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Mycteroperca acutirostris (Valenciennes, 1828)

Comb grouper
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Mycteroperca acutirostris   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Mycteroperca acutirostris (Comb grouper)
Mycteroperca acutirostris
Picture by Bertoncini, A.A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Mycteroperca: Greek, mykter, -eros = nose + Greek, perke = perch (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 70 m (Ref. 9710). Subtropical; 33°N - 27°S, 98°W - 28°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Bermuda and northwestern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. Report of this species (as Serranus acutirostris) from the Canary Islands is probably a misidentification of Mycteroperca fusca.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5222); max. published weight: 10.0 kg (Ref. )

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 17; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Distinguished by the following characteristics: greyish brown color of head and body with irregular white spots and blotches; 3-4 dark brown stripes radiating posteriorly from the eye and continuing along the ventral half of the body as wavy dark stripes; dark brown stripe from maxillary streak to edge of preopercle; darker median fins with white spots and streaks; oblong and compressed body, depth of body 2.7-3.2 times in SL; head length 2.5-2.7 times in SL; width of maxilla 4.4-5.8% of SL; convex interorbital area; angular preopercle, enlarged serrae at the angle, forming a weak lobe; subequal sizes of anterior and posterior nostrils (Ref. 89707).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Maximum depth from Ref. 126840. Juveniles inhabit turtle grass beds, mangrove areas, and shallow waters among soft corals and coral reefs. Adults are found on rocky bottoms with high relief. Probably feeds on plankton (no information is available on the food of this species). The max weight of 4 kg given in Ref. 5222 appears too low. The species is a popular game fish in southern Brazil for both spear fishermen and rod-and-reel anglers. Fish of 4-7 kg are common, with the spear fishing record at 10.1 kg (Capt. Eduardo Baumeier, pers. comm., 2001).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
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Aquaculture profiles
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 23.7 - 28, mean 26.8 °C (based on 224 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01047 (0.00604 - 0.01816), b=3.03 (2.89 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (52 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 17.2 [9.2, 35.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.522 [0.268, 0.914] mg/100g; Protein = 19 [17, 21] %; Omega3 = 0.178 [0.103, 0.312] g/100g; Selenium = 16.9 [7.9, 36.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 64.4 [20.6, 226.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.668 [0.440, 1.027] mg/100g (wet weight);