Epinephelus morio, Red grouper : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes, 1828)

Red grouper
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Epinephelus morio   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Brazil country information

Common names: Garoupa, Garoupa de Sao Tomé, Garoupa de São Tomé
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: minor commercial | Ref: FAO, 1994
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Ranges from Bahia south to Santa Catarina, including Manuel Luiz Reefs and Abrolhos Reefs (Ref. 57756). Museum: off Cabo Frio and Santos, MZUSP 78154 (Ref. 47377). Also Ref. 3708, 5222, 13442, 89707.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Floeter, S.R., J.L. Gasparini, L.A. Rocha, C.E.L. Ferreira, C.A. Rangel and B.M. Feitoza, 2003
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Mérou rouge, Mero americano, Hamlet, ... more

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Epinephelus: Greek, epinephelos = cloudy (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.

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

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 5 - 330 m (Ref. 13442), usually 70 - 330 m (Ref. 13442). Subtropical; 35°N - 27°S, 98°W - 33°W (Ref. 5222)

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

Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Bermuda; strays occur north to Massachusetts.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 54.4, range 35 - 98 cm
Max length : 125 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 23.0 kg (Ref. 9710); max. reported age: 25 years (Ref. 5222)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16 - 17; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Color of head and body dark reddish brown, shading to pink or reddish below. Opercle with 3 flat spines, the middle one being the largest. Vertical fins angulate in larger fish. Pelvic fins shorter than pectorals and inserted slightly behind ventral and pectoral-fin base. Bases of soft dorsal and anal fins covered with scales and thick skin. No saddle on caudal peduncle. Interspinous membranes not incised (Ref. 26938); head length 2.3-2.5 times in SL; convex interorbital; subangular preopercle, serrae at angle slightly enlarged; straight upper edge of operculum; posterior and anterior nostrils subequal (Ref. 89707).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur mainly over rocky and muddy bottoms. Uncommon around coral reefs. Usually rest on the bottom (Ref. 9710). Juveniles may be found in shallow water, but adults are usually taken from depths of 70-330 m (Ref. 13442). Feed on a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates. Are protogynous hermaphrodites (Ref. 55367). Most females transform to males between ages 7 to 14. Susceptible to red tide toxin (Ptychodiscus brevi) (Ref. 5222). Marketed fresh or frozen. The world record for hook and line, 39 lbs., from Cape Canaveral, Florida (Ref. 13442).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Sex change occurs at 75.5 cm TL and 9.5 years of age (Ref. 55367).

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: Version 2025-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 20 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Other (Ref. 5222)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
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Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
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Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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Taxonomy
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Synonyms
Morphology
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References
References

Tools

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Special reports

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 11.5 - 25.7, mean 19.1 °C (based on 233 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00942 - 0.02217), b=3.00 (2.88 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 8.9 (6.9 - 10.9) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 15 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.1-0.18; tm=4-6; tmax=25; Fec=1.4 million).
Prior r = 0.64, 95% CL = 0.42 - 0.96, Based on 2 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (64 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (63 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.76 [3.62, 22.19] mg/100g; Iron = 0.41 [0.20, 0.85] mg/100g; Protein = 19.1 [17.5, 20.5] %; Omega3 = 0.176 [0.093, 0.338] g/100g; Selenium = 30.3 [14.5, 64.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 65.2 [15.5, 263.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.743 [0.486, 1.122] mg/100g (wet weight);