Epinephelus marginatus

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Epinephelus marginatus

The Dusky Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is the best known grouper

Grouper

For other meanings, see Grouper .Groupers are fish of any of a number of genus in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes....
of the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
and North Africa coast. It is said to have the best taste of all Mediterranean fishes.

Morphology
The Dusky Grouper has a big body with a big mouth. One long dorsal fin and a rounded tail. Its color varies from brown to green depending on the season and the age. It is green during its juvenile phase.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Epinephelus marginatus'

Start a new discussion about 'Epinephelus marginatus'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Dusky Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is the best known grouper

Grouper

For other meanings, see Grouper .Groupers are fish of any of a number of genus in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes....
of the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Morphology

The Dusky Grouper has a big body with a big mouth. One long dorsal fin and a rounded tail. Its color varies from brown to green depending on the season and the age. It is green during its juvenile phase. The adult is upper brown with yellow spots and lower yellow. On the Operculum

Operculum (fish)

The operculum of a Osteichthyes is the hard bony flap covering and protecting the gills. In most fish, the rear edge of the operculum roughly marks the division between the head and the body....
has three spines.

Habitat

The dusky grouper is a solitary fish. It likes to live alone in rocks, at depths from the coast to 300 meters, but it's rare to find it below 60 meters. It has a barometric distribution, were the younger specimens are found near the cost and the older ones at the depths.

He normally have one cave considered as home and several other caves as terporally huts. His home as a minimum of two exits, and a size slightly bigger that the grouper, so no bigger animal can enter in. In case of bite or force to extract him, he opens his mouth, operculum and spines to block himselft inside the cave.

It can be found at the mediterranian, the African west coast and the coast of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
. It is rare at the western Indian ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.46 million people, of whom 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area....
, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, north of France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
and British Islands

British Islands

The term British Islands is used in the law of the United Kingdom to refer collectively to the following four states:*the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;...
.

Reproduction

It is a protogynous hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs. In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which partners are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual....
, i.e. the young are predominantly female but transform into males as they grow larger. The reproduction normally takes place between the summer months.

Nutrition

It feed mainly on other fish, crabs

Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
and octopus

Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus ....
. It is very greedy and one of the major predators in the Mediterranean sea.

Fishing

In some countries the dusky grouper is considered a delicacy. Referring to its preference among restaurant guests, the Spanish say 'De la mar el mero y de la tierra el carnero' (From the sea the dusky grouper, from the land the lamb).

Size

It normally lengths between 50 and 100 cm, and between 3 to 10 kg. But its not rare to find exemplars of more than 40 kg. It can grow up to 150 centimeters in length and 60 kilograms in weight.