Species: Mycteroperca acutirostris, Western comb grouper
eye to lower head & body: dark wavy stripes
preopercle - small lobe
D & A - end round
Mycteroperca acutirostris (Valenciennes, 1828)
Western comb grouper
Body elongate, robust, compressed, depth at dorsal origin not greater than at anal origin; snout much longer than eye; front and rear nostrils ~equal; lower jaw projecting; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; teeth depressible; canines at front of jaws; preopercle serrated, angular, serrae at corner enlarged, forming a small lobe; gill rakers 48-55, lower rakers 32-36; dorsal fin with XI spines, indented between spines, 15-17 rays, rear edge rounded; anal fin with III spines, 10-12 rays, rear edge pointed in adult; tail fin concave; 67-77 scales on lateral line.
Adult: Head and body grey-brown, heavily mottled with irregular whitish spots and blotches; 3-4 dark brown stripes radiate rearwards from eye, the lower ones continuing along lower body as wavy stripes; a dark stripe along just above top jaw to edge of preopercle; median fins darker than body and with pale spots and streaks. Juvenile: with a small black saddle on top of tail base.
Reaches 80 cm.
Adults on reefs; juveniles on reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves.
Depth range: 3-91 m.
The Gulf of Mexico to Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Mangrove
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Estuary
- Rocks
- Corals
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Submerged vegetation
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Planktivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Zooplankton
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- GC non-endemic
- Extends South of GC
- Continent
- Island (s)
- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 80
- Depth Range Min
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- 3
- Depth Range Max
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- 91
