SERRANIDAE


Aethaloperca rogaa, 14.1 cm SL
(photo by Richard Winterbottom)


Aethaloperca rogaa
(Forsskål, 1775)
Redmouth Grouper

D IX, 17-18; A III, 8-9; P1 17-19; P2 I, 5; LLp 48-54; GR 8-10 + 15-17.

Body deep and compressed, its depth greater than head length and 2.1-2.4 in SL. Dorsal head profile steep, straight, or slightly concave along snout and distinctly convex from eye to dorsal fin. Middle dorsal and anal-fin rays elongated in adults, forming fins an angular profile. Caudal fin truncate. Pectoral fins asymmetric. Color: body dark brown to black, occasionally with an orange cast, usually with a pale vertical bar on side of abdomen. Spinous portion of dorsal fin dark orange to brownish red distally. Inside of mouth, gill cavity and upper jaw membranes reddish orange. Juveniles with a broad white posterior margin on caudal fin and a narrow white margin on soft dorsal fin. Size: maximum length 60 cm. Distribution: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa east to the Gilbert Islands. Remarks: inhabits shallow coral reef to depths of 60 m. Usually found in or near caves and holes in reefs.(Hiroyuki Motomura)