Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Serranidae
(Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets) > Epinephelinae
Etymology: Epinephelus: Greek, epinephelos = cloudy (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; depth range 120 - 250 m (Ref. 5222). Tropical, preferred ?; 10°S - 24°S, 156°W - 135°W (Ref. 5222)
Eastern Central Pacific: known only from the French Polynesia, Pitcairn Group, and Rapa.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 66.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5222)
soft rays: 8. Distinguished by the following characteristics: pale yellowish brown body color; irregular coarse reticulum of dark brown on body and rear part of head; fins unmarked; body depth contained 2.7-2.9 times in SL; head length 2.2-2.4 times in SL; convex interorbital area; subangular preopercle, 3-4 distinctly enlarged serrae at the angle; straight or nearly straight upper edge of operculum; anterior nostrils smaller than posterior nostrils; maxilla reaches almost to or slightly past vertical at rear edge of eye; 2 rows of teeth on midlateral part of lower jaw, inner teeth larger; well developed canine teeth at front of jaws (Ref. 89707).
Inhabits the outer slope of coral reefs. Fourmanoir (1971, Ref. 6828) found ophichthid eels, Leiuranus phoenixensis, in the stomachs of his type specimens. May be of some importance to artisanal fisheries and it is rarely caught because of its preference for deep water.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Heemstra, P.C. and 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. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 109396)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: minor commercial
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00550 - 0.02289), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.9 ±0.6 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High vulnerability (60 of 100) .