Catface grouper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Catface grouper |
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The catface grouper (also known as Epinephelus andersoni) is a type of fish that lives in the ocean. It's a kind of grouper, which belongs to a larger fish family called Serranidae. This family also includes fish like anthias and sea basses. You can find the catface grouper near reefs in the southwestern Indian Ocean. It gets its name from the markings on its face.
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What Does It Look Like?
The catface grouper has a long body that isn't very deep. Its dorsal fin (top fin) has 11 stiff spines and 13 to 15 soft rays. The anal fin (bottom fin near the tail) has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. Its tail fin is clearly rounded.
The fish's body, head, and fins are usually brown. They are covered with many small, dark brown spots that are not perfectly shaped. It also has two dark brown stripes on its head. One stripe goes from its eye across its gill cover. The other goes from its upper jaw to the bottom edge of its cheek bone.
Young catface groupers look a bit different. They have horizontal dark stripes that turn into spots near their tail. They also have a black spot at the base of their dorsal fin's back spines. Two more small black spots are found at the base of the soft part of the dorsal fin. A third spot is on the upper part of the tail stalk. Between these black spots, there are usually four or five white spots.
The biggest catface grouper ever recorded was about 87 centimetres (34 in) long. The heaviest one weighed about 9.4 kilograms (21 lb).
Where Does It Live?
The catface grouper lives only in the southwestern Indian Ocean. You can find it off the coast of southeastern Africa. Its home range stretches from Zavala, Mozambique all the way to the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It has been seen as far south as the De Hoop Marine Protected Area. However, it is not very common south of Knysna.
Its Home and Life
Catface groupers usually live on shallow rocky reefs, sometimes as deep as 70 metres (230 ft). They are not often found on coral reefs. These fish are among the first predators to move into new places, like shipwrecks or artificial reefs. Adult groupers can travel short distances to find and settle on reefs that don't have many large predatory fish yet.
As young groupers grow, they move away from reefs close to the shore. They prefer to live on reefs in deeper water. Once they settle down, adult groupers tend to stay in one place. However, young fish can sometimes travel as far as 400 kilometres (250 mi).
Before they are old enough to reproduce, these fish move north. Spawning (laying eggs) has not been seen south of Durban. Catface groupers grow slowly. They are also a type of hermaphrodite, meaning they can change sex. Some males develop from young fish, while others change from being female.
The breeding season for the catface grouper is from September to February off KwaZulu-Natal. This fish is a predator, meaning it hunts other animals for food. It eats other fish, crustaceans (like crabs), and squid.
How It Was Named
The catface grouper was first officially described in 1903. This was done by a Belgian-British scientist named George Albert Boulenger. He was an ichthyologist, which is a scientist who studies fish.
The fish was named after Alexander Anderson from Durban. He was a fish dealer who brought the first fish specimen to London for Boulenger to study.
Fishing for Catface Groupers
People catch catface groupers using handlines and fishing rods from small boats. In South Africa, there are rules to manage how many fish can be caught. This helps make sure there are enough fish for the future.
For people who fish for fun, there are also rules. Each person can catch a maximum of 5 fish per day. The fish must also be at least 50 centimetres (20 in) long to be kept.
