Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Epinephelus striatus, Nassau grouper

    Bookmode

Taxa

Next

Previous

Literature

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

tan + irregular dark bars
nape & eyes: dark Y
tail base: black saddle
C convex
Images
This Species (12) This Genus (7) Similar Species (3)

Next

Previous

Epinephelus striatus (Bloch, 1792)

Nassau grouper

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; rear nostril comma shaped, slightly larger than front nostril; operculum edge with 3 flat spines; edge of preopercle rounded and evenly serrated; 23-26 gill rakers; dorsal fin XI, 16-18, spine III or IV the longest, membranes between spines deeply indented; length of base of soft part not longer than that of spiny part; anal fin III, 8; pectoral fin symmetrically rounded, 18-19; origin of pelvic behind pectoral base, juveniles with pelvics longer than pectorals; tail rounded in juveniles, bluntly so in adults; body scales rough on sides, ~50 on lateral line.

Adult: tan; a dark stripe from snout through eye to end of nape, those meeting behind eyes to form a Y; ~5 dark lines radiating back from eye to mouth and operculum; a semicircle of small black spots under lower ½ of eye; 5 irregular dark bars on body; a black saddle on upper tail base; tips of dorsal fin spines yellow.

Size: 100 cm, 25 kg.

Adults on hard bottoms; juveniles in seagrass beds and mangroves.

Depth: 5-255 m.

Bermuda to Guyana.

High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Brackish
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Mud
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Submerged vegetation
  • Rocks
  • Mangrove
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Corals
  • Estuary
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Bony fishes
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Pelagic larva
  • Data
  • Pelagic
Global Endemism
  • West Atlantic Endemic
  • All species.
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • All species..
  • Island (s)
  • Continent
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Continent + Island (s)
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Critically endangered
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 100
Depth Range Min
  • 5
Depth Range Max
  • 255