The two-spined deepwater cardinalfish, Epigonus bispinosus Okamoto & Gon 2018 is documented for the first time from the Arabian Sea (n= 2) (137.4–151.1 mm SL). The specimens were caught by a demersal shrimp trawl operated along the Kerala coast at a depth of 250–420 m. This species was previously recorded in South Africa and northern Madagascar regions. The present study also provides the first molecular information on E. bispinosus based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Detailed taxonomic identification, and molecular and phylogenetic analysis are described.
