Grouper

Acanthistius Alphestes Anyperidon Caprodon Cephalopholis Chromileptes Dermatolepis Epinephelus Gonioplectrus Gracila Hypoplectrodes Liopropoma Mycteroperca Niphon Paranthias Plectropomus Saloptia Triso Variola

Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.

Not all serranids are called groupers the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera Epinephelus and Mycteroperca. In addition, the species classified in the small genera Anyperidon, Cromileptes, Dermatolepis, Gracila, Saloptia and Triso are also called groupers. Fish classified in the genus Plectropomus are referred to as coral groupers. These genera are all classified in the subfamily Epiphelinae. However, some of the hamlets genus Alphestes , the hinds genus Cephalopholis , the lyretails genus Variola and some other small genera Gonioplectrus, Niphon, Paranthias are also in this subfamily, and occasional species in other serranid genera have common names involving the word "grouper". Nonetheless, the word "groupers" on its own is usually taken as meaning the subfamily Epinephelinae.

The word "grouper" comes from the word for the fish, most widely believed to be from the Portuguese name, garoupa. The origin of this name in Portuguese is believed to be from an indigenous South American language. 1

In Australia, the name "groper" is used instead of "grouper" for several species, such as the Queensland grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus . In the Philippines, it is named lapu-lapu in Luzon, while in the Visayas and Mindanao it goes by the name pugapo. In New Zealand, "groper" refers to a type of wreckfish, Polyprion oxygeneios, which goes by the M ori name of h puku 3 . In the Middle East, the fish is known as hammour, and is widely eaten, especially in the Persian Gulf region.

Groupers are teleosts, typically having a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance fast swimming. They can be quite large, and lengths over a meter and weights up to 100 160 kg are not uncommon, though obviously in such a large group species vary considerably. They swallow prey rather than biting pieces off it. They do not have many teeth on the edges of their jaws, but they have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the pharynx. They habitually eat fish, octopus, crab, and lobster. They lie in wait, rather than chasing in open water. According to the film-maker Graham Ferreira, there is at least one record, from Mozambique, of a human being killed by one of these fish.