First record of roving coral grouper Plectropomus pessuliferus (Fowler, 1904) from Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh based on Morphology and DNA Barcoding

Abstract

A new record of Plectropomus pessuliferus (Serranidae: Epinephelinae) wasdocumented based on morphological characters and DNA barcoding. The species was collectedduring a regular survey for making an inventory of reef associated fishes in Saint Martin`sIsland, Bangladesh. This is the first report of roving coral grouper from the marine waters ofBangladesh validated by morpho-meristic analysis and DNA barcoding. This is also the firstreport from the northern Bay of Bengal.