Dotted grouper

The dotted grouper (Epinephelus epistictus), also known as the black-dotted rock-cod, black-spotted grouper, broken-line grouper or spottedback grouper, 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. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific where its distribution ranges form the Red Sea to Australia and Japan. The dotted grouper may grow up to 70–80 cm length. It is a demersal fish found at 70–300 m depths.

Dotted grouper

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Genus: Epinephelus
Species:
E. epistictus
Binomial name
Epinephelus epistictus
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1842)
Synonyms[2]
  • Serranus epistictus Temminck & Schlegel, 1842
  • Serranus praeopercularis Boulenger, 1888
  • Epinephelus praeopercularis (Boulenger, 1888)
  • Epinephelus stigmogrammacus C.T. Cheng & Yang, 1983

Description

The dotted grouper has a body which has a standard length which is around three times its depth. The dorsal profile of the head is a little convex as is the are between the eyes. The preopercle is serrated and projects at its angle where the serrations are enlarged.[3] The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 14-15 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays.[2] The membranes between the dorsal fin spines has deep indentations and the caudal fin is moderately rounded. There are 57-70 scales in the lateral line.[3] This grouper has a pale brown to greenish-grey body marked with irregular liness of small dark spots on the flanks and upper body. In some individuals there is a wide dark band running from the eye to the gill cover and two thinner bands running obliquely over the cheek.[4] This species has a maximum total length of 80 centimetres (31 in), although around 70 centimetres (28 in) is more common, and a maximum weight of 7.0 kilograms (15.4 lb).[2]

Distribution

The dotted grouper is found in the Indo-Pacific region. It has a discontinuous distribution which extends from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the coast of East Africa off Eritrea, Kenya, Zanzibar[3] and off southern Mozanmbique and KwaZulu-Natal as well as northwestern Madagascar. In Asia it is found in the Persian Gulf, off India, Indonesia, the South China Sea and southern Japan. In the Pacific it occurs off Papua New Guinea and Australia, although it is absent from the Philippines.[1] It has been recorded in Malaysia.[5]

Habitat and biology

The dotted grouper prefers deeper waters at depths of 71 to 290 metres (233 to 951 ft)[3] and is found over rocky and sandy substrates.[1]

Taxomony

The dotted grouper was first formally described as Serranus epistictus in 1842 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858) and his student, the German ichthyologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884), with the type locality given as Nagasaki.[6] There are some differences in counts of lateral line scales and in the size of the spots and their distribution in fish from the Indian Ocean compared to those taken in the Pacific Ocean. [3]

Utlisation

The dotted grouper is fished for by artisanal and commercial fisheries in Asia.[1]

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References
  1. Leung Lap Boon, B. & Sadovy, Y. (2018). "Epinephelus epistictus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T132824A46631320. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T132824A46631320.en. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Epinephelus episticus" 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. FAO, Rome. p. 143–144. ISBN 92-5-103125-8.
  4. Dianne J. Bray. "Epinephelus epistictus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. Jianguo Du; Kar-Hoe Loh; Amy Yee-Hui Then; et al. (2019). "First record of the dotted grouper Epinephelus epistictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Perciformes, Serranidae) in Malaysia". ZooKeys (861): 107–118. doi:10.3897/zookeys.861.34043. PMID 31333328. S2CID 198120693.
  6. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Serranus episticus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
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