First Japanese Record of the Speckled Grouper Epinephelus magniscuttis (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the Osumi Islands

Abstract

A single large specimen (613.0 mm standard length) of Epinephelus magniscuttis Postel, Fourmanoir, and Guézé, 1963, previously known from scattered localities of the Indo-West Pacific and the Philippines as the northernmost record, was collected at a depth of 50 m off Tanega-shima island in the Osumi Islands, southern Japan. The specimen represents the first record from Japan and the northernmost record of the species as well as the largest record as a museum specimen. The new standard Japanese name “Uguisu-gomadara-hata” is proposed for the species.