''Epinephelus bruneus'', the longtooth grouper, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, a

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

from the subfamily

Epinephelinae Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

which is part of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ca ...

, 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 found in northwest

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

in eastern Asia.

Description

''Epinephelus bruneus'' has an elongate body which has a standard length which is 3.0 to 3.6 times its depth. The dorsal profile of the head between the eyes is convex. The preopercle has an angle where the serrations are notably enlarged. There is a small spine on the upper edge of the gill cover and this upper edge is convex. 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 c ...

contains 11 spines and 13-15 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. It has 64-72 scales in its lateral line. The larger adults are dark greyish brown in colour, and may be marked with faint blotches on their nbacks, although these may be absent. They also have a covering of small grey spots on their bodies which form short longitudinal lines and creating a mottled pattern. The lower margin of the anal fin and the lower corner of caudal fin have white edges. The juveniles are pale yellowish brown in colour, with 6 irregular, diagonal dark bars within which there are irregular pale spots. The first of these bars extends from nape to eye and the last is on the caudal peduncle. There are 3 dark brown bands which radiate from lower part of eye and some juveniles have greenish yellow membranes between the rearmost spines of the dorsal fin. The maximum published

total 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 ...

for this species is , although the most common length is around , and the maximum recorded weight is .

Distribution

''Epinephelus bruneus'' is found in the

Western Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

where it occurs from southern Japan and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and along the coast of Asia from southern

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in southern China. However, see taxonomy below.

Habitat and biology

''Epinephelus bruneus'' is found over rocky reefs and over areas of muddy substrates. Adults are found at depths of . They are also found over coral and

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many ...

s, Juveniles are found in shallower water, less than . The biology of this species is little known.

Taxonomy

''Epinephelus bruneus'' was first formally described in 1793 by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and naturalist

Marcus Elieser Bloch Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...

(1723–1799) with the type locality given as "Norway", apparently an error for China. Some authorities have split ''E. bruneus'' into two species, ''E. bruneus'' and '' E. moara'' and the exact distribution of these two species still require to be determined. ''E. moara'' appears to be found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China as afar south as

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

Utilisation

''Epinephelus bruneus'' is considered an excellent fish for eating and is caught using hand lines, longlines and trawls.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q707049 bruneus Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Fish described in 1793