The redmouth grouper (''Aethaloperca rogaa''), also known as the red-flushed rock cod is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, a grouper in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Epinephelidae. It has a wide distribution in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is considered a game fish.

Description

The redmouth grouper is laterally compress and oval shaped with a relatively deep body which is around half of the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

and a large head. The dorsal profile of the head is straight or slightly concave while the anterior dorsal profile between the eye and the origin of the dorsal fin is convex. It jaw extends past its eye. The dorsal fin has 9 spines and 17-18 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 3 spines and 8-9 soft rays. The middle soft rays of the dorsal and anal fins are elongated in the adults which results in them having an angular profile. They have a caudal fin which is truncate and asymmetrical pectoral fins. The pelvic fins extend beyond the anus. The colour is dark brown to black, sometimes tinged with orange and a pale vertical bar on the lower flank. The rear part of the spiny portion of the dorsal fin varies in colour from dark orange to brownish red. The oral cavity, gill cavity, and upper jaw membranes are reddish to orange, thus the common name. The juveniles have a wide white rear margin to the caudal fin and a thin white margin along the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin. The maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

is .

Distribution

The redmouth grouper has an Indo-West Pacific distribution which extends from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

south along the East African court to South Africa, east to the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

in Kiribati, and north to southern

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, Japan. In Australia it has been recorded from Rowley Shoals and the Kimberley region in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, Ashmore Reef, the Timor Sea, and the northern

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

as far south as Wheeler Reef in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. This species is likely found around all the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean, although it has not been reported from Mauritius yet. It has been recorded from Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel.

Biology and habitat

The redmouth grouper is a tropical fish which occurs in coastal reefs and lagoons, it has been recorded over silt substrates as well as in and around caves and crevices in reefs. It has a depth range of . The small juveniles mimic angelfish of the genus '' Centropyge''. This is a predatory species which mainly feeds on small fishes, including '' Pempheris'' spp., but also on stomatopods and crustaceans. The redmouth grouper spawns throughout the year and attains sexual maturity at around in standard length, although they have not been reported to form spawning aggregations.

Uses

The redmouth grouper is probably caught by line and spear fisheries throughout its range, although it is not a target species and is normally considered to be of low value. It has been recorded being taken by line fisheries in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, Micronesia, the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is rarely sold in markets, although it has been stated that it is an important component of the fresh-chilled grouper fishery in the Maldives.

Taxonomy

The redmouth grouper was first formally described by the Swedish

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Peter Forsskål (1732-1763) as ''Perca rogaa'' with the type locality given as

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. The description was published by Carsten Niebuhr in 1775 from filed notes edited by Johann Christian Fabricius and so the name is sometimes written as ''Perca rogaa'' Fabricius (ex Forsskål) in Niebuhr 1775. Some authorities place the redmouth grouper as the only species in the monospecific genus '' Aethaloperca'' which was created in 1904 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Philadelphia, Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Ph ...

as a subgenus of ''

Bodianus ''Bodianus'' is a genus of fish in the family of wrasses, the Labridae, which are commonly known as hogfishes. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. These species have many parasites. Taxonomy ''Bodianus'' belongs to ...

''. Recent molecular analyses challenge the placement of this species in the genus ''Aethaloperca''. In a study based on five different genes, it was included in the '' Cephalopholis'' clade, thus suggesting that the species should be included in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Cephalopholis'' and referred to as ''Cephalopholis rogaa''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q338003 Epinephelini Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of Thailand Fish described in 1775 Taxa named by Peter Forsskål