| Family: |
Epinephelidae (Groupers) |
| Max. size: |
96 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 17 kg |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; marine; depth range 3 - 62 m |
| Distribution: |
Western Indian Ocean: Kenya to South Africa, Comoros, Madagascar, Aldabra, Seychelles, Mauritius, St. Brandon's Shoals, Nazareth Bank, and the Chagos Archipelago. Unknown from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Asian coast from Arabia to India. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 7-8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-12; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 8-8 |
| Biology: |
Usually found in shallow water (less than 10 m), however, Kyushin et al. (1977, Ref. 6894) reported specimens caught on a vertical longline at depths of 45 to 62 m. Solitary or in small groups. Often drifts well above the bottom (Ref. 9710). Feeds exclusively on fishes (parrotfishes, wrasses, holocentrids, acanthurids, a triggerfish, and a juvenile Sphyraena) (Ref. 6448). Also caught with trawls. |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 21 November 2016 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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