First records of Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus (Bloch, 1790), Whitespotted Grouper, (Teleostei, Epinephelidae) in the southern Arabian Gulf

Two individuals of Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus (Bloch, 1790), Whitespotted Grouper, were recorded in an offshore marine protected area of the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Gulf coast at depths of 5 m and 10 m. These are the first records of the species in the southern Arabian Gulf, and they add this species to the few groupers that inhabit one of the most extreme environmental waters of the world