SERRANIDAE


Epinephelus latifasciatus, 12.8 cm SL
(photo by Seishi Kimura)


Epinephelus latifasciatus
(Temminck and Schlegel, 1842)
Striped Grouper

D XI, 12-14; A III, 8; P1 17-19; P2 I, 5; LLp 56-65; GR 8-11 + 15-18.

Body moderately elongate; body depth less than head length, 2.9-3.4 in SL. Head length 2.3-2.6 in SL. Posteroventral preopercular margin with 3-7 distinctly enlarged serrae. Upper margin of opercle distinctly convex. Caudal fin truncate in large adults, rear margin convex in juveniles. Pectoral fin length longer than longest pelvic-fin ray length, 1.8-2.2 in head length. Pelvic fin length 2.2-2.6 in head length. Lateral body scales cycloid. Color: large adults with uniformly gray body. Juveniles with lavender-gray or pale brownish body; 2 black-edged white longitudinal bands, upper band from above eye to anterior dorsal-fin soft rays, and lower band from below eye to lower caudal-fin rays. Size: maximum length 157 cm. Distribution: distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea to Korea and New Guinea. Remarks: found on coarse sand or rocky areas in adults and on silty sand and muddy bottoms in juveniles. Depths range from 20 to at least 230 m.(Hiroyuki Motomura)