Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål 1775)


Other Names: Black Rock-cod, Brownmarbled Grouper, Brown-marbled Grouper, Carpet Cod, Flower Cod, Flower-cod, Flowery Cod

A Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, on the Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, July 1999. Source: Erik Schlogl / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A large pale yellowish-brown grouper covered in small close-set brown spots, five vertical series of irregular dark brown blotches, and a small black saddle on top of the caudal peduncle. 

Grey reef Sharks attacking spawning Flowery Grouper (aka Marbled Grouper) in French Polynesia.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 08 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4670

Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål 1775)

More Info


Distribution

Kendrew Island, Western Australia, to One Tree Island, Queensland, including Hibernia Reef in the Timor Sea; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Island region in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-west-central Pacific. Inhabits lagoon pinnacles, channels, and outer reef slopes in clear coral-rich areas. Juveniles occur in seagrass beds.

Features

Dorsal fin XI, 14-15; Anal fin III, 8.
Body moderately deep, greatest depth 2.6-2.9 in SL; head length 2.3-2.5 times in SL; interorbital flat or slightly concave; dorsal head profile of adults indented at eyes and distinctly convex from there to origin of dorsal fin; preopercle rounded, finely serrate; upper edge of operculum distinctly convex, descending almost vertically to rear end of operculum; anterior edge of preorbital bone deeply indented below nostrils; posterior nostrils triangular, 4-7 times larger than anterior nostrils in adults; maxilla extending well posterior to eye' Lower jaw with 3-4 rows of teeth on midlateral part, inner teeth twice as long as outer teeth; canines inconspicuous. Scales in adults mostly cycloid, ctenoid in juveniles; body with auxiliary scales.

Colour

Body pale yellowish-brown with five vertical series of irregular dark brown blotches; head, body and fins with numerous close-set, small brown spots; caudal peduncle with small black saddle dorsally. Small juveniles (<8 cm) have small hexagonal spots on the head and body that becoming larger posteriorly and on vertical fins. 

Biology

Forms spawning aggregations. 

Fisheries

The species is heavily fished in parts of its range.

Species Citation

Perca summana fuscoguttata Forsskål 1775, Descriptiones Animalium: 42. Type locality: Jeddah, Red Sea.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2018

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål 1775)

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. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

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. 

Bleeker, P. 1873. Mededeelingen omtrent eene herziening der Indisch-Archipelagische soorten van Epinephelus, Lutjanus, Dentex en verwante geslachten. Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen (Afdeeling Natuurjunde). Amsterdam 2.2 7: 40-46 

Choat, J.H., van Herwerden, L., Robbins, W.D., Hobbs, J.P. & Ayling, A.M. 2006. A report on the ecological surveys undertaken at Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, February 2006. Report by James Cook University to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. 65 pp.

Cornish, A. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group). 2004. Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T44673A10934320. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T44673A10934320.en . Downloaded on 08 November 2015.

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. 

Forsskål, P. 1775. Descriptiones Animalium Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium; quæ in Itinere Orientali observavit Petrus Forskål. Post Mortem Auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Adjuncta est Materia Medica Kakirina atque Tabula Maris Rubri Geographica. Hauniæ : Mölleri 1-19, i-xxxiv, 164 pp., 1 map. 

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. 

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 pp. 2069-2790. 

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. & 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 

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. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 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. 

Ma, K.Y. & Craig, M.T. 2018. An Inconvenient Monophyly: An Update on the Taxonomy of the Groupers (Epinephelidae). Copeia 106(3): 443–456. https://doi.org/10.1643/CI-18-055  


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

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 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 

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2 

Whitley, G.P. 1937. The Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, South Pacific Ocean. The Australian Zoologist 8(4): 199-231 figs 13-14

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311021

Biology:Hermaphrodite

Conservation:IUCN Near Threatened

Danger:May cause ciguatera

Depth:1-60 m

Fishing:Commercial, recreational fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:120 cm TL

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map