A new record of Upeneus pori (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes: Mullidae) from the South China Sea: Integrating morphology and DNA barcoding

This study constitutes the first record of the Por’s goatfish, Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia et Golani, 1989, from the South China Sea. This fish had formerly only been reported in the western Indian Ocean. Six specimens of U. pori collected from the South China Sea were identified through comparisons of morphology and molecular analysis. Upeneus pori and Upeneus tragula Richardson, 1846 are very similar. The difference is that the former has seven spines in the first dorsal fin, lacks any spots or blotches on its body, and exhibits white or creamy white barbels. The latter has eight spines in the first dorsal fin, exhibits black spots on its body, and displays orange-colored barbels, along with different caudal fin patterns. Pairwise genetic distance computation demonstrated that U. pori exhibits a very low genetic distance from sequences of the other three recorded U. pori species found in the type locality of Israel, Red Sea, as documented in GenBank. These findings provide compelling evidence of the Por’s goatfish’s presence in the South China Sea.