Epigonus (fish) explained

Epigonus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Epigonidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. The genus was erected by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810.

Species

There are currently 37 recognized species in this genus:

• Epigonus affinis Parin & Abramov, 1986 (smooth-nose deep-water cardinalfish) ^[1]
• Epigonus angustifrons Abramov & Manilo, 1987
• Epigonus atherinoides (C. H. Gilbert, 1905)
• Epigonus carbonarius Okamoto & Motomura, 2011 (charcoal deep-water cardinalfish) ^[2]
• Epigonus cavaticus H. Ida, Okamoto & Sakaue, 2007 (Palauan deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus chilensis Okamoto, 2012 ^[3]
• Epigonus constanciae (Giglioli, 1880)
• Epigonus crassicaudus F. de Buen, 1959
• Epigonus ctenolepis Mochizuki & Shirakihara, 1983 ^[4]
• Epigonus denticulatus Dieuzeide, 1950 (pencil deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus devaneyi Gon, 1985
• Epigonus draco Okamoto, 2015 (dragon deep-water cardinalfish) ^[5]
• Epigonus elegans Parin & Abramov, 1986
• Epigonus elongatus Parin & Abramov, 1986
• Epigonus exodon Okamoto & Motomura, 2012 ^[6]
• Epigonus fragilis (D. S. Jordan & E. K. Jordan, 1922)
• Epigonus glossodontus Gon, 1985
• Epigonus heracleus Parin & Abramov, 1986 (Hercules deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus indicus IDREES BABU & AKHILESH 2020^[7]
• Epigonus lenimen (Whitley, 1935) (big-eyed deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus lifouensis Okamoto & Motomura, 2013 (Loyalty deep-water cardinalfish) ^[8]
• Epigonus machaera Okamoto, 2012 ^[3]
• Epigonus macrops (A. B. Brauer, 1906) (luminous deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus marimonticolus Parin & Abramov, 1986
• Epigonus marisrubri Krupp, Zajonz & Khalaf, 2009 (Red Sea deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus mayeri Okamoto, 2011 (Angolan deep-water cardinalfish) ^[9]
• Epigonus megalops (H. M. Smith & Radcliffe, 1912) ^[10]
• Epigonus notacanthus Parin & Abramov, 1986
• Epigonus occidentalis Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896 (western deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus oligolepis G. F. Mayer, 1974
• Epigonus pandionis (Goode & T. H. Bean, 1881)
• Epigonus parini Abramov, 1987
• Epigonus pectinifer G. F. Mayer, 1974
• Epigonus robustus (Barnard, 1927) (robust deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus telescopus (A. Risso, 1810) (black deep-water cardinalfish)
• Epigonus thai Prokofiev & Bussarawit, 2012 ^[11]
• Epigonus tuberculatus Okamoto & Motomura, 2013 (Keeling deep-water cardinalfish) ^[8]
• Epigonus waltersensis Parin & Abramov, 1986

Notes and References

1. Okamoto, M., Motomura, H. & Asahida, T. (2011): Redescription of a Poorly Known Deepwater Cardinalfish, Epigonus affinis (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Epigonidae), and Comparison with Related Species. Species Diversity, 16 (3-4): 85-92.
2. Okamoto, M. & Motomura, H. (2011): Epigonus carbonarius, a new species of deepwater cardinalfish (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the Marquesas Islands, with a redefinition of the Epigonus oligolepis group. Ichthyological Research, 58 (2): 155–160.
3. Okamoto, M. (2012): Two new species of the genus Epigonus (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the South Pacific, with a definition of the Epigonus constanciae group. Ichthyological Research, 59 (3): 242–254.
4. Okamoto, M. & Fukui, A. (2011): Redescription of a rare deepwater cardinalfish, Epigonus ctenolepis Mochizuki and Shirakihara 1983, and comparison with related species (Perciformes: Epigonidae). Ichthyological Research, 58 (4): 388–392.
5. Okamoto, M. (2015): Epigonus draco, a New Species of Deepwater Cardinalfish (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the Western Pacific. Species Diversity, 20 (2): 121–127.
6. Okamoto, M. & Motomura, H. (2012): Epigonus exodon, a new species of deepwater cardinalfish (Teleostei: Perciformes: Epigonidae) from Réunion, western Indian Ocean. Zootaxa, 3453: 84–88.
7. IDREES BABU, K.K., & AKHILESH, K.V. (2020). Epigonus indicus, a new species of deepwater cardinalfish (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the Indian Ocean. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 36, 20–27. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4243312
8. Okamoto, M. & Motomura, H. (2013): Two new species of deepwater cardinalfish from the Indo-Pacific, with a definition of the Epigonus pandionis group (Perciformes: Epigonidae). Ichthyological Research, 60 (4): 301–311.
9. Okamoto, M. (2011): A new species of deepwater cardinalfish, Epigonus mayeri, from the eastern Central Atlantic, and redescription of Epigonus heracleus Parin and Abramov 1986 (Perciformes: Epigonidae). Ichthyological Research, 58 (2): 101–108.
10. Okamoto, M. (2016): Validity of Epigonus megalops (Perciformes: Epigonidae), Redescription of E. atherinoides, and First Record of E. draco from the Central South Pacific. Species Diversity, 21 (2): 177-186.
11. Parin, N.V., Prokofiev, A.M. & Bussarawit, S. (2012): Two new species of the genus Epigonus (Perciformes: Epigonidae) from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Journal of Ichthyology, 52 (3): 239–243.