Review of Japanese Records of a Grouper, Epinephelus amblycephalus (Perciformes, Serranidae), with New Specimens from Kagoshima and Wakayama

Records of the Banded Grouper, Epinephelus amblycephalus (Perciformes: Serranidae), from Japanese waters are reviewed on the basis of specimens examined and literature accounts, and descriptions provided of three newly collected specimens from Kagoshima and Wakayama Prefectures. Although E. amblycephalus has previously been thought not to occur in Japanese waters, eight individual records are now known, five specimens having been deposited in museum collections. Distributional implications are discussed.