Cephalopholis cruentata
Graysby
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Cephalopholis
Cephalopholis cruentata (Graysby)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Moderately long snout; dorsal fin membranes distinctly incised; interorbital region flat; upper jaw extends beyond posterior margin of orbit and bears bony knob on posteroventral corner; supramaxilla well developed; teeth in front of jaws small canines; preoperculum with rounded, finely serrate margin and shallow notch above angle; upper edge of operculum distinctly convex; gill rakers on first arch 18 to 21; head length 38%–42% SL, body depth 34%–40% SL; pectoral fin broadly rounded and symmetrically shaped with 16 rays; dorsal fin with 9 spines (4th or 5th longest) and 13 to 15 rays; anal fin with 8 rays; caudal fin rounded; scales on lateral body ctenoid; lateral line scales 47 to 51; scales in horizontal series 69 to 81
Pale gray, brown, or olive green with dense covering of orangish brown or reddish spots; four black or white spots at base of dorsal fin; mid-dorsal white stripe occasionally present between tip of lower jaw and nape
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Habitat Associations
Between 27 and 170 m; turtle-grass (Thalassia sp.) beds and coral reefs
Turtle-grass (Thalassia sp.) beds and coral reefs
Biology
Adults feed on ray-finned fishes at dawn and dusk
Maximum known size is 330 mm TL
Females change sex between 200 and 230 mm TL at ages four or five
Inhabits Thalassia beds and coral reefs. In the Gulf of Mexico, they are found on rocky reef ledge in depths greater than 27 m. Solitary (Ref. 26340) and secretive, they usually stay near hiding places during the day. Prefer to remain within a small area of the home range of about 2,120 square m especially during the day (Ref. 56524). Nocturnal predators, adults feed mainly on fishes, with preference on Chromis multilineata, while juveniles feed on shrimps. Due to its small size, this is not a particularly sought-after species. Easily approached and fed by divers (Ref. 9710). Protogynous (Ref. 26938). Between 1995 and 2000, at least 10 specimens have been traded as aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil (Ref. 49392).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2017-11-12. Resilience: Medium (K=0.34-0.35; tm=3.5-5.5; tmax=9; Fec=260,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as Petrometopon cruentatus)
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968 (as Petrometopon cruentatum)
Smith 1971 (as Epinephelus cruentatus)
Bright and Cashman 1974 (as E. [Cephalopholis] cruentatus)
Smith et al. 1975 (as E. cruentatus)
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998 (as E. cruentatus)
Matsuura 1983a
Robins and Ray 1986 (as E. cruentatus)
Cervigón 1991 (as E. [Cephalopholis] cruentatus)
Boschung 1992 (as E. cruentatus)
Heemstra and Randall 1993
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Heemstra 2002c
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall (1993) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Craig, M.T., YJ. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.C. Heemstra (2011) Groupers of the world: a field and market guide. North America: CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, xix, 356 p., A47 pages appendix. DOI: 10.1201-/9780429087899
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