Sawtail grouper

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Sawtail grouper
Sawtail Grouper.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Epinephelinae
Genus: Mycteroperca
Species:
M. prionura
Binomial name
Mycteroperca prionura

The sawtail grouper (Mycteroperca prionura)is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses.. It is endemic to the western coasts of Mexico. The sawtail grouper commonly lives on fields of large boulders with gorgonians and black corals.

Contents

Description

The sawtail grouper has a body which is elongate, robust and compressed with its depth being the same at the origin of the dorsal fin as it is at the origin of the anal fin. [2] The depth of the body is less than the length of the head. The preopercle is angular, with a serrated lobe its angle. [3] The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 16-18 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 10-12 soft rays. [4] The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are not incised. The caudal fin is rounded or truncate. [3] The juveniles are pale grey or whitish in colour with small brown spots and a few bigger ellipsoid brown blotches. The adults are similar but have more numerous spots and the blotches are indistinct. [2] This species attains a total length of 105 centimetres (41 in) and a maximum published weight of 14.1 kilograms (31 lb). [4]

Distribution

The sawtail grouper is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean where it is endemic to Mexico where it occurs from Baja California and the Gulf of California south to Puerto Vallarta. [1]

Habitat and biology

The sawtail grouper is found at depths from 10 to 90 metres (33 to 295 ft). [1] It is occurs in rocky reefs and it is commonest in areas where there are large boulders with gorgonians and black corals. This is a predatory species which feeds on small fishes in daytime and crustaceans at night. It is thought that it is a protogynous hermaphrodite with the older reproductively functional females changing to males. This is a very rare species and its behaviour is little known. [5] It is known that they form spawning aggregations, frequently in association with Mycteroperca rosacea and these have been observed in April and May. [1]

Taxonomy

The sawtail grouper was first formally described in 1967 by the American ichthyologists Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt (1930-2014) and Bernard J. Zahuranec with the type locality given as the Inner Gorda Bank in Baja California Sur. [6]

Utilisation

The sawtail grouper is considered to be an excellent food fish and is an important target species, among other grouper species, for small scale fisheries in the northern Gulf of California. It is also a popular quarry for game fishing. [1] Poachers fish illegally at night for sawtails grouper using spears, hookah breathing apparatus and lights, taking a significant number of fish. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mycteroperca bonaci</i> Species of fish

Mycteroperca bonaci, the black grouper, black rockfish or marbled rockfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Other fish are sometimes called the black grouper including the similar gag grouper, the misty grouper, and the critically endangered Warsaw grouper. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern United States to Brazil.

<i>Mycteroperca microlepis</i> Species of fish

Mycteroperca microlepis, the gag, gag grouper, velvet rockfish or charcoal belly, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It comes from warmer parts of the West Atlantic, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a drab, mottled-gray fish lacking the distinguishing features of most other groupers. Its pattern of markings resemble the box-shaped spots of the black grouper. It lacks the streamer-points on the tail fin that scamp and yellowmouth grouper have, and lacks yellow coloration around the mouth.

Yellowfin grouper Species of fish

The yellowfin grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.

Marbled grouper Species of fish

The marbled grouper, donkey fish, mutton hamlet, rockhind and sicklefish grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is a predatory reef fish which is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

Smooth grouper Species of fish

The smooth grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is associated with reefs and is found in the western Indian Ocean.

The Venezuelan grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in northern South America and the Greater Antilles.

<i>Mycteroperca</i> Genus of fishes

Mycteroperca is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are predatory fish, largely associated with reefs and are found in tropical and subtropical seas in the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. They are important target species for fisheries.

Gulf grouper Species of fish

The Gulf grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is endemic to Mexico.

Tiger grouper Species of fish

The tiger grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.

Pacific goliath grouper Species of fish

The Pacific goliath grouper, also known as the Pacific itajara grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It found in the eastern Pacific Ocean where it is associated with reefs. It is related to the Atlantic goliath grouper.

<i>Cephalopholis panamensis</i> Species of fish

Cephalopholis panamensis, the Pacific graysby or Panama graysby, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Epinephelus flavocaeruleus</i> Species of fish

Epinephelus flavocaeruleus, commonly called blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is associated with reefs in the Indian Ocean.

<i>Epinephelus summana</i> Species of fish

Epinephelus summana, the summan grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It comes from the Eastern Indian Ocean that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Mycteroperca rosacea</i> Species of fish

Mycteroperca rosacea, the leopard grouper or golden grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Eastern Central Pacific that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Scamp grouper Species of fish

The scamp grouper, also known as scamp, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

The yellowmouth grouper, also known as the crossband rockfish, grey mannock, hamlet, harlequin rockfish, princess rockfish, rockfish, salmon grouper, salmon rock fish or scamp, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Caribbean and in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also found in pockets in Brazil. It is a fairly large fish and it gets its name from the yellow around its mouth.

<i>Epinephelus labriformis</i> Species of fish

Epinephelus labriformis, commonly called starry grouper or flag cabrilla is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the eastern Pacific Occean.

<i>Epinephelus undulosus</i> Species of fish

Epinephelus undulosus, the wavy-lined grouper, brown-lined reefcod, mid-water rockcod, mid-water grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. They are produced through aquaculture and commercially fished.

<i>Dermatolepis dermatolepis</i> Species of fish

Dermatolepis dermatolepis, the leather bass is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is a predatory reef fish which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Spanish flag (fish) Species of fish

The Spanish flag is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is the only species in the genus Gonioplectrus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Craig, M.T.; Erisman, B. (2018). "Mycteroperca prionura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T14052A100571029. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T14052A100571029.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Species: Mycteroperca prionura, Sawtail grouper". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 Heemstra, P.C. & J.E. Randall (1993). FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date (PDF). FAO Fish. Synopsis. Vol. 125. FAO, Rome. pp. 273–274. ISBN   92-5-103125-8.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Mycteroperca prionura" in FishBase . December 2019 version.
  5. 1 2 "Sawtail Grouper". Mexican-fish.com. John Snow. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Mycteroperca prionura". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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