First records of two species of groupers, Cephalopholis nigripinnis and Epinephelus retouti (Perciformes: Epinephelidae) from India, with a note on Epinephelids from Andaman and Nicobar Islands Author Rajan, P. T. Andaman and Nicobar Regional Center, Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair - 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India; rajanpt 537 @ gmail. com Author Mishra, S. S. Marine Fish Section, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata - 700 016, India Author Bineesh, K. K. Andaman and Nicobar Regional Center, Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair - 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India; rajanpt 537 @ gmail. com text Records of the Zoological Survey of India 2017 2017-12-01 117 3 289 294 http://dx.doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v117/i3/2017/120972 journal article 10.26515/rzsi/v117/i3/2017/120972 2581-8686 13183753 Epinephelus retouti Bleeker, 1868 (Redtipped grouper) 1868. Epinephelus retouti Bleeker, Versl. Akad.Amsterdam , ser. 2, 2 : 336. ( Type locality: Reunion ) . Diagnostic Characters : D IX, 16-17; A III, 8; P 19-20; LL pored 62-74; LSS 121-140; Gill rakers 7-8 + 14-16; Pyloric caeca 39-45. Snout length 3.5 to 3.9 times in head length. Ctenoid scales on body except anterodorsally, on thorax and abdomen; numerous auxillary scales present on body; maxilla naked; caudal fin truncate to slightly rounded; pelvic fins not reaching anus. Adults dull yellowish orange to brownish red overall, usually with 5 faint dark bars on body; head mottled light red and orangish brown; lips light red; dorsal fin olivaceous to brown, the outer triangular part of each interspinous membrane deep red; remaining fins light orange red except upper caudal fin olivaceous to brown similar as the dorsal fin. Habitat : Mainly found in depths more than 70-200 m , but the young ones can be observed in 15-40 m depth. Distribution : Widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region, but with scattered distribution around oceanic islands. Remarks : E. retouti is closely related to E. fasciatus , E. rivulatus and E. irroratus in meristic, morphometric and colour pattern. In both E. fasciatus and E. rivulatus , snout length is shorter (4.0 to 5.1 in head length), while in E. irroratus , no dark bars on body and second dorsal spine elongated in adults. Among these four species, only E. fasciatus was recorded from Andamans earlier ( Day 1875 ), which further differs from E. retouti in having tips of the interspinous dorsal-fin membranes are black, the soft dorsal fin and upper caudal-fin rays are not darker than the rest of these fins, caudal-fin margin is convex or moderately rounded ( Heemstra and Randall, 1993 ). The present report forms its first record from India and Andaman Islands as well.