Dark giant grouper
| Dark giant grouper | ||||||||||||
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Dark giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta accompanied by young jackfish . |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Epinephelus lanceolatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Bloch , 1790) |
The dark giant grouper ( Epinephelus lanceolatus ), also known as the black grouper to distinguish it from the spotted giant grouper ( Epinephelus tukula ) , is the largest bony fish living in coral reefs with a maximum length of 2.7 to 3.0 meters and a maximum weight of 400 kilograms .
Appearance
Dark giant groupers have the typical perch shape with a front, hard-nosed and a rear, soft-nosed dorsal fin. The big mouth gives them a "grim" look. Juvenile giant groupers are colored black and white and have yellow fins, adult fish are gray-brown and lightly spotted.
- Fin formula : dorsal XI / 14-16, anal III / 8.
The spiked rays of the dorsal fin become longer and longer towards the rear.
distribution
They live in the Red Sea , the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific between southern Japan , Hawaii and New Caledonia . Giant groupers live both in lagoons and on outer reefs to a depth of 100 meters, usually only up to 50 meters.
The giant groupers have disappeared in heavily fished regions.
behavior
Dark giant groupers inhabit caves and often also wrecks. They are incompatible, aggressive, loners living in territories. They feed carnivorously on crustaceans , especially lobsters , and on fish. Small sea turtles and small sharks are also part of their diet. There have been unconfirmed reports of attacks on people.
The flesh of adult giant groupers can be poisoned by ciguatoxins .
literature
- Hans A. Baensch , Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 7 Perciformes (Perciformes) , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1998, ISBN 3-88244-107-0
- Ewald Lieske, Robert F. Myers: Coral fish of the world . 1994, year publisher, ISBN 3-86132-112-2
- Dieter Eichler, Robert F. Myers: Korallenfische Indopazifik , Jahr-Verlag GmbH & Co., 1997, ISBN 3-86132-225-0
Web links
- Dark grouper on Fishbase.org (English)
- Epinephelus lanceolatus onthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Shuk Man, C. & Ng Wai Chuen (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group), 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2014.