''Epinephelus corallicola'', also known as the black-dotted cod, coral cod, coral rockcod or duskyfin grouper, 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 part of 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. It has an

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 ...

distribution and is found in marine and brackish waters.

Description

''Epinephelus corallicola'' 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 ...

that is 2.7 to 3.2 times its depth. The dorsal profile of the head is almost straight and the area between the eyes is flat. The preopercle is rounded with fine serrations and a slight notch. The upper edge of the gill is complex. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-17 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 8 soft rays. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are slightly incised. The caudal fin is rounded. There are 53–63 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 ...

. This is a light bluish-grey to greyish-green grouper with blotches resembling saddles along its back while the fins and body are marked more or less evenly distributed dark spots, as well as an irregular pattern of paler blotches. The maximum published total length is .

Distribution

''Epinephelus corallicola'' has an eastern Indo-Pacific distribution. It is found from Thailand east through Indonesia and the Philippines to Australia, Micronesia and Palau. It is rarely recorded off northern

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. In Australia it is found from Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, along the tropical northern coasts of the continent to northern New South Wales.

Habitat and biology

''Epinephelus corallicola'' is found in a variety of habitats from silty shallow reefs to clear waters on the outer reef slopes, at depths between . It is some times found in estuaries. The biology of this species has been little studied.

Taxonomy

''Epinephelus corallicola'' was first formally described as ''Serranus corallicola'' in 1828 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

zoologist

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...

(1794–1865) with the type locality given as Java.

Utilisation

''Epinephelus corallicola'' is not considered as valuable a food fish as related species. However, it is fished for by artisanal and subsistence fisheries throughout its range and is taken to be "grown on" in the live sea food market.

References

External links

* * Coral Grouper @ Fishes of Australia
/small> {{Taxonbar, from=Q949609

corallicola ''Corallicola'' is a fungal genus in the family Halosphaeriaceae. This is a monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not in ...

Fish of Thailand Marine fish of Southeast Asia Fish described in 1828 Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes