Pogonoperca punctata

Pogonoperca punctata, common name spotted soapfish, snowflake soapfish or leaflip grouper, is a species of grouper belonging to the family Serranidae.[1][2][3]

Pogonoperca punctata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Serranidae
Subfamily:
Grammistinae
Genus:
Pogonoperca
Species:
P. punctata
Binomial name
Pogonoperca punctata
(Valenciennes, 1830)
Synonyms
  • Grammistes punctatus Valenciennes, 1830
  • Pogonoperca reticulata Bliss, 1883

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from Comoros to the Line Islands, Marquesas, and Society Islands, south to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan.[4] It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Habitat

These tropical reef-associated fish prefer large coral heads on slopes, more commonly at depths of 10 to 150 m. Juveniles mainly inhabit protected bays or shallow lagoons.[4]

Description
P. punctata from French Polynesia

P. punctata grows to 35 cm in length.[4] The body is dark brown and covered with small, white, tightly spaced dots. Five distinctive black markings are located on the base of the head, on the back, and on the tail.

These groupers also show a characteristic loose skin on the chin, hence the etymology of the genus name (from the Greek pogon meaning beard and perke meaning perch). They have seven dorsal spines, 12-13 dorsal soft rays, three anal spines, and eight anal soft rays. The fins are rather clear.[4]

Biology

These fish are usually solitary, but also can be found in pairs. They feed on crustaceans and small fishes.

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References
  1. Biolib
  2. Catalogue of life
  3. Aquatab
  4. Fishbase


Further reading
  • Baissac, J. de B. (1990) SWIOP/WP/54 - Checklist of the marine fishes of Mauritius., RAF/87/008/WP/54/90 Regional Project for the Development & Management of Fisheries in the Southwest Indian Ocean.
  • Cuvier, G. & A. Valenciennes. 1830. Historie naturelle des poissons. Tome Sixieme. Livre sixieme. Partie I. Des Sparoides; Partie II. Des Ménides. Historie naturelle des poissons. Tome Sixieme. v. 6: i-xxiv + 6 pp. + 1–559, Pls. 141–169.
  • Dennis King & Valda Fraser - The Reef Guide: Fishes, corals, nudibranchs & other invertebrates: East & South Coasts of Southern Africa. Struik Nature. 2014 ISBN 978-1-77584-018-3
  • Fricke, R. (1999) Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez): an annotated checklist, with descriptions of new species., Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae, Vol. 31:759 p.
  • Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p


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