The greasy grouper (''Epinephelus tauvina''), also known as the Arabian grouper or greasy rockcod, is 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 ...

fish species of economic importance belonging to the family

Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some case ...

Distribution

The greasy grouper occurs in the Red Sea and along the East African coast, east to the

Pitcairn The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

group, north to Japan, and south to

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

. It is not common in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, or

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 ...

Habitat

The species inhabits clear-water areas on coral reefs (at depths to 50 m), although juveniles may venture into reef flats, tidepools, and mangrove estuaries.

Description

''Epinephelus tauvina'' grows up to in length. These fish have a wide, upward-facing mouth with rather thick lips. Their heads and bodies are pale greenish grey or brown with round spots, varying from orange-red to dark brown. A group of black spots may be visible on the body at the base of the rear of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

. Five vertical darker shaded bars may also be present on their bodies. It is similar to ''E. corallicola'' and ''E. howlandi'', which, however, have shorter bodies and spots less closely spaced. Due to confusion about identifying species, much of the earlier (particularly before 1984) literature referring to ''E. tauvina'' may actually refer to other species of grouper, including ''

Epinephelus coioides The orange-spotted grouper (''Epinephelus coioides''), also known as the brown-spotted rockcod, estuary cod, estuary rockcod, goldspotted rockcod, greasy cod, North-west groper, orange spotted cod or blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marin ...

, Epinephelus malabaricus'' and ''

Epinephelus lanceolatus The giant grouper (''Epinephelus lanceolatus''), also known as the Queensland grouper, brindle grouper or mottled-brown sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Ser ...

''.

Biology

The greasy grouper is a long-lived fish with a very slow growth rate. It is a

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...

.R. Abu-Hakim
Aspects of the reproductive biology of the grouper, Epinephelus tauvina (Forskål), in Kuwaiti waters
/ref> Greasy groupers are top predators on the reef; they mainly feed on small fish and sometimes crustaceans.

Fisheries

The greasy grouper is caught in recreational fisheries (including spearfishing and hook-and-line fishing) and plays a major role in commercial fisheries. It is also found in the aquarium trade. Total production in 2013 was 16,234 tonnes (combined recreational fisheries, commercial fisheries, and aquaculture).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:grouper, greasy greasy grouper Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of Saudi Arabia greasy grouper