Relevant synonyms Epinephelus salmoides Misidentification Epinephelus tauvina Meristic formula D, XI + 14-16; A, III + 18-20; P, 18-20; V, I +5; LL, 54-64; GR 25-29.  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body moderately elongated, becoming robust in large specimens. Dorsal fin continuous, the membrane between dorsal spines incised. Dorsal, caudal, anal and pectoral fin posterior edges rounded. Large head with large mouth. Lower jaw slightly projected, extending back to the vertical of posterior edge of eye or slightly beyond it. 2-3 rows of teeth in young individuals increasing to 4-5 in adults. Preoperculum subangular, its margin serrated. Opercular upper margin triangular with three flat spines. color : body covered with small black and white spots and blotches on greyish to olive-green background with five darker broad bars. size : common 30-60 cm (max. 120 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Other serranids: lack of well separated black and white spots and blotches. The closely related, E. coioides, another lessepsian migrant, has orange to reddish-brown spots and usually 20 pectoral rays (usually 19 in E. coioides). Other families: lack of three flat spines on the upper posterior corner of the operculum. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. Presumably protogynous hermaphrodite. Eggs and larvae planktonic. habitat : very diverse: rocky, sandy and muddy substrate. Penetrates estuaries.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1969. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific; Red Sea to Durban on the east African coast to southern Japan, Philippines, northern Australia to Fiji. Mediterranean : recorded first, misidentified as Epinephelus tauvina, in Israel (Ben-Tuvia and Lourie, 1969). More recently recorded in Malta. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare in the Mediterranean, only three specimens recorded. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Widely used in mariculture mainly in the Far East.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A. and Lourie A., 1969. A Red Sea grouper Epinephelus tauvina caught on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology, 18: 245-247. Heemstra P.C. and Golani D., 1993. Clarification of the Indo-Pacific groupers (Pisces: Serranidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Israel Journal of Zoology, 39: 381-390. Heemstra P.C. and Randall J.E., 1993. FAO species catalogue. Vol.16. Groupers of the world (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the groupers, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. Number 125. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 382 pp. + 31 pl. Schembri P.J. and Tonna R., 2011. Occurrence of the Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) (Actinopterygii, Perciformes, Serranidae), in the Maltese Islands. Aquatic Invasions, 6 (Supplement 1): S29-S32. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002