---
title: Groupers (Epinephelidae)
scientific_name: Epinephelidae
common_name: Groupers
rank: Family
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T20:59:06.362Z
tags: Groupers, Epinephelidae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers
---

# Groupers (*Epinephelidae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Family
- **Scientific name:** Epinephelidae
- **Body shape:** Bottom-dwelling - Stocky, big-headed, sits on the reef or sand rather than swims - scorpionfishes, groupers, gobies.
- **Species listed here:** 26

## How to recognise this group

- stocky, robust body
- large head and prominent thick lips
- variable mottled, spotted, or barred camouflage patterns
- often resting motionless on substrate or in crevices

Groupers are robust, predatory fish, typically distinguished by a heavy, often slightly compressed body, a large head, and thick, fleshy lips. Their prominent mouth can protract rapidly to create a powerful suction, drawing in prey. Three flat spines are present on the gill cover. Members of this group display a wide size range, from small hinds around 20-25 cm (8-10 in) to the Giant Grouper, which can reach 2.5 m (8 ft) in length and exceed 200 kg (440 lb). Many species exhibit the ability to rapidly change their colour and pattern, shifting within seconds from pale to barred or mottled, a trait reflected in the genus name Epinephelus, meaning "clouded over".

Most groupers are solitary, ambush predators commonly found motionless under reef ledges, within wrecks, or at cave mouths. They inhabit diverse reef environments from shallow patch reefs to deep reef slopes and drop-offs, typically down to 100 m (330 ft), though some species range deeper. Their diet consists primarily of fish, crabs, and octopus, which they consume with a swift lunge. A notable behaviour among some, such as the Roving Coralgroupers, involves hunting cooperatively with moray eels; they recruit an eel by shaking their head in front of it, prompting the eel to flush prey from crevices inaccessible to the grouper. Nearly all groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites, beginning life as females and later transitioning to males.


## Species (26)

- [Areolate Grouper (Epinephelus areolatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/areolate-grouper)
- [Blacktip Grouper (Epinephelus fasciatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/blacktip-grouper)
- [Brownspotted Grouper (Epinephelus geoffroyi)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/brownspotted-grouper)
- [Camouflage Grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/camouflage-grouper)
- [Comet Grouper (Epinephelus morrhua)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/comet-grouper)
- [Coral Grouper (Cephalopholis miniata)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/coral-grouper)
- [Epaulet Grouper (Epinephelus stoliczkae)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/epaulet-grouper)
- [Fewspot Hind (Cephalopholis oligosticta)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/fewspot-hind)
- [Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/giant-grouper)
- [Goldblotch Grouper (Epinephelus costae)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/goldblotch-grouper)
- [Greasy Grouper (Epinephelus tauvina)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/greasy-grouper)
- [Halfspotted Hind (Cephalopholis hemistiktos)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/halfspotted-hind)
- [Headband Basslet (Liopropoma mitratum)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/headband-basslet)
- [Lyretail Grouper (Variola louti)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/lyretail-grouper)
- [Malabar Grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/malabar-grouper)
- [Orange-Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus coioides)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/orange-spotted-grouper)
- [Peacock Grouper (Cephalopholis argus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/peacock-grouper)
- [Pinstripe Basslet (Liopropoma susumi)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/pinstripe-basslet)
- [Potato Grouper (Epinephelus tukula)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/potato-grouper)
- [Redmouth Grouper (Aethaloperca rogaa)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/redmouth-grouper)
- [Roving Coralgrouper (Plectropomus pessuliferus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/roving-coralgrouper)
- [Sixblotch Grouper (Cephalopholis sexmaculata)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/sixblotch-grouper)
- [Slender Grouper (Anyperodon leucogrammicus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/slender-grouper)
- [Squaretail Coralgrouper (Plectropomus areolatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/squaretail-coralgrouper)
- [Summan Grouper (Epinephelus summana)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/summan-grouper)
- [Tiger Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers/tiger-grouper)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/groupers)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*