Eppinula rex Ho, Motomura, Hata, and Chiang 2017

Other Names: Pacific Domine

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Eppinula rex in Fishes of Australia, accessed 04 Jun 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5767

Eppinula rex Ho, Motomura, Hata, and Chiang 2017

More Info

Distribution	Filmed in the Magdelaine Cays, Coral Sea Marine Park, Australia, depth 561 m. Elsewhere the species is known from the western-central Pacific: Taiwan north to Japan, east to the Mariana and Hawaiian islands, south to Australia and New Zealand.
Features	Dorsal fin XV-XVI, I, 17-18; Anal fin III, 15-16; Pectoral fin 16; Pelvic fin I, 5; Vertebrae 16+16=32; Lateral line, upper part 185-208, vertical part of lower lateral line 66-81, horizontal part of lower lateral line 172-199. Body rather deep, strongly compressed, depth at pelvic-fin base 3.7–4.4 times in SL; longest second dorsal-fin ray 2.3-2.9 in HL; pectoral fin long, 1.5-1.8 in HL; pelvic fin short, 1.4-3.2 in HL; origin of the anal fin behind that of second dorsal fin.
Remarks	Epinnula rex is a replacement name for Epinnula pacifica Ho, Motomura, Hata & Chiang 2017, which is preoccupied by Epinnula orientalis pacifica Grey 1953 (now Neoepinnula orientalis).
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin rex (= king), "as an homage to its Atlantic congener Epinnula magistralis which was named for “master” in Latin".
Species Citation	Epinnula rex Ho, Motomura, Hata & Chiang 2022, Zootaxa 5141(2): 199. Type locality: Off Taira Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Eppinula rex Ho, Motomura, Hata, and Chiang 2017

References

Ho, H.-C., Motomura, H., Hata, H. & Chiang, W.-C. 2017. Review of the fish genus Epinnula Poey (Perciformes: Gempylidae), with description of a new species from the Pacific Ocean. Zootaxa 4363(3): 393-408 : 401-405.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5999647
(described as Epinnula pacifica)

Ho, H.-C., Motomura, H., Hata, H. & Chiang, W.-C. 2022. Epinnula rex nom. nov., a replacement name for Epinnula pacifica Ho, Motomura, Hata & Jiang, 2017 (Teleostei: Gempylidae). Zootaxa 5141(2): 199–200. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5141.2.8

Stewart, A.L. 2015. Family Gempylidae, pp. 1602-1615 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. (eds). The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 4 pp. 1153-1748.

Tea, Y.K., Sih, T.L., Walsh, F. et al. 2025. New records of fishes from the Coral Sea Marine Park, Australia. Coral Reefs https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02664-3