Hyporthodus niphobles (Gilbert & Starks, 1897) .

Snowy Grouper or Star-studded Grouper. To 121 cm (47.6 in) TL (Robertson and Allen 2008). Near Bixby Bridge (about 36°22’N, 121°54’W), central California (Burton and Lea 2019) to Islas Lobos de Afuera, Peru (Chirichigno 1974), including Gulf of California (Heemstra in Fischer et al. 1995) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Depth: 1–450 m (3–1,476 ft) (min.: González-Acosta et al. 1999; max.: Thomson et al. 2000). Heemstra (in Fischer et al. 1995) notes that some previous authors have referred to this species as Epinephelus niveatus (Valenciennes, 1828) . Formerly Epinephelus niphobles (Gilbert & Starks, 1897) .