Species: Mycteroperca microlepis, Gag grouper
eye: radiating dark lines
C dark, thin blue margin
Mycteroperca microlepis (Goode & Bean, 1879)
Gag grouper
Body elongate, robust, compressed, depth at dorsal origin not greater than at anal origin; snout much longer than eye; in adult rear nostril much larger than front nostril; 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 at lower corner, with a distinct notch above serrated corner; gill rakers 27-41; dorsal fin with XI spines, (3rd-4th spines largest), indented between spines, 16-18 rays, rear edge rounded; anal fin with III spines, 11-12 rays, lower rear edge rounded; tail fin straight in juvenile, slightly concave in adult; median fins without projecting rays; scales rough on side of body; 88-96 scales on lateral line.
Adult with a variety of patterns: (i) head and body grey-brown with dark marbling produced by indistinct wavy lines; dark lines radiating forwards and backwards from eye; outer 2/3 of soft dorsal, anal, tail fins and pelvic fins blackish, with a thin blue-white border; (ii) body with 5 dark saddles separated by whitish bars; (iii) large males – pale grey with dark reticulations below soft dorsal; belly and lower part of body black, with this color sometimes extending onto tail base and snout and front of mouth; rear edges of fins dark; or tail may be white with a black margin.
Reaches 145 cm; IGFA record 36.5 kg.
Adults on reefs and grassy bottoms; juveniles in estuaries and seagrass beds.
Depth range: 0-167 m; adults usually in deeper water.
N Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico; also Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Submerged vegetation
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Rocks
- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- Estuary
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Bony fishes
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- GC non-endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- All species..
- Continent
- Continental primarily
- Extends North of GC
- Extends South of GC
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Vulnerable
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 145
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 167
