''Epinephelus bruneus'', the longtooth 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 found in northwest Pacific in eastern Asia.

Description

''Epinephelus bruneus'' has an elongate 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 ...

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 contains 11 spines and 13-15 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. It has 64-72 scales in its

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 ...

. 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 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 where it occurs from southern Japan and Taiwan and along the coast of Asia from southern Korea to Hainan and Hong Kong 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 reefs, 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 **Ger ...

physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (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.

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