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Species: Epinephelus guttatus, Red hind, Red-Hind grouper

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

head & body: red-brown spots
soft D, C & A - broad dark margin
C rounded
A 8

Epinephelus guttatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Red hind

Body robust, compressed, deepest at origin of dorsal fin, depth < head length; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without bony knob at lower rear corner; teeth depressible; sides of roof of mouth with teeth; front nostril <rear nostril; operculum edge with 3 flat spines; preoperculum rounded, evenly serrated; 24-26 gill rakers; dorsal fin XI, 15-16, spine III or IV longest, membranes between spines indented, length of base of soft part not longer than that of spiny part; anal fin III, 8; pectoral fin symmetrically rounded, 16-18; origin of pelvic under origin of pectoral, shorter than pectoral; tail slightly convex; body scales rough on sides, 92-104 along side.

Adult: head and body yellowish-brown to greenish white to pale red-brown, covered with red-brown spots; spiny dorsal olive, with yellow flags at tips of spines; soft dorsal, tail and anal fins olive, with a broad black band just in from edge and a narrow white line along outer edge. Juvenile: similar to adult but spots are larger.

Reaches 76 cm, 8.3 kg.

Lives on reefs.

Depth range: 2-181 m.

N Carolina to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Rocks
  • Corals
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Reef only
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Bony fishes
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
  • Data
Global Endemism
  • All species.
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Island (s)
  • All species..
  • GC non-endemic
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Extends North of GC
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Least concern
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 76
Depth Range Min
  • 2
Depth Range Max
  • 181