''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'', commonly called blue-and-yellow 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 is associated with reefs in the Indian Ocean.

Description

''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'' is a middle sized fish, it can grow up to a maximum length of 90 cm but average size is usually around 45 cm. It has a deep and compressed body, the

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 ...

being 2.3 to 2.7 times its depth. The preopercle is subangular with enlarged serrations at its angle. The upper edge of the gill cover is straight or slightly convex. The dorsal fin contains 9 spines and 16-17 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, there are no incisions in the membranes between the dorsal fin spines. The caudal fin is truncate. The head and body are dark bluish violet to dark greyish blue, there are sometimes pale blue flecks while the fins and jaws are bright yellow> In some fish the corners of caudal fin, the margin of the soft-rayed part of the dorsal and the anal fins as well as the tips of pelvic fins are blackish. The yellow colour fades as the fish grows and the larger adults are normally dark greyish, dark blue, purple, reddish brown, or nearly black.

Distribution

''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'' is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean. Along the eastern coast of Africa from Djibouti to

Port Alfred A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

east to

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

. It has been recorded around

St Brandon It is highly likely that the name Saint Brandon was derived from the French sailors and corsairs that sailed to and from Britanny, after a town called Saint-Brandan. It has since been Anglicised to Saint Brandon and is also known as the Cargado ...

and

Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

in the Mascarenes and as far north as the Gulf of Mannar in India. Although it is found in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

it is absent from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Habitat and biology

''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'' is solitary and sedentary, defending a well bounded territory. The juveniles are found in shallow reefs whereas the adults occur on deeper reefs to This predatory species feeds on fishes, crabs, shrimps, spiny lobsters, squids, and small octopuses.

Taxonomy

''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'' was first formally described as ''Holocentrus flavocaeruleus'' in 1802 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 ...

naturalist

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's great work, the ...

(1756-1825) with the type locality given as Mauritius.

Utilisation

''Epinephelus flavocaeruleus'' is landed on

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

as part of the mixed grouper fishery there. In the Maldives, it is captured for export to the Hong Kong live reef fish market.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2275577 flavocaeruleus Fish described in 1802