However, some groupers are gonochoristic. If no male is available, the largest female that can increase fitness by changing sex will do so. As such, if a small female grouper were to change sex before it could control a harem as a male, its fitness would decrease. Groupers often pair spawn, which enables large males to competitively exclude smaller males from reproducing. The largest males often control harems containing three to 15 females. Some species of groupers grow about a kilogram per year and are generally adolescents until they reach three kilograms when they become female. Groupers are mostly monandric protogynous hermaphrodites, i.e., they mature only as females and can change sex after sexual maturity. Aulacocephalus Temminck & Schlegel, 1843.
Subfamily Epinephelinae Bleeker, 1874 (groupers) Classification Īccording to the 5th edition of Fishes of the World, the subfamily is divided up into 5 tribes containing a total of 32 genera and 234 species. They have been classified either as their own families or within subfamilies, although they are classified by the 5th Edition of the Fishes of the World, classifies these two groups as tribes within the subfamily Epinephelinae. These fishes are often called soapfishes.
#PICTURES OF A GROUPER FISH SKIN#
The species in the tribes Grammistini and Diploprionini secrete a mucus-like toxin in their skin called grammistin, and when they are confined in a restricted space and subjected to stress, the mucus produces a foam that is toxic to nearby fish. In Latin America, the fish is known as ' mero'. In the Middle East, the fish is known as ' hammour', and is widely eaten, especially in the Persian Gulf region.
In the Philippines, groupers are generally known as lapu-lapu in Luzon, while in the Visayas and Mindanao they are known as pugapo. In New Zealand, "groper" refers to a type of wreckfish, Polyprion oxygeneios, which goes by the name hapuka (from the Māori language hāpuku). In Australia, "groper" is used instead of "grouper" for several species, such as the Queensland grouper ( Epinephelus lanceolatus). The word "grouper" is from the Portuguese name, garoupa, which has been speculated to come from an indigenous South American language. Groupers are also one of the only animals that eat invasive red lionfish. Research indicates roving coralgroupers ( Plectropomus pessuliferus) sometimes cooperate with giant morays in hunting. They also use their mouths to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills. Their mouths and gills form a powerful vacuum that pulls their prey in from a distance. Reports of fatal attacks on humans by the largest species, such as the giant grouper ( Epinephelus lanceolatus), are unconfirmed. Some species prefer to ambush their prey, while others are active predators. They habitually eat fish, octopuses, and crustaceans.
They do not have many teeth on the edges of their jaws, but they have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the pharynx. They swallow prey rather than biting pieces off of them. The largest is the Atlantic goliath grouper ( Epinephelus itajara) which has been weighed at 399 kilograms (880 pounds) and a length of 2.43 m (7 ft 11 + 1⁄ 2 in), though in such a large group, species vary considerably. They can be quite large: in length, over a meter. They are not built for long-distance, fast swimming. Groupers are teleosts, typically having a stout body and a large mouth. However, some of the hamlets (genus Alphestes), the hinds (genus Cephalopholis), the lyretails (genus Variola), and some other small genera ( Gonioplectrus, Niphon, Paranthias) are also in this subfamily, and occasional species in other serranid genera have common names involving the word "grouper." Nonetheless, the word "grouper" on its own is usually taken as meaning the subfamily Epinephelinae.ĭescription Anatomy of a grouper In addition, the species classified in the small genera Anyperidon, Cromileptes, Dermatolepis, Graciela, Saloptia, and Triso are also called "groupers." Fish in the genus Plectropomus are referred to as "coral groupers." These genera are all classified in the subfamily Epiphelinae. The common name "grouper" is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus and Mycteroperca. Not all serranids are called "groupers" the family also includes the sea basses. Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. For other uses, see Grouper (disambiguation).
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