Epinephelus lanceolatus, Giant grouper : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish, aquarium

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Epinephelus lanceolatus (Bloch, 1790)

Giant grouper
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Epinephelus lanceolatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Epinephelus lanceolatus (Giant grouper)
Epinephelus lanceolatus
Picture by To, W.-L.

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

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

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

marino; salmastro associati a barriera corallina; distribuzione batimetrica 1 - 200 m (Ref. 89972), usually ? - 50 m (Ref. 37816). Tropical; 29°N - 39°S, 24°E - 122°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to Algoa Bay, South Africa and eastward to the Hawaiian and Pitcairn islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia. Absence in the Persian Gulf is puzzling.

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 129 - ? cm
Max length : 270 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 5213); common length : 190 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 5450); peso massimo pubblicato: 400.0 kg (Ref. 26367)

Short description Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale): 11; Raggi dorsali molli (totale): 14-16; Spine anali 3; Raggi anali molli: 8. This species is distinguished by the following characters: robust body, its width 1.5-1.75 in body depth; body depth 2.3-3.4 in SL (for specimens 12-179 cm SL); head length 2.2-2.7 in SL; eye diameter 5.8-14 in HL; interorbital width 3.3 (at 177 cm SL) to 6.2 (at 12 cm SL) in HL; preopercle finely serrate, the corner rounded; upper edge of operculum convex; midlateral part of lower jaw with 2-3 rows of teeth (at 20-25 cm SL) increasing to 15-16 rows in specimen of 177 cm SL; canine teeth at front of jaws small or absent; pill rakers of first gill arch 8-10 + 14-17; dorsal fin third to eleventh spines subequal, shorter than longest soft rays; short pelvic fins, 23.0-2.7 in head length; caudal fin rounded; lateral-line scales 54-62, the anterior scales with branched tubules (except small juveniles). Colour: small juveniles (less than 15 cm) yellow, with 3 irregular black areas, the first from spinous dorsal fin to belly and chest and extending onto head, the second from base of soft dorsal fin to anal fin and the last at base of caudal fin; subadults (25-60 cm) with irregular white or yellow spots on the black areas and fins with black spots; adults (90-165 cm) dark brown with faint mottling, the fins with numerous small black spots; large adults 180-250 cm) dark brown, fins darker (Ref. 39231, 89707, 90102).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

The largest bony fish found in coral reefs (Ref. 9710). Individuals more than a meter long have been caught from shore and in harbors. Common in shallow waters. Found in caves or wrecks; also in estuaries. Juveniles secretive in reefs and rarely seen (Ref. 48635). Benthopelagic and benthic (Ref. 58302). Feed on spiny lobsters, fishes, including small sharks and batoids, and juvenile sea turtles and crustaceans. In South African estuaries, the main prey item is the mud crab, Scylla serrata. Unconfirmed reports of fatal attacks on humans. Nearly wiped out in heavily fished areas (Ref. 9710). Large individuals may be ciguatoxic (Ref. 37816). In the Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253). It is not common enough to be of commercial importance; rare in some places due to spearfishing; also caught with hook-and-line and spear (Ref. 39231).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore | Collaboratori

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)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 18 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)





Human uses

Pesca: pesca di sussistenza; Acquacoltura: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si; Acquario: Commerciale
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Stati
Aree FAO
Ecosystems
Presenze
Introduzioni
Stocks
Ecologia
Dieta
Prede
Consumo di cibo
Razione
Nomi Comuni
Sinonimi
Metabolismo
Predatori
Ecotossicologia
Riproduzione
Maturità
Deposizione
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Uova
Egg development
Age/Size
Accrescimento
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morfometria
Morfologia
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
BRUVS
Bibliografia
Acquacoltura
Profilo di acquacoltura
Varietà
Genetica
Electrophoreses
Ereditarietà
Malattie
Elaborazione
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaboratori
Immagini
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Suoni
Ciguatera
Velocità
Modalità di nuoto
Area branchiale
Otoliths
Cervelli
Vista

Strumenti

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.3 - 29.1, mean 28.1 °C (based on 1346 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01175 (0.00571 - 0.02419), b=3.04 (2.88 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.60 se; based on food items.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Molto basso, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione più di 14 anni (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.03 [3.72, 21.56] mg/100g; Iron = 0.376 [0.174, 0.785] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [17.0, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.104 [0.054, 0.200] g/100g; Selenium = 66.4 [30.6, 148.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 117 [25, 595] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.982 [0.614, 1.516] mg/100g (wet weight);