Epinephelus epistictus

Epinephelus epistictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842)
Dotted grouper

photo by CSIRO

Family:	Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Max. size:	80 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 7,000.0 g
Environment:	demersal; marine; depth range 90 - 800 m
Distribution:	Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Kenya to South Africa; Oman, west coast of India, Korea, Japan including Ogasawara Islands, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Arafura Sea (Ref. 9819) and northern Australia. Sometimes misidentified as Epinephelus magniscuttis or Epinephelus heniochus.
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 11-11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-15; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 8-8
Biology:	Found in the continental shelf over soft bottom (Ref. 7300); associated with coral reefs or rocky bottoms and other inshore environments of tropical seas (Ref. 97263). Nothing has been published on its biology. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 9773.
IUCN Red List Status:	Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 15 March 2017 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:	harmless

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