Saddletail grouper: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:20, 1 August 2006
| Saddletail grouper | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Genus: | Epinephelus
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| Species: | E. daemelii
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| Binomial name | |
| Epinephelus daemelii (Günther, 1876)
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The saddletail grouper or spotted black groper, Epinephelus daemelii, is a large marine fish of the family serranidae, found off south east Australia and northern New Zealand, at depths down to 50 m. Its length is up to 2 m.
The saddletail grouper is a large solid-bodied fish with a sloping snout and large underslung mouth containing sharp conical teeth. It inhabits caves and crevices in rocky reefs and may occupy the same crevice for its entire life.
The body colouring is variable, from a dark green-black with pale yellow or whitish spots, to a green brown with irregular yellow splotches and bands. A fish can change these colours in a few seconds depending on its mood and the colour of the background.
They are carnivores eating crustaceans, other fish, and octopus.
External links
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Epinephelus daemelii". FishBase. May 2006 version.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8