The masked grouper (''Gracila albomarginata''), also known as the thinspine grouper, rededged cod, red-edged grouper, slenderspine grouper, thinspine rockcod, white-margined grouper, white-square cod or white-square 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 and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is the only species in the genus ''Gracila''.
Description
The masked grouper has an oblong, rather compressed body in which the
standard length is 2.6 to 3.3 times its depth. The dorsal profile of the head is convex while the area between the eyes is slightly convex. The preopercle is rounded with fine serratations and with a smooth, fleshy lower margin. The gill cover has a central spine which is located at one-third of the gap between the lower to upper spines and with an upper edge which is distinctly 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 9 spines and 14-16 soft rays while the
anal fin has 3 spines and 9-10 soft rays.
[ The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are incised in juveniles but not in adults.][ The ]caudal 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 ...
is truncate.[ This species has a greenish to reddish-brown or brownish-grey body, with a large roughly square-shaped white blotch on the upper flanks and dark diagonal lines on its head. There are narrow dark bars along the middle of the flanks, and a white base to the caudal fin which has a black spot in the centre. The juveniles are colourful being violet with bright red margins on their dorsal, anal and caudal fins.]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 ...
is .[
]
Distribution
''Gracila albomarginata'' can be found in the Indo-Pacific, from northern Mozambique north to Kenya east to French Polynesia and the northern Great Barrier Reef. Its range includes the islands of Réunion, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives but it has not been recorded in the Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
or Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
.Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, as well as the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
in Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
. It also occurs around Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
)
, anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''"
, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
, map_caption = ...
.[
]
Habitat and biology
The masked grouper is associated with reefs, normally occurring on the outer slopes of coral reefs and in channels close to deep water. It feeds mainly on fishes which it catches near the bottom. This uncommon species is usually solitary, however, there are records of groups of three or four fish.
Taxonomy
The masked grouper was first formally described as ''Cephalolopholis albomarginatus'' in 1930 by the American ichthyologists Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965) and Barton Appler Bean
Barton Appler Bean was an American ichthyologist, born May 21, 1860 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and died June 16, 1947 in Chemung, New York, after falling from a bridge.
He was the brother of the ichthyologist Tarleton Hoffman Bean (1846-191 ...
(1860-1947) with the type locality being given as Danawan Island, vicinity of Sibuko Bay which is in Sabah
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
.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 include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Gracila'',Cephalopholis
''Cephalopholis'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae in the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Many of the species have the word "hind" as part of their common name in ...
''.[
]
Utilisation
The masked grouper is an infrequently caught species by local and artisanal fisheries, and in the Maldives is described as a minir component in the overall catch of groupers.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3774087
Epinephelini
Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler
Taxa named by Barton Appler Bean
Fish described in 1930