Velvet rockfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Velvet rockfish |
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The gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis) is a cool fish that lives in the ocean. People also call it the velvet rockfish, the gag, or charcoal belly. It's a type of grouper, which belongs to a bigger fish family called Serranidae. This family also includes fish like anthias and sea basses.
Gag groupers live in the warmer parts of the western Atlantic Ocean. You can find them in places like the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. They usually look plain, with mottled gray colors. This helps them blend in! They don't have bright colors or special tail fins like some other groupers.
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What Does a Gag Grouper Look Like?
The gag grouper has a strong body that's a bit flat on the sides. Its body is usually about as deep as its head is long.
Fins and Tail
- It has a dorsal fin on its back with 11 strong spines and 16 to 18 soft rays.
- The anal fin underneath has 3 spines and 10 to 12 soft rays.
- The tail fin, called the caudal fin, is square-shaped.
Colors and Patterns
Young gag groupers and adult females are usually light gray to brownish-gray. They have darker blotches and wavy lines that make them look marbled. This helps them hide! Their pelvic, anal, and caudal fins often have bluish-black edges.
When they are resting, they can change their pattern to show 5 dark brown saddle-like marks. These marks are separated by white bars along the base of their dorsal fin. This is a great way to camouflage!
Large adult males are typically light to medium gray. They have a faint net-like pattern under their dorsal fin. Their chest and belly are darker gray or black. The edges of their soft-rayed fins are also dark.
There's even a special color type called "black-back." These fish have the back part of their body and all of their soft-rayed fins in black.
Size
Gag groupers can grow quite large! The biggest ever found was about 145 centimetres (57 in) long. But most are around 50 centimetres (20 in). The heaviest one recorded weighed about 36.5 kilograms (80 lb).
Where Do Gag Groupers Live?
Gag groupers live in the western Atlantic Ocean. They have two main groups, or populations.
- The northern group lives around Bermuda and along the eastern coast of the United States. You can find them from North Carolina down to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. They are not usually found near Cuba.
- The southern group lives in southern Brazil, from Rio de Janeiro State to Santa Catarina State.
Young gag groupers have even been seen as far north as Massachusetts!
Home and Habits
Gag groupers change where they live as they grow up.
Where They Live
- Young gag groupers live in estuaries (where rivers meet the sea) and in beds of sea grass.
- Adults live further out in the ocean, usually over rocky areas. They can be found from 10 to 40 metres (33 to 131 ft) deep, and sometimes even as deep as 152 metres (499 ft)!
- Sometimes, adults come closer to shore over rocky seabeds or sea grass beds.
- They are one of the most common types of grouper in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
- They can live in both salty ocean water and slightly less salty brackish water.
Social Life
Adult gag groupers can be found alone or in groups of 5 to 50 fish. When they feel stressed, they can make thumping sounds! They do this by vibrating their swim bladder using their muscles.
What They Eat
Gag groupers are predators, which means they hunt other animals for food.
- Adults eat other fish (even smaller gag groupers!), crabs, shrimps, and cephalopods (like squid).
- The fish they eat often include herring, sea bream, jacks and pompanos, drums, and grey mullet.
- Smaller young gag groupers eat crustaceans (like tiny crabs and shrimp) that live in the sea grass beds.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Gag groupers have a very interesting way of reproducing! They are what scientists call "protogynous hermaphrodites." This means that all gag groupers start their lives as females.
Changing Sex
- After being females and spawning (laying eggs) at least once, some of them will change sex and become males.
- In one study, most gag groupers were female (84%), with only 15% male. This might be because fishing often targets the larger males.
- While some can change sex as early as 5 years old, it's more common for them to become males when they are 10 to 11 years old. This usually happens when they are about 95 and 100 centimetres (37 and 39 in) long.
Spawning Season
- In the Atlantic waters off North Carolina and Florida, adult gag groupers migrate (travel) every year in late winter. They move to special offshore areas to spawn. These areas are about 70 metres (230 ft) deep.
- The spawning season in this region is from December to May, with the busiest time in late March and early April.
- In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, spawning happens from late December to April, peaking in February and April.
- After spawning, females move to shallower waters (less than 30 metres (98 ft) deep). Males prefer deeper waters, from 50 to 90 metres (160 to 300 ft).
- Gag groupers can live for a long time, up to 31 years!
Naming the Gag Grouper
The gag grouper was first officially described in 1879. Two American scientists, George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, gave it the scientific name Trisotropis microlepis. They found the first one in Florida.
Protecting the Gag Grouper
People catch gag groupers for both commercial fishing (to sell) and recreational fishing (for fun). They use handlines, longlines, and spearguns.
Threats
- Fishermen sometimes target groups of gag groupers when they are spawning.
- Young gag groupers are often caught by accident (called bycatch) in shrimp fisheries that fish in sea grass beds.
- Sometimes, eating gag grouper meat can make people sick. This is due to something called ciguatera, which is a toxin that can build up in the fish.
Conservation Efforts
The gag grouper is considered vulnerable because of too much fishing. Both Mexico and the United States have put rules in place to help protect this species and make sure there are enough gag groupers for the future.
