Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)


Other Names: Brown-spotted Grouper, Brown-spotted Rockcod, Estuary Cod, Estuary Rock Cod, Estuary Rockcod, Gold Spotted Rock Cod, Greasy Cod, North-west Groper, Orange Spotted Cod, Orange-spotted Cod, Orangespotted Grouper, Orange-spotted Grouper, Rockcod, Spotted Cod, Spotted River Cod

A Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides, at the Wreck of the Karma, Queensland. Source: Dave Harasti / http://www.daveharasti.com/. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
Pale brownish to greyish-brown above, usually with 5 indistinct angled "H-shaped" darker bars along the back and sides, and many small orange-brown to reddish-brown spots scattered on the head, body and fins. The spots are pupil-sized in juveniles, and become more numerous and relatively smaller in larger fish.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Epinephelus coioides in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4512

Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)

More Info


Distribution

Recorded in Australia from Carnarvon, Western Australia (and possibly further south), around the tropical north to Hat Head, New South Wales (and possibly further south). Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific. 
Inhabits estuaries (juveniles) and inshore reefs (adults), often on muddy and rubble bottoms in brackish waters. Juveniles prefer sandy, muddy, gravel and mangrove areas in shallow estuaries and inshore reefs.

Features

Dorsal fin XI,13-16; Anal fin III,8; Gill rakers, first arch 8-10 + 14-17; Lateral-line scales 58-65; Pyloric caeca 50-60.
Body elongate, greatest depth 2.9-3.7 in SL (specimens 10-78 cm SL); head length 2.3-2.6 in SL; interorbital width 5.0-6.2 in HL; preopercle with enlarged serrae at angle and a broad shallow notch just above angle; upper edge of operculum straight or somewhat convex; maxilla reaches to or slightly beyond vertical at rear edge of eye; upper jaw length 17-20% of SL; midlateral part of lower jaw with 2-3 rows of subequal teeth.
Lateral body scales rough, with minute auxiliary scales (body scales ctenoid except for nape, back, thorax, abdomen and above anal-fin base with cycloid scales); lateral-line tubes of anterior scales branched in adults. 

Feeding

Feeds mostly on small crabs and fishes.

Biology

This species is a diandric protogynous hermaphrodite, where some individuals mature directly as males (primary males) or first reproduce as females and then change sex to males (secondary males).

Remarks

The Goldspotted Rockcod is often confused with the Blackspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus malabaricus, or the Greasy Rockcod, Epinephelus tauvina. 

Species Citation

Bola coioides Hamilton, F. 1822. Fishes River Ganges: 82, 369. Type locality: Ganges River, India.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2023

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. (misidentified as Epinephelus suillus)

Amorim, P., Choat, J.H., Fennessy, S., Law, C., Ma, K., Myers, R., Nair, R., Rhodes, K., Sadovy, Y., Samoilys, M., Suharti, S. & To, A. 2018. Epinephelus coioides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T44674A2999451. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T44674A2999451.en. Downloaded on 12 November 2019.

Craig, M.T., Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y.J. & Heemstra, P.C. 2011. Groupers of the World: a Field and Market Guide. Grahamstown, South Africa : NISC Ltd 356 pp., Appendix 47 pp.


Depczynski, M. & Bellwood, D.R. 2006. Extremes, plasticity, and invariance in vertebrate life history traits: insights from coral reef fishes. Ecology 87: 3119-3127.

Grandcourt, E.M., Al Abdessalaam, T.Z., Francis, F., Al Shamsi, A.T. & Hartmann, S.A. 2009. Reproductive biology and implications for management of the orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides in the southern Arabian Gulf. Journal of Fish Biology 74: 820-841.

Hamilton, F. 1822. An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges and its Branches. Edinburgh : Archibald Constable 405 pp., pls 1-39.

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Groupers of the World (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 16. Rome: FAO. pp. 1-382

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Family Serranidae. pp. 2442-2548 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 2069-2790 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270.

Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)

Johnson, J.W. & Gill, A.C. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria. Gulf of Carpentaria Scientific Study Report. Geography Monograph Series. Brisbane: Royal Geographic Society of Queensland. pp. 239-260.


Kailola, P.J., Williams, M.J., Stewart, P.C., Reichelt, R.E., McNee, A. & Grieve, C. 1993. Australian Fisheries Resources. Canberra : Bureau of Resource Sciences and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation 422 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp.


Lau, P.F. & Parry-Jones, R. 1999. The Hong Kong Trade in Live Reef Fish for Food. TRAFFIC East Asia and World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Lau, P.P.F. & Li, L.W.H. 2000. Identification Guide to Fishes in the Live Seafood Trade of the Asia-Pacific Region. WWF Hong Kong and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. Hong Kong. 137 pp.

Liu, M. & Mitcheson, Y. 2011. The influence of social factors on juvenile sexual differentiation in a diandric, protogynous grouper Epinephelus coioides. Ichthyological Research 58: 84-89.

Parker, P.G. 1999. Fish assemblages at Julian Rocks and the adjacent waters of northern New South Wales, Australia. The Australian Zoologist 31(1): 134-160

Prokop, F. 2002. Australian Fish Guide. Croydon South, Victoria : Australian Fishing Network 256 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 1991. Revision of Indo-Pacific groupers (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 20: 1-332


Sadovy, Y. 1998. A taste for live fish: Hong Kong’s live reef fish market. Naga, the ICLARM Quarterly 21(2): 38-42.

Taylor, W.R. 1964. Fishes of Arnhem Land. Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 4: 44-307 figs 1-68 (misidentified as Epinephelus tauvina)

Yearsley, G.K., Last, P.R. & Ward, R.D. (eds) 1999. Australian Seafood Handbook. Hobart : CSIRO Marine Research 460 pp.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311007

Biology:Hermaphrodite

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-100 m

Fishing:Commercial, recreational fish

Habitat:Reef associated, estuaries

Max Size:120 cm TL; 32 kg

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map