A pale grouper covered in evenly sized orange-brown spots, up to 1 m (3 ft), resting under a ledge or in the mouth of a cave with its head out. It is one of a knot of similar spotted groupers that even guides argue about, and the useful negative is the tail stalk: this one has no dark saddle on it.
It is an ambush predator with a suction strike, taking fish and crustaceans in a single lunge from cover, and it holds a home range it will occupy for years.
Like the rest of the genus it matures as a female and changes sex later, so the biggest fish on a reef is the male, and spear fishing that targets size removes the breeding males first. Recovery then depends on females converting, which takes years.
It is farmed across Asia and heavily fished throughout its range. Large individuals carry ciguatera in some regions, which is a recurring problem for a fish this valuable at market.
The genus. Epinephelus Bloch 1793 - epinéphelos (ancient Greek for clouded over). ETYFish
- pale gray-brown body covered in orange-brown spots, evenly sized
- five faint dark bars that show when the fish is disturbed
- no dark saddle on the tail stalk, which separates it from its lookalikes
- length up to 1 m
Why it's threatened
Overfishing is a threat to this species, but the impact is unknown due to frequent confusion with other grouper species.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
