Speckled blue grouper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Speckled blue grouper |
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The speckled blue grouper, also known as Epinephelus cyanopodus, is a cool fish that lives in the ocean. People also call it the blue maori, purple rock cod, speckled grouper, or yellowfin grouper. It's a type of grouper, which belongs to a big fish family called Serranidae. This family also includes fish like anthias and sea basses. You can find this fish in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, often swimming around coral reefs.
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What Does It Look Like?
The speckled blue grouper has a body that's a bit flat on the sides. Its head slopes steeply, and the area between its eyes is rounded. The edges of its gill cover have small, fine bumps.
Its top fin (dorsal fin) has 11 sharp spines and 16 to 17 soft rays. The bottom fin (anal fin) has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. It also has a special line of scales along its side, called the lateral line, with 63 to 75 scales.
This fish is usually grayish. It has many small, dark dots and a few bigger black spots all over its body. When they are young, these fish are yellowish. As they grow, they turn more grayish-blue. Once they are about 15 to 20 centimeters long, only their fins stay yellow. But even the yellow fins will fade as the fish gets older. This grouper can grow quite large, up to 122 centimeters (about 4 feet) long! It can weigh as much as 17.3 kilograms (about 38 pounds).
Where Does It Live?
The speckled blue grouper lives in the western Pacific Ocean. You can find it in places like the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. It stretches east to the Marshall Islands and Fiji. To the north, it reaches southern Japan, and to the south, it goes down to eastern Australia and the Tasman Sea. In Australia, it's common along the famous Great Barrier Reef and from northern Queensland down to Sydney.
Its Home and Habits
This grouper usually hangs out near coral heads that are by themselves in calm lagoons or bays. But sometimes, you can also spot it on outer reefs. It doesn't hide much and often swims several meters above the ocean floor. People often catch them at night.
The speckled blue grouper is a predator. This means it hunts other animals for food. It mainly eats other fish and crustaceans that live in the sand. For example, it likes to eat snake eels and box crabs.
During their breeding season, these groupers gather together to lay their eggs. They sometimes even join groups with other types of groupers, like Epinephelus polyphekadion and Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. Scientists are still learning a lot about how this fish lives. You can find them in waters from 2 meters deep all the way down to 150 meters deep.
About Its Name
The speckled blue grouper was first officially described in 1846. A Scottish naval surgeon and naturalist named Sir John Richardson gave it its first scientific name, Serranus cyanopodus. He found it in China. In the Indian Ocean, there's a similar fish called the blue-and-yellow grouper, which takes its place.
How People Use This Fish
People catch the speckled blue grouper for both commercial fishing (to sell) and for fun (recreational fishing) in some areas. In Hong Kong, it's sold alive as a reef fish.
Young speckled blue groupers are sometimes caught and sold for the aquarium trade. However, they grow very big, so they are not suitable for most home aquariums for long!
