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Blacktip grouper
Adult of Epinephelus fasciatus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Serranidae
Subfamily:	Epinephelinae
Tribe:	Epinephelini
Genus:	Epinephelus
Species:	E. fasciatus
Binomial name
Epinephelus fasciatus Forsskål, 1775
Synonyms
Perca fasciata Forsskål, 1775 Serranus fasciatus (Forsskål, 1775) Epinephelus marginalis Bloch, 1793 Serranus marginalis (Bloch, 1793) Holocentrus erythraeus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Holocentrus forskael Lacépède, 1802 Holocentrus marginatus Lacépède, 1802 Holocentrus rosmarus Lacépède, 1802 Holocentrus oceanicus Lacépède, 1802 Serranus oceanicus (Lacépède, 1802) Serranus alexandrinus Valenciennes, 1828 Cerna alexandrina (Valenciennes, 1828) Epinephelus alexandrinus (Valenciennes, 1828) Serranus variolosus Valenciennes, 1828 Epinephelus variolosus (Valenciennes, 1828) Serranus tsirimenara Temminck & Schlegel, 1842 Epinephelus tsirimenara (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842) Perca maculata Forster, 1844 Serranus cruentus De Vis, 1884 Serranus geometricus De Vis, 1884 Serranus subfasciatus De Vis, 1884 Epinephelus zapyrus Seale, 1906 Epinephelus emoryi Schultz, 1953

The blacktip grouper (Epinephelus fasciatus), also known as the redbanded grouper, blacktipped cod, black-tipped rockcod, footballer cod, red-barred cod, red-barred rockcod, scarlet rock-cod or weathered rock-cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. It is the type species of the genus Epinephelus.

Description

The blacktip grouper has a body which has a standard length which is around 2.8 to 3.3 times its depth. The area between the yes is flat but the dorsal profile of the head is convex. The rounded preopercle has a finely serrated rear margin with he lowest serrations slightly enlarged. The upper edge of the gill cover is straight. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-17 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are deeply indented. The caudal fin is moderately rounded. There are 49-75 scales in the lateral line. The colour is variable and ranges from pale greenish grey to pale reddish yellow to scarlet. They frequently have 5 or 6 faint dark bars, the final one being on the caudal peduncle. The scales on the upper body have a pale centre and dark rear margin, which creates am indistinct checked pattern. The outer membrane of the spiny part of the dorsal fin is black, or dark red in specimens from Western Australia and some from deep water. There is a pale yellow or white spot to the rear of the tip of each of the dorsal fin spines. This species attains a maximum total length of 40 centimetres (16 in), although a more common length is around 22 centimetres (8.7 in), and a weight of 2.0 kilograms (4.4 lb).

Distribution

The blacktip grouper has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Its range extends from the Red Sea to the Eastern Cape in South Africa east as far as the Pitcairn Islands, north to southern Japan and Korea and south to New Caledonia and Australia. It is found in the Madagascar, Mascarenes, Comoros and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean as well. In Australia it occurs from the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia north around the tropical coastline and then as far south as Port Hacking in New South Wales. It can also be found on reefs in the Coral Sea, Elizabeth Reef, around Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea and Christmas Island. A single record was reported in 2012 from the eastern Mediterranean Sea, off Lebanon.

Biology

This species may present simultaneous hermaphroditism in smaller individuals, while the large individuals usually lose female function.

The blacktip grouper feeds on crustaceans and smaller fishes by ambushing them. It is found associated with coral reefs from 4 m deep (more commonly from 15 m) up to 160 m, in both marine and brackish water, sometimes in groups of 10-15 individuals. Juveniles may find shelter in mangrove swamps.

Blacktip groupers of the Red Sea are fished by the Bedouin. It has also been associated with ciguatera poisoning.

Parasites

Blacktip groupers are host of several parasites, including Pseudorhabdosynochus spp. (diplectanid Monogeneans) on the gills. The philometrid nematode Philometra fasciati is parasitic in the ovary of female fish; the adult female parasite is a red worm which can reach up to 40 centimetres in length, for a diameter of only 1.6 millimetre; the males are tiny. Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris) fasciati is a nematode parasitic in the intestine, 20 mm in length, described in 2020 and named after the fish.

Taxonomy

The blacktip grouper was first formally described as Perca fasciata in 1775 by the Swedish speaking Finnish born explorer Peter Forsskål (1732-1763) with the type locality given as Ras Muhammad in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The German naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) created the new genus Epinephelus when he described E. marginalis in 1793, however E. marginalis is a synonym of Perca fasciata and this means that this species is the type species of its genus.

Gallery

• Juvenile
• Adult
• A variant of an adult with a pale body and a red front part
• Philometra fasciati (Nematoda, Philometridae), a parasite of the ovary of the blacktip grouper

References

1. ^ Law, C. (2018). "Epinephelus fasciatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T132817A100544403. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T132817A100544403.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Epinephelus fasciatus". FishBase. December 2019 version.
3. ^ Heemstra, P.C. & J.E. Randall (1993). FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date (PDF). FAO Fish. Synopsis. Vol. 125. FAO, Rome. p. 150-152. ISBN 92-5-103125-8.
4. Bray, D.J. (2018). "Epinephelus fasciatus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
5. Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Epinephelus fasciatus). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Epinephelus_fasciatus.pdf
6. ^ Lieske, E. & Myers, R.F. (2004). Coral reef guide; Red Sea. HarperCollins London. ISBN 0-00-715986-2.
7. ^ Siliotti, A. (2002). Fishes of the Red Sea. Geodia, Verona. ISBN 88-87177-42-2.
8. Justine, Jean-Lou (2005). "Species of Pseudorhabdosynochus Yamaguti, 1958 (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from Epinephelus fasciatus and E. merra (Perciformes: Serranidae) off New Caledonia and other parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, with a comparison of measurements of specimens prepared using different methods, and a description of P. caledonicus n. sp". Systematic Parasitology. 62 (1): 1–37. doi:10.1007/s11230-005-5480-0. ISSN 0165-5752. PMID 16132868. S2CID 35119181.
9. Moravec, František; Justine, Jean-Lou (2014). "Philometrids (Nematoda: Philometridae) in carangid and serranid fishes off New Caledonia, including three new species". Parasite. 21: 21. doi:10.1051/parasite/2014022. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 4023622. PMID 24836940.
10. Moravec, František; Justine, Jean-Lou (2020). "New records of anisakid nematodes from marine fishes off New Caledonia, with descriptions of five new species of Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris) (Nematoda, Anisakidae)". Parasite. 27: 20. doi:10.1051/parasite/2020016. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 7104620. PMID 32223885.
11. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Perca fasciata". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
12. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). Epinephelus "Species in the genus 'Epinephelus'". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
13. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Epinephelus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

External links

• Wildscreen Archive
• Photos of Blacktip grouper on Sealife Collection

• IUCN Red List least concern species
• Epinephelus
• Fish of the Red Sea
• Fish of the Pacific Ocean
• Fish described in 1775