CLARIFICATION OF THE INDO-PACIFIC GROUPERS (PISCES, SERRANIDAE) IN THE MEDITERRANEAN-SEA

Two Indo-Pacific species of groupers, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822) and Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801), have be en found on the Mediterranean coast of Israel and are presumed to be i mmigrants from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. Both species appear to be rare in the Mediterranean, where only three specimens of each speci es have been found. In the Indo-Pacific region, these two groupers are often misidentified and confused with a third Indo-Pacific species, E . tauvina (Forsskal, 1775). A table comparing characters that will aid in the identification of these three species is presented.