Epinephelus striatus
Nassau Grouper
Federal:
Threatened
NS
G2
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Epinephelus
Epinephelus striatus (Nassau Grouper)
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Pelvic fin origin below or behind pectoral fin base, pelvic fin shorter than pectoral fin, posterior naris slightly larger than anterior naris and comma shaped in adults, 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 small canines, preoperculum rounded with evenly serrate posterior margin, dorsal margin of operculum nearly straight, gill rakers on first arch 23 to 26 (8 or 9 on upper limb, 15 to 17 on lower limb), head length 38%–42% SL, body depth 34%–38% SL, pectoral fin broadly rounded with 17 to 19 rays, dorsal fin with 11 spines and 16 to 18 rays, anal fin with 8 rays, scales ctenoid, lateral line scales about 50, scales in horizontal series 98 to 106
Generally buff with dark band from upper jaw through eye to midline of nape, several dark dots below and behind eye, five broad dark irregular vertical bars on body, and black saddle on caudal peduncle; submissive adults or juveniles display bicolored color pattern with dorsolateral parts dark brown and ventral parts white, with oblique white band from upper jaw to origin of dorsal fin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from northern Florida and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Occurs off Texas in the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between shoreline and 90 m, associated with coral reefs (adults) and sea-grass beds (juveniles)
Coral reefs and sea-grass beds
Biology
Mollusks, crustaceans (especially crabs), and ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 100 cm TL
Spawning takes place from December through February near time of full moon along the outer reef edge; assemblages of 3 to over 200,000 adults take part in group spawning, larvae are pelagic for 37 to 45 days before settling on reef habitats
Occurs from the shoreline to at least 90 m depth. Usually close to caves (Ref. 9710). Juveniles are common in seagrass beds. Diet comprises mainly of fishes (54%) and crabs (23%) and lesser amounts of other crustaceans and mollusks. It is solitary and mainly diurnal; but may sometimes form schools. Spawns near the new moon with up to 30,000 aggregating at certain spawning sites (Ref. 9710). The least wary and most friendly of all the groupers (Ref. 5226). Heavily fished and vulnerable to overfishing, particularly when migrating or aggregating to spawn (Ref. 9710). The most important commercial grouper in the West Indies. Marketed fresh, mostly between 2 to 10 kg (Ref. 3708).
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR), assessed 2016-11-18. Resilience: Low (Musick et al. 2000 (Ref. 36717)).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Smith 1971
Smith 1972
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
Colin et al. 1987
Colin et al. 1997
Cervigón 1991
Heemstra and Randall 1993
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Heemstra 2002c
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.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
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.
Humann, P. and N. DeLoach (1993) Reef fish identification. Galápagos. New World Publications, Inc., Florida. 267 p.
Eggleston, D.B., J.J. Grover and R.N. Lipcius (1998) Ontogenetic diet shifts in Nassau grouper: trophic linkages and predatory impact. Bull. Mar. Sci. 63(1):111-126.
Comments On Epinephelus striatus