Epinephelus costae

Epinephelus costae
Adult in Spain
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Epinephelidae
Genus:	Epinephelus
Species:	E. costae
Binomial name
Epinephelus costae (Steindachner, 1878)
Synonyms
List Cerna catalonica Gibert, 1913 Cerna chrysotaenia Döderlein, 1882 Epinephelus zaslavskii Poll, 1949 Mycteroperca costae (Steindachner, 1878) Plectropoma fasciatus Costa, 1844 Serranus costae Steindachner, 1878

Epinephelus costae, the gold-blotch grouper, is a marine ray-finned fish in the grouper family Epinephelidae. It occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, ^[1] where it can be found in shallow coastal waters. ^[2]

Description

The gold-blotch grouper grows up 1.4 m SL. ^[1] The striped juveniles look strikingly different from adult fish, such that they were considered different species until 1882. ^[2]

Color change

Although adults typically exhibit the yellow blotch characteristic of this species, they can change color so that the yellow blotch disappears, the fish becoming instead marked by longitudinal stripes; these stripes are another characteristic trait of this species. The yellow blotch also tends to disappear after death. ^[2]

Habitat

The gold-blotch grouper can be found in shallow coastal waters, usually at depths of less than 80 m. However, it may venture to depths of up to 200 m. ^[2]

Biology

The overwhelming majority of the gold-blotch grouper's diet is composed of fish, but it will also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods. ^[3]

Gallery

• 
  At L´Aquàrium de Barcelona
• 
  Without yellow blotch
• 
  Showing horizontal stripes
• 
  At Tenerife. This colour pattern was first documented in the Adriatic Sea, and is similar to that of the dusky grouper (E. marginatus) ^[4]

References

1. "Epinephelus costae summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
2. Tiralongo, Francesco; Kalogirou, Stefanos; Agostini, Igor (2021-06-15). "First records of a new color pattern in the Goldblotch Grouper, Epinephelus costae (Steindachner, 1878) (Actinopterygii: Serranidae) and first record of leucism in the European conger, Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758) (Actinopterygii: Congridae): a citizen". Acta Adriatica. 62 (1): 117–123. doi: 10.32582/aa.62.1.11 . ISSN   1846-0453.
3. Zaidi, Raouf; Derbal, Farid; Kara, M. Hichem (March 2017). "Temporal and ontogenic variations of diet of the goldblotch grouper Epinephelus costae (Serranidae) in the eastern coast of Algeria" . Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 97 (2): 259–267. Bibcode:2017JMBUK..97..259Z. doi:10.1017/S0025315416000308. ISSN   0025-3154.
4. Tiralongo, Francesco; Kalogirou, Stefanos; Agostini, Igor (2021-08-16). "First records of a new color pattern in the Goldblotch Grouper, Epinephelus costae (Steindachner, 1878) (Actinopterygii: Serranidae) and first record of leucism in the European conger, Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758) (Actinopterygii: Congridae): a citizen science contribution". Acta Adriatica. 62 (1): 117–123. doi:10.32582/aa.62.1.11.