Epinephelus merra

(Bloch, 1793)

Vernacular names
English : Honeycomb grouper
French : Mérou gâteau-de-cire

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Perciformes
Family : Serranidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach 32 cm in length. Body covered with roughly hexagonal orange-brown to beige spots, sometimes arranged in oblique bands. Fins with dark spots. Spots on pectoral fins align with fin rays. Juveniles brighter.

Range and habitat
This species occurs in the Indo-Pacific area, patchily, from east and south Africa to Tuamoto and Line Islands, to south Japan and north Australia. Lives in shallow lagoons and semi-protected seaward reefs, to 50 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species has a huge range and is locally common to even abundant. It is often caught for the aquarium trade and sometimes for food in Asia.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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