Pacific Goliath grouper
Encyclopedia
The Pacific goliath grouper or quinquefasciatus (Epinephelus quinquefasciatus) is a large saltwater fish of the grouper
family. It is a relative to the Atlantic goliath grouper.
The Pacific goliath grouper is found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral
and artificial reefs at depths of up to 165 feet (50 m). Their range includes the area from the Gulf of California
to Peru
.
Young groupers may live in brackish estuaries, and canals.
They may reach extremely large sizes, growing to lengths of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) and can weigh as much as 800 pounds (363 kg). They are usually around 400 lb when mature. The goliath grouper's inquisitive and generally fearless nature make it a relatively easy prey for spear fishermen. They also tend to spawn in large aggregations returning like clockwork to the same locations making them particularly vulnerable to mass harvesting. Unlike its cousin, the Atlantic goliath grouper, the Pacific grouper was relatively unharmed by fishing but it still will probably warrant protection soon.
Goliath groupers eat crustacean
s, other fish
, octopus
es and young sea turtles. Grouper are preyed upon by large fish such as barracuda
, moray eel
s and large shark
s.
Goliath groupers are believed to be protogynous hermaphrodite
s, with individuals first maturing as females and only some large adults becoming males. Most grouper
follow this pattern, but it has not yet been verified for the goliath. In fact, Bullock et al. found that males could be sexually mature at smaller sizes (~1150mm) and younger ages (4-6 years) than females (~1225mm and ~6-8 years).
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 usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
family. It is a relative to the Atlantic goliath grouper.
The Pacific goliath grouper is found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
and artificial reefs at depths of up to 165 feet (50 m). Their range includes the area from the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Young groupers may live in brackish estuaries, and canals.
They may reach extremely large sizes, growing to lengths of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) and can weigh as much as 800 pounds (363 kg). They are usually around 400 lb when mature. The goliath grouper's inquisitive and generally fearless nature make it a relatively easy prey for spear fishermen. They also tend to spawn in large aggregations returning like clockwork to the same locations making them particularly vulnerable to mass harvesting. Unlike its cousin, the Atlantic goliath grouper, the Pacific grouper was relatively unharmed by fishing but it still will probably warrant protection soon.
Goliath groupers eat crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, other fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
es and young sea turtles. Grouper are preyed upon by large fish such as barracuda
Barracuda
The barracuda is a ray-finned fish known for its large size and fearsome appearance. Its body is long, fairly compressed, and covered with small, smooth scales. Some species could reach up to 1.8m in length and 30 cm in width...
, moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
s and large shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s.
Goliath groupers are believed to be protogynous hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s, with individuals first maturing as females and only some large adults becoming males. Most grouper
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 usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
follow this pattern, but it has not yet been verified for the goliath. In fact, Bullock et al. found that males could be sexually mature at smaller sizes (~1150mm) and younger ages (4-6 years) than females (~1225mm and ~6-8 years).