Epinephelus guttatus
Red Hind
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Epinephelus
Epinephelus guttatus (Red Hind)
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
Pelvic fin origin below or behind pectoral fin base; pectoral fin longer than pelvic fin; posterior naris larger than anterior naris; maxilla extends to posterior margin of orbit with ventral margin smoothly curved and lacking step or bony knob; supramaxilla well developed; teeth in front of jaws are small canines; preoperculum angular with posterior margin evenly serrated; dorsal margin of operculum convex; gill rakers on first arch 24-26 (8-9 upper, 16-18 lower); head length 42%-43% SL; body depth 32%-37% SL; pectoral fin broadly rounded with 16-18 rays; dorsal fin XI, 15-16, with third or fourth spine longest and membrane between spines deeply incised; anal fin III, 8; caudal fin rounded; lateral body scales ctenoid; scales in horizontal series 92-104.
Buff, greenish white, or light reddish brown with head and body covered with bright orangish brown to dark red spots; spinous dorsal fin olive with yellow flags at tips of spines; caudal and rayed sections of dorsal and anal fins olivaceous with submarginal black band and narrow pale margin; pectoral fin light orangish red with darker red spots on base; pelvic fin colored like body.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Found throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Shallow coral reefs and rocky areas between 2 and 100 m.
Generally associated with shallow coral reefs and rocky areas.
Biology
Octopuses, crabs and other crustaceans, and ray-finned fishes.
Maximum known size is 76 cm TL; maximum life span is at least 22 years.
Protogynous hermaphrodite; females mature at 22-24 cm SL and change sex at 28 cm SL; most specimens larger than 40 cm SL are males; fecundity ranges from 90,000 to 3,000,000 eggs per female.
Found in shallow reefs and rocky bottoms. Usually solitary
and territorial. Feed mainly on crabs (Calapa and
Mithrax) and other crustaceans (alpheid shrimps and
scyllarid lobsters), fishes (labrids and haemulids), and
octopus. Some undergo sexual inversion at 28 cm TL; most
fish larger than 40 cm are males. Important in terms of
numbers caught and total weight of landings in the Caribbean.
Easily approached by divers (Ref. 9710). Hermaphrodite
species. Excellent food fish (Ref. 26938). Readily caught
on hook and line and easily speared (Ref. 13442).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2016-11-22. Resilience: Medium (K=0.12-0.24; tm=3; tmax=17; Fec=96,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish.
References
Menzel 1960
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Smith 1971
Smith 1997
Bright and Cashman 1974
Smith et al. 1975
Thompson and Munro 1978
Robins and Ray 1986
Colin et al. 1987
Bullock and Smith 1991
Cervigón 1991
Boschung 1992
Heemstra and Randall 1993
Schaldach et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
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.
Smith, C.L. (1978) Serranidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). volume 4. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome.
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.
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.
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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