Ending the Decades-Long Debate: Trachinotus anak Ogilby, 1909 is the Correct Scientific Name of Golden Pompano in Chinese Aquaculture

Abstract

The debate over the correct scientific name of golden pompano in Chinese aquaculture, centered on the controversy between Trachinotus anak and T. ovatus, has persisted for several decades. In this study, 328 specimens of golden pompano were collected from 10 sampling sites in southern China, encompassing stocks from mariculture enterprises, local cage-culture farms, and the wild populations. The samples were identified based on morphological keys and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) reference sequences of important taxonomic works for Trachinotus. Of these, 326 individuals were morphologically identified as T. anak, characterized by a blade-like supraoccipital and inverted-L shape supraneurals. Only two individuals were identified as T. blochii, diagnosed by a tear-drop-shaped first supraneural. In phylogenetic analyses, all the analyzed Trachinotus sequences were clustered into 16 clades, corresponding to 16 valid species in genus Trachinotus. COI sequences of the 326 T. anak specimens were summarized into five haplotypes (Farm1–5), which form a well-supported clade with the T. anak reference sequences. Farm6, identified in two specimens, was resolved in the T. blochii clade. Additionally, we analyzed 58 COI sequences of Trachinotus species uploaded by Chinese researchers, whose haplotypes (Online1–9) were identified as T. baillonii, T. blochii, and T. anak. None of the Chinese Trachinotus sequences was included in the T. ovatus clade, suggesting that T. ovatus, the most commonly used name, is incorrect and should no longer be used for golden pompano in China. The holotype of T. ovatus was designated in 1896, which enforced the name to delegate a spotted Atlantic species. Taken together, our findings unequivocally support that the correct scientific name for golden pompano in China is T. anak.