United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Charcoal belly, Gag, Grouper
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Juveniles occur as far as Massachusetts. One of the most important groupers in the sport and commercial fisheries of the southwest coast. An all-tackle record of 32.11 kg for this species, caught off Destin, Florida, was published in the 1990 World Record Game Fishes. Also Ref. 2176, 26280, 89707.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets) > Epinephelinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

بُقعة ذهب, 小鳞喙鲈, Badèche baillou, ... more

Main reference

Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall. 1993. (Ref. 5222)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : Heemstra, Phillip C. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 145 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3708); max. published weight: 36.5 kg (Ref. 40637)

Length at first maturity
L_m ?, range 58 - ? cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 30 - 160 m (Ref. 89707)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred 24°C (Ref. 107945); 40°N - 27°S, 98°W - 38°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution

Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA (with juveniles occurring as far north as Massachusetts) to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Rare in Bermuda; one record in Cuba; also reported from eastern Brazil.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16-18; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Distinguished by the following characteristics: adult females and juveniles are generally brownish grey with dark vermiculations; camouflage phase has 5 dark brown saddles separated by short white bars below the dorsal fin; large males sometimes display a "black-belly" and "black-back" phase; black-belly phase is mostly pale grey, with faint dark reticulations below soft dorsal fin, belly and ventral part of the body above anal fin black, as are margin of the soft dorsal fin, central rear part of caudal fin and rear margins of pectoral and pelvic fins; depth of body contained 3.0-3.5 times in SL; head length 2.5-2.7 times in SL; convex interorbital area; angle of preopercle produced into a rounded lobe bearing enlarged serrae; posterior nostrils of adults much larger than anterior ones; smooth lateral body scales, except those covering pectoral fin (Ref. 89707).

Juveniles occur in estuaries and seagrass beds; adults are usually found offshore on rocky bottom (rarely to 152 m), occasionally inshore on rocky or grassy bottom. It is the most common grouper on rocky ledges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Adults are either solitary or in groups of 5 to 50 individuals; feed mainly on fishes, some crabs, shrimps, and cephalopods. Juveniles (less than 20 cm) feed mainly on crustaceans that live in shallow grass beds.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC) , IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.7 ±0.4 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.12-0.16; tm=3-8; tmax=16; Fec>10,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Very high

Mycteroperca microlepis (Goode & Bean, 1879)