''Epinephelus summana'', the summan 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 comes from the Eastern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Description

''Epinephelus summana'' has a standard length which is 2.7 to 3.1 times its depth. It has a flat or slightly concave region between the eyes. The

preopercle The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding. Anatomy The opercular series contains four bon ...

has slightly enlarged serrations at its corner and the gill cover has a highly convex upper margin. There are 11 spines and 14-16 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 ...

and 3 spines and 8-9 rays in the anal fin. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are notched. The caudal fin is rounded. The overall colour is dark olive-brown to dark brownish grey with large pale blotches, the majority being greater in size than the eyes, and abundant small white spots which lie over this pattern. The fins are covered with small white spots, apart for the

pectoral 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 ...

s where they are restricted to its base. This species attains a maximum standard length of

Distribution

''Epinephelus summana'' is found in the western part of the Indian Ocean. It is found 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''; ...

, the Gulf of Aden and off

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’ ...

Habitat and ecology

''Epinephelus summana'' is a reef-associated species that occurs in shallow protected coral reefs and in shallow lagoons and seaward reef slopes (1 to 30 m) or brackish-water environments. No published information on the biology of this species has been found.

Taxonomy

''Epinephelus summana''was first formally described as ''Perca summana'' in 1775 by the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

explorer

Peter Forsskål Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl (11 January 1732 – 11 July 1763) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish explorer, orientalist, naturalist, and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Earl ...

(1732-1763) with the type locality given as the Red Sea.

Utilisation

''Epinephelus summana'' is caught by small, local fisheries and has been recorded in fish markets in Egypt and Sudan. It also sometimes appears in the aquarium trade.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3505284 summana Fish of the Red Sea Fauna of Socotra Fish described in 1775 Taxa named by Peter Forsskål