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Epinephelus merra Bloch, 1793

Honeycomb grouper
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Epinephelus merra   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Epinephelus merra (Honeycomb grouper)
Epinephelus merra
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

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

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

marino associati a barriera corallina; distribuzione batimetrica 0 - 50 m (Ref. 9710), usually ? - 20 m (Ref. 5222). Tropical; 35°N - 35°S, 28°E - 129°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: South Africa to French Polynesia. Not known from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, nor Asian mainland.

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm 11.0, range 19 - ? cm
Max length : 36.5 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 125599); peso massimo pubblicato: 1.0 kg (Ref. 125599)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 11; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 15 - 17; Spine anali: 3; Raggi anali molli: 8. This species is distinguished by the following characters: greatest body depth 2.8-3.3 in SL; head length 2.3-2.6 in SL; preopercle rounded or subangular, the serrae at angle enlarged; upper edge of operculum almost straight; midlateral part of lower jaw with 2-4 rows of teeth, the inner teeth about twice length of outer ones; gill rakers of first gill arch 6-9 + 14-17; dorsal fin spines third to last subequal, the longest 2.4-3.2 in HL; anal fin spines second and third subequal, 2.1-3.0 in HL and longer than depth of peduncle; caudal fin rounded, peduncle depth 3.2-4.1 in HL; pectoral-fin rays 16-18; lateral-line scales 48-54, in series 98-114. Head, body, and fins pale, are covered with close-set (sometimes coalesced), dark brown or reddish brown spots, the interspaces forming an irregular pale reticulum; pectoral fins are covered with distinct small black spots, largely confined to the rays (the best diagnostic colour character of this species) (Ref. 39231, 89707, 90102).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

A solitary fish, in coastal and offshore reefs usually in less than 20 m depth (Ref. 90102); also very common in shallow lagoon and semi-protected seaward reefs. Juveniles are common in thickets of staghorn Acropora corals. Feed on crustaceans and fishes. Increase of piscivory with age is observed in this species. Neither opercular spine nor anterolateral glandular grooves with venom gland is present (Ref. 57406). Current information in the table (dangerous fish) do not match; needs verification. Cultured under experimental conditions in the Philippines (Ref. 4757). In the Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253). It is important to artisanal fisheries because of its abundance in shallow water and caught with handlines, fish traps, and spear (Ref. 39231).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Riproduzione | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larve

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore | Collaboratori

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: 17 January 2017

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30298)





Human uses

Pesca: commerciale; Acquacoltura: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si; Acquario: Acquari pubblici
FAO - pesca: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Prede
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predatori
Ecology
Ecologia
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Distribution
Stati
Aree FAO
Ecosystems
Presenze
Introduzioni
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Cervelli
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Suoni dei Pesci
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetica
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Profili di acquacoltura
Varietà
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaboratori
References
Bibliografia

Strumenti

Special reports

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.6 - 29, mean 27.8 °C (based on 760 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01202 (0.01064 - 0.01358), b=3.04 (3.02 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Alto, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione meno di 15 mesi (K=0.3-0.6).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (24 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 48.4 [23.5, 101.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.721 [0.369, 1.518] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [16.9, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.132 [0.080, 0.213] g/100g; Selenium = 32.9 [17.0, 64.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 254 [64, 968] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.37 [0.91, 2.01] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.