Blacktip grouper

The blacktip grouper (Epinephelus fasciatus), also known as the redbanded grouper, blacktipped cod, black-tipped rockcod, footballer cod, red-barred cod, red-barred rockcod, scarlet rock-cod or weathered rock-cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. It is the type species of the genus Epinephelus.

Blacktip grouper
Adult of Epinephelus fasciatus

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Epinephelinae
Tribe: Epinephelini
Genus: Epinephelus
Species:
E. fasciatus
Binomial name
Epinephelus fasciatus
Forsskål, 1775
Synonyms[2]
  • Perca fasciata Forsskål, 1775
  • Serranus fasciatus (Forsskål, 1775)
  • Epinephelus marginalis Bloch, 1793
  • Serranus marginalis (Bloch, 1793)
  • Holocentrus erythraeus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Holocentrus forskael Lacépède, 1802
  • Holocentrus marginatus Lacépède, 1802
  • Holocentrus rosmarus Lacépède, 1802
  • Holocentrus oceanicus Lacépède, 1802
  • Serranus oceanicus (Lacépède, 1802)
  • Serranus alexandrinus Valenciennes, 1828
  • Cerna alexandrina (Valenciennes, 1828)
  • Epinephelus alexandrinus (Valenciennes, 1828)
  • Serranus variolosus Valenciennes, 1828
  • Epinephelus variolosus (Valenciennes, 1828)
  • Serranus tsirimenara Temminck & Schlegel, 1842
  • Epinephelus tsirimenara (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842)
  • Perca maculata Forster, 1844
  • Serranus cruentus De Vis, 1884
  • Serranus geometricus De Vis, 1884
  • Serranus subfasciatus De Vis, 1884
  • Epinephelus zapyrus Seale, 1906
  • Epinephelus emoryi Schultz, 1953

Description

The blacktip grouper has a body which has a standard length which is around 2.8 to 3.3 times its depth. The area between the yes is flat but the dorsal profile of the head is convex. The rounded preopercle has a finely serrated rear margin with he lowest serrations slightly enlarged. The upper edge of the gill cover is straight.[3] The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-17 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays.[2] The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are deeply indented. The caudal fin is moderately rounded. There are 49-75 scales in the lateral line.[3] The colour is variable and ranges from pale greenish grey to pale reddish yellow to scarlet. They frequently have 5 or 6 faint dark bars, the final one being on the caudal peduncle. The scales on the upper body have a pale centre and dark rear margin, which creates am indistinct checked pattern. The outer membrane of the spiny part of the dorsal fin is black, or dark red in specimens from Western Australia and some from deep water. There is a pale yellow or white spot to the rear of the tip of each of the dorsal fin spines. This species attains a maximum total length of 40 centimetres (16 in), although a more common length is around 22 centimetres (8.7 in), and a weight of 2.0 kilograms (4.4 lb).[2]

Distribution

The blacktip grouper has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Its range extends from the Red Sea to the Eastern Cape in South Africa east as far as the Pitcairn Islands, north to southern Japan and Korea and south to New Caledonia and Australia. It is found in the Madagascar, Mascarenes, Comoros and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean as well.[1] In Australia it occurs from the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia north around the tropical coastline and then as far south as Port Hacking in New South Wales. It can also be found on reefs in the Coral Sea, Elizabeth Reef, around Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea and Christmas Island.[4]

Biology

This species may present simultaneous hermaphroditism in smaller individuals, while the large individuals usually lose female function. [2]

The blacktip grouper feeds on crustaceans and smaller fishes by ambushing them.[2][5] It is found associated with coral reefs from 4 m deep (more commonly from 15 m) up to 160 m, in both marine and brackish water, sometimes in groups of 10-15 individuals.[2][5] Juveniles may find shelter in mangrove swamps.[6]

Blacktip groupers of the Red Sea are fished by the Bedouin.[6] It has also been associated with ciguatera poisoning.[2]

Parasites

Blacktip groupers are host of several parasites, including Pseudorhabdosynochus spp. (diplectanid Monogeneans) on the gills.[7] The philometrid nematode Philometra fasciati is parasitic in the ovary of female fish;[8] the adult female parasite is a red worm which can reach up to 40 centimetres in length, for a diameter of only 1.6 millimetre; the males are tiny. Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris) fasciati is a nematode parasitic in the intestine, 20 mm in length, described in 2020 and named after the fish.[9]

Taxonomy

The blacktip grouper was first formally decsribed as Perca fasciata in 1775 by the Sedish explorer Peter Forsskål (1732-1763) with the type locality given as Ras Muhammad in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.[10] The German naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) created the new genus Epinephelus when he described E. marginalis in 1793, however E. marginalis is a synonym of Perca fasciata[11] and this means that this species is the type species of its genus.[12]

  • Juvenile
  • Adult
  • A variant of an adult with a pale body and a red front part
  • Philometra fasciati (Nematoda, Philometridae), a parasite of the ovary of the blacktip grouper
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References
  1. Law, C. (2018). "Epinephelus fasciatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T132817A100544403. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T132817A100544403.en. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Epinephelus fasciatus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. Heemstra, P.C. & J.E. Randall (1993). FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date (PDF). FAO Fish. Synopsis. 125 (16). FAO, Rome. p. 150-152. ISBN 92-5-103125-8.
  4. Bray, D.J. (2018). "Epinephelus fasciatus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. Lieske, E. & Myers, R.F. (2004). Coral reef guide; Red Sea. HarperCollins London. ISBN 0-00-715986-2.
  6. Siliotti, A. (2002). Fishes of the Red Sea. Geodia, Verona. ISBN 88-87177-42-2.
  7. Justine, Jean-Lou (2005). "Species of Pseudorhabdosynochus Yamaguti, 1958 (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from Epinephelus fasciatus and E. merra (Perciformes: Serranidae) off New Caledonia and other parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, with a comparison of measurements of specimens prepared using different methods, and a description of P. caledonicus n. sp". Systematic Parasitology. 62 (1): 1–37. doi:10.1007/s11230-005-5480-0. ISSN 0165-5752. PMID 16132868.
  8. Moravec, František; Justine, Jean-Lou (2014). "Philometrids (Nematoda: Philometridae) in carangid and serranid fishes off New Caledonia, including three new species". Parasite. 21: 21. doi:10.1051/parasite/2014022. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 4023622. PMID 24836940.
  9. Moravec, František; Justine, Jean-Lou (2020). "New records of anisakid nematodes from marine fishes off New Caledonia, with descriptions of five new species of Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris) (Nematoda, Anisakidae)". Parasite. 27: 20. doi:10.1051/parasite/2020016. ISSN 1776-1042.
  10. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Perca fasciata". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  11. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). Epinephelus "'Epinephelus' species". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  12. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Epinephelus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
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