''Cephalopholis spiloparaea'', known commonly as the strawberry hind strawberry rock cod, strawberry cod or orange rock cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the

anthias Anthias are members of the family Serranidae and make up the subfamily Anthiinae. Anthias make up a sizeable portion of the population of pink, orange, and yellow reef fishes seen swarming in most coral reef photography and film. The name Anthi ...

and sea basses. This fish occurs throughout the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Description

''Cephalopholis spiloparaea'' has a body which has a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

is 2.6 to 3 times the depth. The dorsal fin has 9 spines and 14-16 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 9-10 soft rays. The pectoral fins are markedly longer than the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s and it has a rounded caudal fin. There are 47-53 scales in the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. The background colour is pale reddish orange and it is marked with dark red or brownish red mottling and blotches. There are normally faint pale spots on the head, body, and dorsal, anal and caudal fins. The caudal fin is normally the same colour as the body, although some specimens from the

Comoros Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwe ...

show distinctly yellowish tails, with a bluish white submarginal band at the corners of the tail, thinning and moving to the margin at the tail's centre. The margin of the soft-rayed part of the anal fin and, to s lesser extent the dorsal fin, is bluish. Sometimes here are 8 faint dark saddle blotches along the base of the dorsal fin with a ninth on the anterior of the caudal peduncle. This species attains a maximum total length of >

Distribution

''Cephalopholis spiloparaea'' has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the East African coats where it extends from Kenya south to

Pinda Pinda may refer to: People * Emmanuel Pinda (born 1961), French karate practitioner * Kingsley Pinda (born 1992), French basketball player * Mizengo Pinda (born 1948), Prime Minister of Tanzania Other uses * Pinda (riceball), rice balls offered t ...

in Mozambique, east across the Indian Ocean into the pacific as far east as

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

and

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

. They occur as far north as the Ryukyu Islands and south to the

Rowley Shoals The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on , on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll cover ...

in Western Australia and

Heron Island Heron Island may refer to: *Heron Island (Queensland), in Australia *Heron Island (New Brunswick), in Baie des Chaleurs, Canada * Heron Island (Quebec), in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada * Heron Island, Berkshire, on the River Thames, England * H ...

in the southern part of Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

Habitat and biology

''Cephalopholis spiloparaea'' is largely found in islands, apart from the population at Pinda in Mozambique. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs at depths greater than . It is the commonest species of grouper on these types of reef in the Indo-Pacific. It has been shown to live in harems dominated by a male. They feed on

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s and other crustaceans and normally forage at night or in the very early morning, just before or just after dawn.

Utilisation

''Cephalopholis spiloparaea'' is of minor commercial importance to fisheries but the depth at which it is found appears to offer some protection from overexploitation.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2671304 spiloparaea Fish described in 1828