Four new goatfishes (Upeneus, Mullidae, Mulliformes) from the Asian Indo-Pacific with a list of valid goatfish species and remarks on goatfish diversity.

Based on a large comparative data set available from recent studies of goatfish species of the genus Upeneus (Mullidae, Mulliformes) with seven spines in the first dorsal fin, four new species from the area of the Asian Indo-Pacific are described. Initial search for and discovery of the new species was greatly assisted by the recognition of several subgroups within two rather large taxonomic species groups, the pori and the japonicus groups, each consisting of nine previously described species. Two of the new species, Upeneus aurorae n. sp. from Luzon, Philippines, and U. huan n. sp. from Central Vietnam (W Pacific), are characterized by relatively low gill-raker counts, while U. brevignathus n. sp. from off SE Yemen (NW Indian Ocean) has high gill-raker counts. All three species share the typical characteristics of the pori-species group such as height of first dorsal fin decreasing proportionally, pectoral fins shorter or of similar length as pelvic fins, oblique bars on lower caudal-fin lobe present and white, rose-whitish or pale-red barbels in fresh and live fish. The fourth new species, U. andamanensis n. sp. from the Andaman Islands (NE Indian Ocean), mostly resembles U. guttatus and two other species of the japonicus-species group, which all belong to a subgroup characterized by the first dorsal fin being relatively high with subsequent fin elements decreasing disproportionally in height. While no fresh colour information is available for U. brevignathus n. sp., and U. andamanensis n. sp., each of them can be clearly distinguished morphologically and by preserved colour from the most similar species. A list of all valid goatfish species is included, with English common names and remarks to clarify validity judgments. The results are discussed with respect to the usefulness of using taxonomic species groupings for facilitating detection of new species and other purposes in continuing studies of the species diversity of goatfishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]