Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360 : 118

Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) —Malabar grouper

Status at New Ireland. First recorded from New Ireland by Randall & Heemstra (1981: 197), based on ZMB material; previously misidentified from Lihir Group , Namatamai District , New Ireland by Fry et al. (2006: 130) as E. septemfasciatus (non Thunberg , 1793). NTUM 11227 (1 spec. juv., 26.8 mm SL, St. CP 4457-13, northeast of Bangatang ). Specimens observed by Jeff Kinch during CFMDP Survey at Kavieng fish market in 2004–2005, and by Barry C. Russell during 7–28 June 2014.

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 2, 5.—General distribution: Red Sea, East Africa, Madagascar and western Mascarenes east to Palau, Yap and Tonga, north to southern Japan, south to Western Australia, Sydney (New South Wales, Australia) and New Caledonia. Found in a variety of habitats including estuaries, 5–150 m depth. Transitional water and marine.