Epinephelus maculatus, Highfin grouper : fisheries, aquarium

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Epinephelus maculatus (Bloch, 1790)

Highfin grouper
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Epinephelus maculatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Epinephelus maculatus (Highfin grouper)
Epinephelus maculatus
Picture by Kochzius, M.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Epinephelus: Greek, epinephelos = cloudy (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bloch.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 100 m (Ref. 37816). Tropical; 29°N - 34°S, 96°E - 170°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Pacific Ocean: Cocos-Keeling Islands to Samoa, north to southern Japan, south to southeastern Australia and Lord Howe Island (Ref. 37816).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 35 - ? cm
Max length : 60.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5525)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-17; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. Brown spots evenly distributed and packed into hexagonal shapes only on adults which are generally larger (>25 to 45 cm); front portion of spinous dorsal fin about 50% taller than on other species at all sizes (Ref. 37816); small juveniles black with white blotches, becoming more spotted with age (Ref. 48635); further characterized by having ctenoid scales on body; auxiliary scales on body; greatest depth of body 2.7-3.1 in SL; rounded caudal fin; pelvic fins 1.7-2.0 in head length (Ref. 90102); head length 2.4-2.6 times in SL; flat to slightly convex interorbital area, convex dorsal head profile; preopercle with shallow indentation just above the enlarged serrae at angle; straight or slightly convex upper edge of operculum, posterior and anterior nostrils subequal; maxilla reaches to or past vertical at rear edge of eye, ventral edge with blunt hook-like process distally in fish larger than 35 cm SL; 2 rows of teeth on midlateral part of lower jaw (Ref. 89707).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Juveniles are found in shallow coral rubble, adults in isolated coral heads of lagoon and seaward reefs to depths of 82 m. Feeds mainly on sand-dwelling fishes and crustaceans, sometimes on octopuses. In the Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253). May be ciguatoxic in certain areas (Ref. 37816). Solitary, often seen on open sand and base of reefs (Ref 90102).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C. and 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. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 January 2017

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
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Aquaculture profile
Strains
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Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
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Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.3 - 28.8, mean 27.6 °C (based on 698 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00731 - 0.01723), b=3.00 (2.88 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 3.9 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.28).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 30.4 [15.3, 63.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.616 [0.310, 1.274] mg/100g; Protein = 18.6 [17.0, 20.0] %; Omega3 = 0.13 [0.08, 0.21] g/100g; Selenium = 42.7 [22.8, 86.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 186 [49, 696] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.06 [0.72, 1.57] mg/100g (wet weight);