''Cephalopholis panamensis'', the Pacific graysby or Panama graysby, is a species of marine

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 Groupers are a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, in the order Perciformes. Groupers were long considered a subfamily of the seabasses in Serranidae, but are now treated as distinct. Not all members of this f ...

from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Epinephelinae Groupers are a diverse group of marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, in the order Perciformes. Groupers were long considered a subfamily of the seabasses in Serranidae, but are now treated as distinct. Not all m ...

which is 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 ...

Serranidae Serranidae is a large family (biology), family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, ...

which also includes the

anthias Anthias are members of the family Anthiadidae in the order Perciformes. The group has also been called Anthiidae or Anthiinae, but these names are preoccupied by a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae erected by Bonelli in 1813 ...

and sea basses. It is found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Description

''Cephalopholis panamensis'' has a robust body which is oblong-shaped with a long snout and a convex profile in the intraorbital region. Most of its teeth are movable. It has a rounded, finely serrated preopercle and there are 48-49 scales in the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

contains 9 spines, with the third spine being the longest, and 14-15 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 soft rays. The membrane of the dorsal fin is notched between the front spines. The adults have a pale grey-brown body with around 9 dark vertical bars along the flanks. The head is dark with diagonal pale bands, a patterning of blue and orange spots and a large dark blotch just to the rear of the eye. The dorsal fin spines are dark while the membrane is pale while the soft rayed part of that fin is dark with a pale line along its base. The

caudal 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 only ...

and anal fin are dark. Juveniles have a medium blue grey body, a pale blue-grey lower head which is marked with orange spots and lines with the upper part of the head and the spiny part of the dorsal fin being green. They also have a blue grey soft rayed portion of the dorsal fin and a blue grey caudal fin with a black margin. 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 but they are more commonly around . Panama graysby yes it is

Distribution

''Cephalopholis panamensis'' is found in the eastern Pacific where it is distributed from the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

, Mexico to northern Peru. Its range includes

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four islands. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part ...

and the Revillagigedos in Mexico, the Galápagos in Ecuador,

Malpelo Island Malpelo is a small oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, located about west of the Colombian mainland with a military post manned by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest ...

in Colombia and the

Cocos Island Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...

in Costa Rica.

Habitat and biology

''Cephalopholis panamensis'' is found in rocky shore habitats, preferring shallower, warmer water than many other species in the genus '' Cephalopholis''. They can also be found in coral reefs. It feeds on fishes and

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s. They are

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodite ...

s, the males are larger and older than the females with the sex ratio biased towards there being more females. They form

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

s made up of a single male and several females. They form pairs to court in the evening.

Spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

takes place around the full moon and they spawn between May and September, peaking in July to August in the central Gulf of California. The females attain sexual maturity at around when they are a year and a half old, the change to male takes place when they are and at least three years old. They can live for up to 16 years. They are the commonest grouper species within their range.

Taxonomy

''Cephalopholis panamensis'' was first formally described as ''Serranus panamensis'' in 1876 by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

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 ...

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner des ...

(1834-1919) with the type locality given as Panama.

Utilisation

''Cephalopholis panamensis'' was of little interest to fisheries in the past but, in the Gulf of Mexico, its importance as a commercial species has increased as the populations of larger groupers has decreased through overfishing.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2766753 panamensis Fish described in 1877