The smooth grouper (''Dermatolepis striolata'') 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 associated with reefs and is found in the western Indian Ocean.

Description

The smooth grouper has a body which is at 2.4-2.6 times as deep as its standard length The eye has a diameter which is markedly shorter than the length of the snout. The preopercle is serrated with the serrations covered by skin. The spines on the gill cover are not easy to see. The dorsal profile of the head is slightly concave or straight. The caudal fin is rounded or truncate with rounded corners. It has smooth scales which are largely covered by skin and auxiliary scales. There are 11 spines and 18-19 soft rays in 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 ...

while the anal fin has 3 spines and 9-10 soft rays. The colour of this fish is overall yellowish to reddish brown, becoming paler ventrally. The adults have small, round, dark spots covering the head, body and fins. The juveniles have many small dark brown spots on the head, body and fins, the spots on the body are elongated horizontally while those on the fins are less obvious. The dorsal, anal and caudal fin also have pale spots and there are also pale, irregular blotches of various sizes which vary on visibility too. This species attains a maximum

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 ...

of and the maximum published weight is .

Distribution

The smooth grouper is found in the western Indian Ocean. Along the African coast its distribution extends from Somalia to

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in South Africa. It is also found around the Comoros Islands, Madagascar and Aldabra in the Seychelles. It is also found around the southern Arabian Peninsula as far east as the Iranian waters of the Gulf of Oman.It has also been reported from 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''; ...

Habitat and biology

The smooth grouper is a rare species found on the shallow waters of sheltered, turbid coastal rocky or coral reefs. They have been reported to shoal in small in small groups of up to 8 fishes. Analysis of stomach contents show that they are piscivorus. It is not known whether they form aggregations for

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

Taxonomy

The smooth grouper was first formally described as ''Serranus striolatus'' in 1867 by the Scottish

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, diplomat, naturalist and author

Lambert Playfair Sir (Robert) Lambert Playfair (21 March 1828 – 18 February 1899) was a British soldier, diplomat, naturalist and author. Early life Lambert Playfair was a grandson of James Playfair, principal of the University of St Andrews, and son of Geo ...

(1828-1899) with the type locality given as

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2694802 smooth grouper Marine fauna of East Africa Fish of the Indian Ocean Gulf of Oman smooth grouper Taxonomy articles created by Polbot