Serranidae is a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers. Although many species are small, in some cases less than 10 cm (3.9 in), the giant grouper is one of the largest bony fishes in the world, growing to 2.7 m in length and 400 kg (880 lb) in weight. Representatives of this group live in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide.
The zebra shark is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m (203 ft). Adult zebra sharks are distinctive in appearance, with five longitudinal ridges on a cylindrical body, a low caudal fin comprising nearly half the total length, and usually a pattern of dark spots on a pale background. Young zebra sharks under 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long have a completely different pattern, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background, and lack the ridges. This species attains a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft).
The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef, is a marine region that stretches over 1,126 kilometres (700 mi) along the coasts of four countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras – from Isla Contoy at the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula south to Belize, Guatemala and the Bay Islands of Honduras. It is the second-longest reef system in the world.
The girdled wrasse, Notolabrus cinctus, is a species of wrasse native to the waters around the South Island and southeastern North Island of New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands and Snares Islands, where it can be found at depths from 15 to 91 m. The males of this species can reach 29.9 cm (11.8 in) in standard length, while the females only reach 29.1 cm (11.5 in). There are two colour phases with older fish developing a large, dusky belt around the body. This is not associated with changing sex which happens about three years after the development of the belt. They feed on molluscs and small crustacea. They occur on rocky reefs, where they are common.
Acanthistius is a genus of ray-finned fish. Some authors place the genus in the family Anthiadidae, while others consider it to be incertae sedis, where it is not clear which family it belongs to.
The Indo-Pacific tarpon, also known as the oxeye herring or simply herring due to its superficial resemblance to the true herrings, of which it is not a member, is the smaller of the two species of tarpon and lives in Indo-Pacific waters.
Plectorhinchus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh, brackish, and salt waters.
The pink skunk clownfish, also known as the pink anemonefish, is a species of anemonefish that is widespread from northern Australia through the Malay Archipelago and Melanesia. Like all anemonefishes, it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the host. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict size-based dominance hierarchy; the female is largest, the breeding male is second largest, and the male nonbreeders get progressively smaller as the hierarchy descends. They exhibit protandry, meaning the breeding male changes to female if the sole breeding female dies, with the largest nonbreeder becoming the breeding male.
The southern Mandarin dogfish is a species of Mandarin dogfish shark in the genus Cirrhigaleus. It was distinguished from Cirrhigaleus barbifer, which lives in the North Pacific, on an expedition in the coral reefs near Australia in 2007. It is now known to live in the temperate waters in south-eastern Australia and from the Bay of Plenty region in New Zealand, at depths of 146–640 metres.
Plectropomus laevis, known commonly as the black-saddled coral grouper, cluespotted coral trout, blacksaddled coral trout, blue-spot trout, Chinese footballer, footballer cod, footballer coral trout, oceanic coral trout or tiger trout, 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 Indo-Pacific region.
The yellow prawn-goby is a species of goby native to the Western Pacific, where it can be found at depths of from 1 to 25 metres in coastal bays and lagoons. This species is symbiotic with alpheid shrimps. They share burrows with these shrimp. The species can reach a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) SL. These fish vary greatly in appearance, ranging from brilliant yellow to gray and even brown forms or combinations of each coloring. This species is often kept in salt water aquariums. The yellow prawn-goby can be kept in aquariums as small as 20 gallons. In the marine hobby they are often partnered with tiger pistol shrimp.
The longfin snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John Richardson in 1848. It has a Dorsal fin beginning above its pectoral fin with a snake-like upper body which is cylindrical, but compressed only along its extreme tail tip. It also has a tubular nostril in front and a nostril along lower edge of the lip in back. Colors range from grey to black to brown. Large longfin snake-eels have wrinkled skin.
Choeroichthys cinctus is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Western Pacific Ocean, from Indonesia and the Philippines to Samoa, where it usually inhabits sheltered reef habitats at depths over 10 metres (33 ft). It can grow to lengths of 10 centimetres (3.9 in). This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch until giving birth to live young. Males may brood at 3 centimetres (1.2 in).
Choeroichthys suillus is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring from Perth, along northern Australia, to southern Queensland. It lives in coral reefs to a depth of 14 metres (46 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 6 centimetres (2.4 in). This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young. Within the reef it is found among coral rubble.
Dunckerocampus pessuliferus, occasionally Doryrhamphus pessuliferus, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is a coastal species, inhabiting waters around the Coral Triangle, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Australia. It lives in coral patches on sandy and muddy slopes at depths of 15–44 metres (49–144 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 16 centimetres (6.3 in). It is an active cleaner, feeding off of parasitic crustaceans growing on other fishes. The adult fish form pairs and are normally observed swimming along the bottom around large remote coral heads on muddy slopes. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.
Festucalex cinctus is a species of marine fish of the pipefish family Syngnathidae which is endemic to the waters off eastern Australia.
The Samoan pipefish, or brown pipefish, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea, to Sodwana Bay, to Taiwan, the Marshall Islands, and Samoa, where it inhabits tidepools and coral and rocky reefs to depths of 15 metres (49 ft). It is a solitary species with cryptic habits and is rarely observed. It is likely to feed on small crustaceans, and can grow to lengths of 14 centimetres (5.5 in). This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying the fertilised eggs in a brood pouch, the folds of which fall well short of the centre of the egg-filled pouch, eventually giving birth to live young.
Vanacampus vercoi, also known as Verco's pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting seaweed and seagrass beds in addition to tidepools at depths between 2–4 meters from Spencer's Gulf to Encounter Bay, South Australia. Their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
The Argentine seabass is a species of seabass in the family Serranidae. It occurs on the South American continental shelf of the western Atlantic Ocean, where it used to be caught commercially for human consumption.
The Rooster Hind is a marine fish found in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. It is also known as the Gulf Coney, Baqueta, Cherna Roja, Cherna Rosa, and Merou Coq in various places across its range. The Rooster Hind's dorsal fins have 16-18 rays and 11 spines with the third, fourth and fifth elongated. Their anal fins have eight rays and three spines. Mature length ranges from 63 to 68.9 cm on average but they can reach up to at least 130 cm (51 in). They reach weights of 15 kg (33 lb). Maturity is reached at around age eight, and individuals have been documented to reach 28 years of age.
