 1822. Serranus coioides Hamilton, Fishes of Ganges : 82.

1993. Epinephelus coioides Heemstra and Randall, FAO.Fish. Synop., (125) 16: 130.

Common names: Orange-spotted Grouper, Estuary Cod or Brown-spotted Grouper.  This fish is known as Mérou taches oranges in French and Mero de pintas naranjas in Spanish.

Material examined: 1ex., 20.viii.2009, TL 415mm, HL145, CL 75, Hospital Ghat, Digha, coll. Prasanna Yennawar & P.C. Tudu, (MARC, ZSI, Digha. Reg. No.677).  The fish was displayed in the aquarium tank at MARC, Digha.

Diagnostic characters: D XI, 15; AIII, 8; C 18; P 19; V I,5; Body elongated; head length 2.34 times in standard length; head and body tanned dorsally, shading to whitish ventrally; numerous small brownish-orange spots on head, body and median fins; five irregular, oblique bars on the body that bifurcate ventrally; rounded caudal fin.

Distribution: Continental shores and large islands from the Red Sea to South Africa and from the east to the western Pacific, where it ranges from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan to Australia and out to the islands of Palau and Fiji, Indo-West Pacific (Russell & Houston 1989).  Recently reported from the Mediterranean coast of Israel (Heemstra & Randall 1993).

From Indian coastal waters the species was reported from Andhra Pradesh coast (Barman et al. 2004), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Rajan 2003), Chennai coast (Krishnan et al. 2007), Orissa coast (Barman et al. 2007) and Gujarat coast (Barman et al. 2000).  The species is presently classified as Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2010).

 

 Epinephelus lanceolatus (Bloch, 1790)

 

Synonyms: 1790. Holocentrus lanceolatus Bloch, Nat. Ausland Fische. 4. 94

1993. Epinephelus lanceolatus Heemstra and Randall, FAO. Fish. Synop., (125) 16: 174

Common names: Brindle Grouper, Queensland Grouper, Brindle Bass, Giant Grouper, Banded Rockcod in English, Wekhali in Gujarati, Kalava in Tamil, Bontoo in Telugu.

Material examined: 1ex., 06.v.2010, TL 277mm, HL 89mm, CL 51mm, Hospital Ghat, Digha, coll.  Prasanna Yennawar & P.C. Tudu, (MARC, ZSI, Digha. Reg. No. 702). The fish is on display, in the aquarium tank at MARC, Digha.

Diagnostic characters: D: XI, 15; A: III, 8; P. 19; V: I,5; Body robust, eyes small, lower jaw somewhat projecting, mouth oblique, maxillary reaching beyond posterior border of the eye.  Pre-operculum obtusely rounded, its hind border finely serrated; small scales on maxilla and snout; Dorsal fin originating above the base of pectorals, spines short and first two spines almost equal in length.  Rays of the dorsal fin are more or less curved in shape; caudal fin rounded; Yellowish-brown colour, vaguely mottled; all fins with black spots and blotches.

Distribution: This is the most widely distributed grouper occurring throughout the Indo-pacific region from the Red Sea to Algoa Bay, South Africa and eastward to the Hawaiian and Pitcairn Islands.  In the western Pacific its distribution ranges from the north to southern Japan and southward to Australia (from north western Australia to northern New South Wales.

From Indian waters this species is reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Rao 2003; Rajan 2003), Andhra Pradesh coast (Barman et al. 2004), Orissa coast (Barman et al. 2007) and Gujarat coast (Barman et al. 2000).

The species is presently under Vulnerable category  (IUCN 2010).  The species is also known to be a traumatogenic species (Halstead et al. 1990).

 

Epinephelus latifasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842)

 

Synonyms:1842. Serranus latifasciatusTemminck & Schlegel, Fauna of Japonica, poissus: 6.

1993.Epinephelus latifasciatus Heemstra and Randall, FAO. Fish. Synop., (125) 16: 176.

Common names: Laterally Banded Grouper, Banded Grouper, Striped Grouper.

Material examined: 1ex., 30.xi.2010, SL 318mm, HL 123mm, CL 50mm, Location: Digha Mohana, coll.  Anil Mohapatra & P.C. Tudu. (Reg. No. 748).

Diagnostic characters: D: XI, 14; A: III, 8; P. 17; V: I,5; Three dark brown lines on the body; fourth line from border of upper jaw below anterior 1/3 of eye through upper edge of base of pectoral fin to caudal base; in caudal peduncle, the lines on either side meet and run along its ventral edge. Body is oblong and laterally compressed. Its depth is 2.9 times in standard length.  Preopercular border produced at angle, armed with several enlarged serrae.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Pakistan, India, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, China, Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan, and northwest Australia. Unknown from the east coast of Africa, islands of the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea.

From Indian waters the species was reported from Andhra Pradesh coast (Barman et al. 2004), Chennai coast (Krishnan et al. 2007), Orissa coast (Barman et al. 2007) and Gujarat coast (Barman et al. 2000).

The species is presently Data Deficient (IUCN 2010).

 

 

REFERENCES

 

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