Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes 1828)

Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Santos, Bruna S., Semedo, Thiago B. F., Garcia, Lucas Canes & Moreira, Cristiano Rangel, 2023, The fish collection of José Mariano da Conceição Veloso (1742 - 1811) and the beginning of ichthyological research in Brazil, with a taxonomic description of the extant specimens, Zootaxa 5391 (1), pp. 1-85 : 54

Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes 1828)

Extant specimens: MCUC ZOO.0000004 ( Fig. 40a ) and ACL-HN-0056 ( Fig. 40b ).

Classification on the specimen: “P. Th. Perca nigra ” ( MCUC ZOO.0000004) and “P. Th. Perca glabra ” (ACL-HN-0056).

Common names on the specimen (Portuguese/Tupi): “Garoupa”/ “Piraumbú” (MCUC ZOO.0000004), and “Badejo”/ “Piratiapuá” (ACL-HN-0056).

Comments: This species was undescribed at the time Veloso prepared it. The herbarium sheet of MCUC ZOO.0000004 bears the specific name “ nigra ” inscribed on a rectangular paper that has been affixed over a previous identification. The original name is no longer discernible, although a small loop below the covering tag suggests the possibility of it being the letter “g”. This observation suggests that the species was initially classified as Perca glabra , similarly to specimen ACL-HN-0056, and subsequently reidentified. It is worth noting that Perca glabra is an unavailable name, potentially indicating Veloso’s intention to name this species. The revised specific name, “ nigra ,” likely corresponds to Perca nigra Gmelin 1789 (= Centrolophus niger ), despite of it being very distinct from Epinephelus morio . Among the 70 specimens of Perca recorded in the Ajuda’s inventory ( Ferreira 1794), only one specimen of Perca glabra is listed in the transference to the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (ACL-HN-0056), while none are mentioned in the transference to the University of Coimbra. Perca nigra is not mentioned in any transference documentation. Veloso provided a description of Perca glabra in the Ichthyologia Fluminensis manuscript. The common name “garoupa” is still used to refer to this species in Brazil, however, the name “badejo” typically refers to species belonging to the genus Myctoperca and might have been a mistake. Antunes & Balbino (2003) identified the specimen ACL-HN-0056 as Myctoperca rubra (Bloch, 1793) . Epinephelus morio occurs in the Western Atlantic from Massachusetts ( USA) to São Paulo ( Brazil) ( Figueiredo & Menezes 1980; Heemstra et al. 2002). This species is considered a threatened species in Brazil (IUCN category “Vulnerable”; ICMBIO 2018).

Figures

FIGURE 40. Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes 1828); a: MCUC ZOO.0000004, 320 mm SL; b: ACL-HN-0056, 770 mm SL. Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.