Epinephelus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamilyEpinephelinae, part of the familySerranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are predatory fish, largely associated with reefs and are found in tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. They are important target species for fisheries.
The fishes in the genus Epinephelus have elongate, subcylindrical bodies which may be oblong or deep and compressed in shape. The depth of the body varies between 2.3 and 3.7 times the standard length and head is usually around the same length as the body is deep. The preopercle can be rounded or angular and has a serrated rear edge with the serrations at the angle being enlarged to a lesser or greater extent. In a small number of species serrations are small and on the lower edge they are covered by skin. Caniform teeth are found at the front of jaws, although these can be rather small in a few species. They do not have any obviously enlarged caniform teeth in the middle of the lower jaw. There are teeth on the roof of the mouth. In adults, the maxilla does not have a noticeable bony protrusion on the lower rear angle, although they can have a deep step or hook-like process which is hidden by the upper lips, on the rear part of its lower edge. The dorsal fin normally contains 9 spines, although some species have 10, as well as 12 to 19 rays. The origin of the dorsal fin sits above the opercle and the soft rayed part is shorter than the spiny part. The anal fin contains 3 distinct spines and 7 to 10 soft rays. The pectoral fin is rounded with its middle rays being longer than the others longest. The caudal fin may be rounded, truncate or concave, contains 8 branched rays and 8 to 10 fin rays which are slender, unbranched and unsegmented (referred to as "procurrent") fin rays at the leading edges of he caudal fin on the upper lobe and 7 branched rays and 7 to 10 procurrent rays in the lower lobe. The body is covered in ctenoid or smooth scales.[4]
Habitat and biologyedit
Epinephelus groupers are occur mainly on coral or rocky reefs, although a small number of species have been recorded over substrates consisting of sand, silt or mud. A few species are found in deep water, down to at least 525 metres (1,722 ft), but the majority occur between 10 and 200 metres (33 and 656 ft). The two largest members of the genus, E. itajara and E. lanceolatus, either of which may attain a length in excess of 2 metres (6.6 ft) and a weight greater than 400 kilograms (880 lb) have frequently been recorded in estuaries and harbours. Most of the species in the genus Epinephelus are predatory fish which feed on larger invertebrates, mostly crustaceans, and other fishes taken on or close to the substrate. E. undulosus is an unusual grouper species distinguished by having many, long gill rakers and this species has been reported to feed on pelagic tunicates, at least on occasion. Only a few species have had their reproductive biology studied and many species appear to be protogynous hermaphrodites. However, in some species there are males in the populations which are smaller than some of the females, suggesting a more complex biology and this suggests that some females do not change sex, and that some males may not have a undergone a functional female stage.[4]
Distributionedit
Epinephelus species are found around the world in tropical and subtropical seas and oceans. The greatest diversity occurs in the Indo-West Pacific, while 8 species are found in the eastern Pacific, 11 in the western Atlantic Ocean 9 species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean.[4] Four species have entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal as Lessepsian migrants.[5]
Utilisationedit
Epinephelus groupers are among the most valuable species exploited by commercial fishes in the world's tropical seas and they fetch some of the highest prices when marketed. They have also been used in aquaculture.[4]
Some of these species are placed in the genus Hyporthodus by some authorities, for example Epinephelus darwinensis is treated as Hyporthodus darwinensis by the Catalog of Fishes.[12]
Referencesedit
^Jack Sepkoski. Shanan E. Peters (ed.). "1393 genera are assigned to the class OSTEICHTHYES". Sepkoski Online. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
^ abcdHeemstra, 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. Vol. 125. FAO, Rome. pp. 69–75. ISBN92-5-103125-8.
^Daniel Golani; Grigori Askarov; Yuri Dashevsky (2015). "First record of the Red Sea spotted grouper, Epinephelus geoffroyi (Klunzinger, 1870) (Serranidae) in the Mediterranean". BioInvasions Records. 4 (2): 143–145. doi:10.3391/bir.2015.4.2.12.
^Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). Species of Epinephelus in FishBase. June 2016 version.
^Benjamin W. Frable; Sarah J. Tucker & H.J. Walker Jr. (2019). "A new species of grouper, Epinephelus craigi (Perciformes: Epinephelidae), from the South China Sea". Ichthyological Research. 66 (2): 215–224. doi:10.1007/s10228-018-0669-9. S2CID 53239811.
^Johnson, J. & Worthington Wilmer, J. (2019). "Epinephelus fuscomarginatus (Perciformes: Epinephelidae), a new species of grouper from off the Great Barrier Reef, Australia". Zootaxa. 4674 (3): zootaxa.4674.3.2. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4674.3.2. PMID 31716001.
^Tucker, S.J., Kurniasih, E.M. & Craig, M.T. (2016): A New Species of Grouper (Epinephelus; Epinephelidae) from the Indo-Pacific. Copeia, 104 (3): 658-662.
^Haohao Wu; Meng Qu; Hungdu Lin; Wei Tang & Shaoxiong Ding (2020). "Epinephelus tankahkeei, a new species of grouper (Teleostei, Perciformes, Epinephelidae) from the South China Sea". ZooKeys (933): 125–137. doi:10.3897/zookeys.933.46406. PMC7248128. PMID 32508492.
epinephelus, genus, marine, finned, fish, groupers, from, subfamily, epinephelinae, part, family, serranidae, which, also, includes, anthias, basses, they, predatory, fish, largely, associated, with, reefs, found, tropical, subtropical, seas, throughout, world. Epinephelus is a genus of marine ray finned fish groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae part of the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses They are predatory fish largely associated with reefs and are found in tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world They are important target species for fisheries EpinephelusTemporal range 55 0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Eocene to present 1 Epinephelus fasciatus the type speciesEpinephelus tukulaScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder PerciformesFamily SerranidaeSubfamily EpinephelinaeTribe EpinepheliniGenus EpinephelusBloch 1793Type speciesEpinephelus marginalisBloch 1793 2 Speciessee textSynonyms 3 Altiserranus Whitley 1947 Cerna Bonaparte 1833 Cernua Costa 1849 Cynichthys Swainson 1839 Enneistus D S Jordan amp Evermann 1896 Garrupa D S Jordan 1890 Homalogrystes Alleyne amp Macleay 1877 Hyposerranus Klunzinger 1884 Itaiara Vaillant amp Bocourt 1878 Labroperca Gill 1862 Merou Bonaparte ex Cuvier 1831 Merus Poey ex Cuvier 1871 Phrynotitan Gill 1885 Priacanthichthys Day 1868 Promicrops Poey ex Gill 1868 Stereolepoides Fowler 1923 Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Habitat and biology 3 Distribution 4 Utilisation 5 Species 6 References 7 External linksCharacteristics editThe fishes in the genus Epinephelus have elongate subcylindrical bodies which may be oblong or deep and compressed in shape The depth of the body varies between 2 3 and 3 7 times the standard length and head is usually around the same length as the body is deep The preopercle can be rounded or angular and has a serrated rear edge with the serrations at the angle being enlarged to a lesser or greater extent In a small number of species serrations are small and on the lower edge they are covered by skin Caniform teeth are found at the front of jaws although these can be rather small in a few species They do not have any obviously enlarged caniform teeth in the middle of the lower jaw There are teeth on the roof of the mouth In adults the maxilla does not have a noticeable bony protrusion on the lower rear angle although they can have a deep step or hook like process which is hidden by the upper lips on the rear part of its lower edge The dorsal fin normally contains 9 spines although some species have 10 as well as 12 to 19 rays The origin of the dorsal fin sits above the opercle and the soft rayed part is shorter than the spiny part The anal fin contains 3 distinct spines and 7 to 10 soft rays The pectoral fin is rounded with its middle rays being longer than the others longest The caudal fin may be rounded truncate or concave contains 8 branched rays and 8 to 10 fin rays which are slender unbranched and unsegmented referred to as procurrent fin rays at the leading edges of he caudal fin on the upper lobe and 7 branched rays and 7 to 10 procurrent rays in the lower lobe The body is covered in ctenoid or smooth scales 4 Habitat and biology editEpinephelus groupers are occur mainly on coral or rocky reefs although a small number of species have been recorded over substrates consisting of sand silt or mud A few species are found in deep water down to at least 525 metres 1 722 ft but the majority occur between 10 and 200 metres 33 and 656 ft The two largest members of the genus E itajara and E lanceolatus either of which may attain a length in excess of 2 metres 6 6 ft and a weight greater than 400 kilograms 880 lb have frequently been recorded in estuaries and harbours Most of the species in the genus Epinephelus are predatory fish which feed on larger invertebrates mostly crustaceans and other fishes taken on or close to the substrate E undulosus is an unusual grouper species distinguished by having many long gill rakers and this species has been reported to feed on pelagic tunicates at least on occasion Only a few species have had their reproductive biology studied and many species appear to be protogynous hermaphrodites However in some species there are males in the populations which are smaller than some of the females suggesting a more complex biology and this suggests that some females do not change sex and that some males may not have a undergone a functional female stage 4 Distribution editEpinephelus species are found around the world in tropical and subtropical seas and oceans The greatest diversity occurs in the Indo West Pacific while 8 species are found in the eastern Pacific 11 in the western Atlantic Ocean 9 species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean 4 Four species have entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal as Lessepsian migrants 5 Utilisation editEpinephelus groupers are among the most valuable species exploited by commercial fishes in the world s tropical seas and they fetch some of the highest prices when marketed They have also been used in aquaculture 4 Species editThe 89 recognized species in this genus are 6 Epinephelus adscensionis Osbeck 1765 Epinephelus aeneus E Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 1817 white grouper Epinephelus akaara Temminck amp Schlegel 1843 Hong Kong grouper Epinephelus albomarginatus Boulenger 1903 white edged grouper Epinephelus amblycephalus Bleeker 1857 banded grouper Epinephelus analogus T N Gill 1863 spotted grouper Epinephelus andersoni Boulenger 1903 cat face grouper Epinephelus areolatus Forsskal 1775 areolate grouper Epinephelus awoara Temminck amp Schlegel 1843 yellow grouper Epinephelus bilobatus J E Randall amp G R Allen 1987 twin spot grouper Epinephelus bleekeri Vaillant 1878 dusky tail grouper Epinephelus bontoides Bleeker 1855 pale margin grouper Epinephelus bruneus Bloch 1793 long tooth grouper Epinephelus caninus Valenciennes 1843 dog tooth grouper Epinephelus chabaudi Castelnau 1861 moustache grouper Epinephelus chlorocephalus Valenciennes 1830 Tonga grouper Epinephelus chlorostigma Valenciennes 1828 brown spotted grouper Epinephelus cifuentesi Lavenberg amp Grove 1993 Olive grouper Epinephelus clippertonensis G R Allen amp D R Robertson 1999 Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus Bloch 1790 white spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides F Hamilton 1822 orange spotted grouper Epinephelus corallicola Valenciennes 1828 coral grouper Epinephelus costae Steindachner 1878 gold blotch grouper Epinephelus craigi Frable Tucker amp Walker 2018 7 Epinephelus cyanopodus J Richardson 1846 speckled blue grouper Epinephelus daemelii Gunther 1876 saddle tail grouper Epinephelus darwinensis J E Randall amp Heemstra 1991 Darwin grouper Epinephelus diacanthus Valenciennes 1828 spiny cheek grouper Epinephelus drummondhayi Goode amp T H Bean 1878 Epinephelus epistictus Temminck amp Schlegel 1843 dotted grouper Epinephelus erythrurus Valenciennes 1828 cloudy grouper Epinephelus fasciatomaculosus W K H Peters 1865 rock grouper Epinephelus fasciatus Forsskal 1775 black tip grouper Epinephelus faveatus Valenciennes 1828 barred chest grouper Epinephelus flavocaeruleus Lacepede 1802 blue and yellow grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Forsskal 1775 brown marbled grouper Epinephelus fuscomarginatus Johnson amp Worthington Wilmer 2019 8 Epinephelus gabriellae J E Randall amp Heemstra 1991 multispotted grouper Epinephelus geoffroyi Klunzinger 1870 Red Sea spotted grouper 9 Epinephelus goreensis Valenciennes 1830 Dungat grouper Epinephelus guttatus Linnaeus 1758 red hind Epinephelus heniochus Fowler 1904 Bridled grouper Epinephelus hexagonatus Bloch amp J G Schneider 1801 star spotted grouper Epinephelus howlandi Gunther 1873 black saddle grouper Epinephelus indistinctus J E Randall amp Heemstra 1991 Somali grouper Epinephelus irroratus Forster 1801 Marquesan grouper Epinephelus itajara Lichtenstein 1822 Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus kupangensis Tucker Kurniasih amp Craig 2016 10 Epinephelus labriformis L Jenyns 1840 starry grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus Bloch 1790 giant grouper Epinephelus latifasciatus Temminck amp Schlegel 1843 striped grouper Epinephelus lebretonianus Hombron amp Jacquinot 1853 mystery grouper Epinephelus longispinis Kner 1864 long spine grouper Epinephelus macrospilos Bleeker 1855 snub nose grouper Epinephelus maculatus Bloch 1790 high fin grouper Epinephelus magniscuttis Postel Fourmanoir amp Gueze 1963 speckled grouper Epinephelus malabaricus Bloch amp J G Schneider 1801 Malabar grouper Epinephelus marginatus R T Lowe 1834 dusky grouper Epinephelus melanostigma Schultz 1953 one blotch grouper Epinephelus merra Bloch 1793 honeycomb grouper Epinephelus miliaris Valenciennes 1830 net fin grouper Epinephelus morio Valenciennes 1828 red grouper Epinephelus morrhua Valenciennes 1833 comet grouper Epinephelus multinotatus W K H Peters 1876 white blotched grouper Epinephelus ongus Bloch 1790 white streaked grouper Epinephelus poecilonotus Temminck amp Schlegel 1843 dot dash grouper Epinephelus polylepis J E Randall amp Heemstra 1991 small scaled grouper Epinephelus polyphekadion Bleeker 1849 camouflage grouper Epinephelus polystigma Bleeker 1853 white dotted grouper Epinephelus posteli Fourmanoir amp Crosnier 1964 striped fin grouper Epinephelus quinquefasciatus Bocourt 1868 Pacific goliath grouper Epinephelus quoyanus Valenciennes 1830 long fin grouper Epinephelus radiatus F Day 1868 oblique banded grouper Epinephelus retouti Bleeker 1868 red tipped grouper Epinephelus rivulatus Valenciennes 1830 halfmoon grouper Epinephelus sexfasciatus Valenciennes 1828 six bar grouper Epinephelus socialis Gunther 1873 surge grouper Epinephelus spilotoceps Schultz 1953 four saddle grouper Epinephelus stictus J E Randall amp G R Allen 1987 black dotted grouper Epinephelus stoliczkae F Day 1875 epaulet grouper Epinephelus striatus Bloch 1792 Nassau grouper Epinephelus suborbitalis Amaoka amp J E Randall 1990 seamount grouper Epinephelus summana Forsskal 1775 Summan grouper Epinephelus tankahkeei Wu Qu Lin Tang amp Ding 2020 11 Epinephelus tauvina Forsskal 1775 greasy grouper Epinephelus timorensis J E Randall amp G R Allen 1987 yellow spotted grouper Epinephelus trimaculatus Valenciennes 1828 three spot grouper Epinephelus trophis J E Randall amp G R Allen 1987 plump grouper Epinephelus tuamotuensis Fourmanoir 1971 reticulated grouper Epinephelus tukula Morgans 1959 potato grouper Epinephelus undulatostriatus W K H Peters 1867 Maori grouper Epinephelus undulosus Quoy amp Gaimard 1824 wavy lined grouper Some of these species are placed in the genus Hyporthodus by some authorities for example Epinephelus darwinensis is treated as Hyporthodus darwinensis by the Catalog of Fishes 12 References edit Jack Sepkoski Shanan E Peters ed 1393 genera are assigned to the class OSTEICHTHYES Sepkoski Online University of Wisconsin Madison Retrieved 22 July 2020 Eschmeyer William N Fricke Ron amp van der Laan Richard eds Epinephelus Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences Retrieved 22 June 2020 Eschmeyer William N Fricke Ron amp van der Laan Richard eds Genera in the family Epinephelinae Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences Retrieved 22 June 2020 a b c d Heemstra P C amp 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 Vol 125 FAO Rome pp 69 75 ISBN 92 5 103125 8 Daniel Golani Grigori Askarov Yuri Dashevsky 2015 First record of the Red Sea spotted grouper Epinephelus geoffroyi Klunzinger 1870 Serranidae in the Mediterranean BioInvasions Records 4 2 143 145 doi 10 3391 bir 2015 4 2 12 Froese Rainer and Pauly Daniel eds 2016 Species of Epinephelus in FishBase June 2016 version Benjamin W Frable Sarah J Tucker amp H J Walker Jr 2019 A new species of grouper Epinephelus craigi Perciformes Epinephelidae from the South China Sea Ichthyological Research 66 2 215 224 doi 10 1007 s10228 018 0669 9 S2CID 53239811 Johnson J amp Worthington Wilmer J 2019 Epinephelus fuscomarginatus Perciformes Epinephelidae a new species of grouper from off the Great Barrier Reef Australia Zootaxa 4674 3 zootaxa 4674 3 2 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 4674 3 2 PMID 31716001 Eschmeyer William N Fricke Ron amp van der Laan Richard eds Species in the genus Epinephelus Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences Retrieved 6 July 2019 Tucker S J Kurniasih E M amp Craig M T 2016 A New Species of Grouper Epinephelus Epinephelidae from the Indo Pacific Copeia 104 3 658 662 Haohao Wu Meng Qu Hungdu Lin Wei Tang amp Shaoxiong Ding 2020 Epinephelus tankahkeei a new species of grouper Teleostei Perciformes Epinephelidae from the South China Sea ZooKeys 933 125 137 doi 10 3897 zookeys 933 46406 PMC 7248128 PMID 32508492 Eschmeyer William N Fricke Ron amp van der Laan Richard eds Epinephelus darwinensis Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences Retrieved 23 June 2020 External links edit nbsp Media related to Epinephelus at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Data related to Epinephelus at Wikispecies Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Epinephelus amp oldid 1188158583 Species, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
